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Similarities Between Individualism And Collectivism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

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“We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One indivisible and forever” (Rand 19). In Anthem, a science fiction novel, by Ayn Rand, the society believes in this philosophy. They believe one’s personality is not their own but a group’s identity, collectivism. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 lives in a society that is restricted with rules that limits them from finding themselves. He is on a journey breaking laws and exploring the world to find his individuality. Equality 7-2521 realizes the contrast between individualism and collectivism within himself. Just like Equality 7-2521, Howard Roark in "The Soul of an Individualist", an excerpt from fountainhead a philosophical fiction by Ayn Rand, an architect, struggles …show more content…

He thinks about the life that he wants for himself and finally breaks from collectivism. He runs away towards the abandoned Uncharted Forest. When Equality gets there he already loves the atmosphere; he loves the feeling of being able to be free and to only care about himself. Equality mentions, “For, upon the blue of the sky below us, we saw our own face for the first time” (Rand 80). He is finally able to see himself for who he is. This river is representing his growth from a follower into a leader. He has now found himself as an individual who fights for what he believes, this is what the river symbolizes. Not only did he finally see his own reflection, but found the definition of I. Equality 7-2521 states, “It was when I read the first of the books I found in my house that I saw the word "I." And when I understood this word, the book fell from my hands, and I wept”(Rand 98). He has now found the impact of I. During his journey, Equality has always referred to himself as we, announcing I out of his own mouth is another sign of growth. Roark claimed, “ I came here to say that I do not recognize anyone’s right to one minute of my life” (Ayn Rand, "The Soul of an Individualist"). Just like Roark at this moment Equality only cares about himself and those he love. In comparison Ayn Rand has these two characters growing into an individual. She shows the importance of being your own person. In the end, Equality 7-2521 finds himself as an individual, conquering himself from breaking free from

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Ayn Rand’s Anthem starts by Equality 7-2521 saying “It is a sin to write this.” Throughout the story, Equality’s views and mindset changes, he realizes that he is different from his brothers and its ok to be different. He discovers that if something is legal it is not certainly right. His eager for knowledge taught him the word “I” abandoning the word “We”.

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Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

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He now begins to work on his creation more. When Equality 7-2521 is finally confident with his creation, he decides to bring it to the scholars to show them what he has done. At this point he gets in much more trouble and they immediately shut down his idea. He decides to run away to the Uncharted Forest where he finds his own happiness with his loved one, the Golden One. Equality 7-2521 is seen as an egoist in the story because his only goal is to pursue his own happiness, and not to serve others and make them happy as well.

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Anthem by Ayn Rand is the story of how a man broke free from a society where singularity and being different was evil. Anthem deals with the topic of communism and how everyone is supposed to be equal and the same. This is shown in the book where in Equality 7-2521’s society, the use of the word “I” is non existent. Instead they use the word “We”. This is because that in this world, no man is alone and does everything alongside his brothers.

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In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions.

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Have you ever heard common phrases such as “every man for himself”? Phrases like this are common sayings that have been knitted into our vocabulary which demonstrate our egotistic nature. From a young age, we’ve been told that we must take care of ourselves first, because no one else will. On the contrary, the book, Anthem, presents a society that is shockingly different. From not being able to use the pronoun, “I” to the idea of living only to serve to serve fellow men, the altruistic, “we” society presented in Anthem is the exact opposite of America’s egotistic, “me” society, due to the fact that we are a capitalist society and because of our society’s competitive nature.

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Equality lives in a collectivist society, which is a society that believes, “that man must be chained to collective action and collective thought for the sake of what is called “the common good.” Therefore, Equality being the person he is, struggles with being an individual. He knows it is against the law but he enjoys knowledge so much, it confuses him. He states, “And in our heart-strange are the ways of evil! - and in our heart there is the first peace we have known in 20 years.”

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Equality has a philosophy that should be adopted by everyone. He values individuality. He recognizes how important choice is and how it makes it meaningful life. The three main traits he portrays are being his own person, how choice is paramount, and, the importance of following his gut.

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How could losing individuality affect a society? The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand is about a guy named Equality 7-2521 who is trying to find himself in a society where everything is controlled and different. Later, he finds himself even though he will have to go through many obstacles to get there. The process behind losing individuality in an Anthem’s society are in forcing strict laws, brain washing of their citizens, and removing of family. The Anthem society in forcing of strict laws made it easy for everyone to lose their individuality.

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Ayn Rand defines egoism as, “concern with one's own interest.” Although this may sound negative and selfish, it is the complete opposite in many cases. Ayn Rand is the author of the science fiction novel Anthem. The story is narrated by a young man who is given the name Equality 7-2521 by the council who have reformed the world into a collectivist society. In this society, they are taught that being an individual is bad, and because of this they must only live for their fellow men and never think for themselves.

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There's so much emphasis on putting others before oneself that people often forget to look out for their own needs, as shown in this book. Ayn Rand successfully captures the negatives of an overrated ideology and presents an unorthodox perspective on the matter. In conclusion, Equality's true motives behind his work are much more selfish than they first appear to be. Equality strives to fulfil his own personal desire rather than contribute everything to society, and this isn't necessarily a negative thing.

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Equality also expresses his pleasure in the Science of Things as he creates electricity. Slowly, Equality begins to do whatever will bring him pleasure and happiness, and according to the author, a country is based on “a man’s right to the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness” (Soul of an Individualist 38). Equality displays his integrity as he is true to his principles and beliefs. He realizes that no society can be collectivist without depriving individuals of basic rights, conforming to Ayn Rand’s beliefs: “There is no such thing as a collective brain…collective thought” (Soul of an Individualist 9).

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However, he fails to realize that collectivism still exists outside his tunnel of intellectual and individualistic refuge. Thus, the council is horrified by his invention using personal thought and they mock and ridicule him, even threatening to burn him at the stake. One member of the council, International 1-5537, points out the major issue with Equality’s invention, saying “what is not done collectively cannot be good” (Anthem 73). The Council fails to understand the basic idea that Rand proposes in “The Soul of an Individualist” in which she says that “no work is ever done collectively, by a major decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought” (Rand).

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With all of his experience that nobody has known in at least a century he is extremely capable of deciding whether of his choices are right. His personality keeps him from giving up hope and giving up on his society and his companion but keeps him curious enough to keep searching for something better in life. Equality has aged to the point where he thinks he needs to change the world and will try to do so. Most would believe that Equality’s actions were righteous and could not contemplate that his actions were

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In the final chapters of the book, after Equality and The Golden One have discovered their new house and proposed to build a new life, they read books in its intact library and so discover the forbidden word, “I” (94). This discovery prompts Equality to radically overhaul his entire way of going through life, aligning it to Rand’s Objectivist philosophy. His focus on himself, illustrated through his obsession with the word I is show in the last two chapters of the book, where he latches on to the idea that devoting one’s life to only oneself is the only appropriate way to live life. Rand shows this with statements from Equality such as, “I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them”(96). Equality is proclaiming that his life will be best lived in a purely selfish manner, where he will not take care of anyone else, but will not ask anyone to take care of him either.

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