Soylent Green And Anthem: A Literary Analysis

Within the cautionary tales of Soylent Green and Anthem, there are multiple instances where the writers of either pieces describe a future where the value of human life has diminished. Through the hyper capitalistic society of Soylent Green or the hyper communistic world of Anthem, either produces communities that are toxic to the value of human life. The story of Soylent Green takes place in the 21st century however was produced in the early 70s in the United States. The story follows the life of a detective and his record keeper who are investigating a recent murder. The detective concludes it was an assassination. Ultimately, the bookkeeper receives a report that the plankton species responsible for producing the primary ingredient in the primary food source, called Soylent Green, has died out long ago. Ultimately, the detective discovers that the primary ingredient in Soylent Green is actually humans. The society they live in is oppressed by the privileged few and the poorer masses are the victims of their tyranny. In the story Anthem, the society is controlled by a group of men who are know as the Council of Men. In the society of Anthem, there is no such thing as an

Soylent Green showed that capitalism creates a schism between the elite and the 99%. This schism causes those in the 99% to be dehumanized and must resort to slavery to provide for themselves. Anthem portrayed a society that was extremely communistic. The result was a world where there was no individualism; where the value of the individual was practically nonexistent. While both acted as cautionary tales to critique the other forms of government, ultimately what was created was a cautionary tale that warned of the possibility for dehumanization and enslavement no matter what form of government is