The Significance Of The Path Of Water In Anthem By Ayn Rand

Water spans over approximately seventy-one percent of the Earth’s surface. It is vital to the survival of every species, and serves as a passage way between societies. Likewise, “The Path of Water”, in the novel, The Seven Paths, can meaningfully connect to other texts, today’s world, and my life. For instance, this passage can correlate to the community within Anthem. The narrator of The Seven Paths hunts for water. He describes the horrendous sensation of being without water for too long. “I know the feeling of walking of walking too long without water. I have felt the thirsty fingers of death constricting around my soul” (The Seven 37). He comprehends that water is vial and that he is deprived of it. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521 is also denied

Equality 7-2521 declares, “We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of the Students. It wasn’t that the learning was too hard for us. It was that the learning was too easy… We wished to know. We wished to know about all the things which makes the world around us. We asked so many questions that the Teachers forbade it” (Rand 8-9). Equality 7-2521 wishes to learn, but is restricted because of his teachers. While his intelligence transcends those of his peers, he is frowned upon. This behavior would normally be considered meritorious, but Anthem’s society discourages differences among citizens. His superior intellect brands him as atypical. However, both characters fulfill their needs. The narrator of The Seven Paths finds water during the Great Storm while Equality 7-2521 discovers knowledge when he began to study in the sewer. In addition, “The Path of Water” relates to today’s world. On page thirty-eight, the narrator states, “The deserts and lush forests around us mirror the deserts and lush forests within” (The Seven). In society, we view civilization as we visualize ourselves. Our perceptions change as we mature and