“We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power,” (Rand 52). Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the society in the book is taught from birth to think only in plural which has gone so far that the words such as “I” was abolished and anyone who would say or do anything alone would be punished/ burned. The main character, Equality 7-2521, discovers light for the first time. Equalities discoveries and experiments helped him first start to question his existence. After the discovery of light and electricity he brings it to the house of scholars where it gets turned down which sends him on a path of running away and a steep slope to selfishness.
In the beginning of the book Equality does not argue much with the society and their rules, he is very
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When equality goes to give the light box to the house of scholars, he shows them it and they become afraid. He then starts to try and persuade them to take the gift for the better of his brothers. When he is talking to them he starts to shows signs of selfishness, “let us be one of you, the humblest among you” (Rand 71). How Ayn Rand showed that Equality was moving on to becoming selfish because when he told them that he would be the, “humblest” among them they replied in a very negatively and also saying that he is evil way which shows that no one has ever said that before because of the way they acted so surprised to him when he said that statement that makes him think that he’s better than his brothers. When he is in his cave playing with the light box, he turns it on in the dark and see his hands, he then goes to think to himself in a more self aware perspective, “we wish it were possible to us to know the likeness of our own person”(Rand 62). When equality becomes self away because of his light box because when he looked at his hand he then asks what he looks like which makes him a lot more selfish in this society because in that society they don’t wonder or question their brothers to what they look like. Since Equality thought about what he looks like and how he told the house of scholars that he is better than them, he then starts to take a very steep slope down into