Power Of Society In Ayn Rand's Anthem

The Power of Society Ever heard the saying, “You are who you surround yourself with”? People are mere products of their society. Society shapes us as individuals, affecting the way we think, feel, and act. Ayn Rand conveys this in Anthem as Equality 7-2521 changes because of the society he is in. The society in Anthem brainwashes its citizens to the point of them thinking that they are sinners for breaking even the most absurd laws of the “brotherhood”. However, sometimes in life, limited freedom leads to curiosity; when you are told not to do something, it makes you want to do it even more. This is the motive that leads Equality 7-2521 to investigate what the society is hiding, which causes him to sin in the eyes of the council. In the novel

Ever wonder why there are no guards at the prison, and why the locks on the doors are old and easy to break? The society in Anthem is prideful; this is shown when Equality is in jail, and he says, “There is no reason to have guards, for men have never defied the Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were ordered to be” (Rand 67). So, Equality 7-2521 turning himself into the council is an example of how the citizens have been brainwashed by the society to do whatever they are told; breaking this law eats away at Equality 7-2521’s self-consciousness, leading him to turn himself into the Council. However, this is not the only reason why Equality 7-2521 admits himself to the Council; his pride and ego think

He hopes that by turning himself into the Council, they will acknowledge his humility and instead of punishment, view his great intelligence. Equality 7-2521 expresses this feeling by saying, “Tomorrow [...] we shall take our box [...] and walk through the streets to the Home of the Scholars. [...] We shall join our hands to theirs, and we shall work together, with the power of the sky, for the glory of mankind” (67). Now may be Equality’s only chance to escape the House of Street Sweepers and get into the Council of Scholars. By finding this tunnel from the “unmentionable times”, Equality 7-2521 has unlocked a side of himself that he never knew existed; a side that viewed society in a different light. In the words of James Baldwin, “The world changes according to the way people see it, and if you alter [...] the way a person looks at reality, then you can change