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The Theme Of Ego In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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Why is being your self harder in the community where government establishes a set of rules? In the novel, the main character discovers something new and the government rejects it thinking it is an unacceptable idea. Anthem was first written in 1937, and published in 1938. Ayn Rand, who is a Russian-American novelist and philosopher, wrote it. Anthem takes place in a dystopian society in where the main character seeks for individuality, which is rejected in their community. Equality 7-2125 and The Golden One struggle against the world searching for ego. One of the most important themes in Anthem is ego because in their society, everyone follows a set of rules, and at the end Equality 7-2125 and The Golden One find freedom, and their true meaning. …show more content…

According to the Merriam Webster ego is “the opinion you have about yourself”. Ayn Rand portrays the theme ego in the anthem when Equality 7-2521 discovers the light bulb. When he discovers electricity, he notices that he is special, and that he has an actual meaning in life or community. Although all men are supposed to be equal, there he notices he is different. He stands out in his community. “We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And we have discovered it alone, and we are alone to know it.”(Rand 52). In this quote Equality 7-2521 states that all alone, by himself, he has discovered something new in the community, something no one else had ever discovered. Another way that Ayn Rand portrays the theme ego in the novel is when Equality 7-2521’s love, The Golden One, sees herself as a unique person who is very satisfied with her body. “Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, no kindness and no guilt. Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it.” (Rand 38) In this quote Equality 7-2521 is talking about how beautiful and strong The Golden One is. Equality 7-2521 also says that The Golden One has a graceful

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Equality has learned his reading teaches him that persons are individuals, not splintered fragments of the group; they have no right to pursue their happiness, and should not be sacrifice themselves for others; that they require freedom to do this, and must not be enslaved by the group. The overall Theme would be the actual word Ego it was talked in the story about how it means a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance. Equality 7-2521 was mainly focusing on telling us that the ending he wanted us to learn was that it’s your conscious mind, the part of identify that you consider “yourself”. In Latin it would mean ‘self’ or “I”.

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Anthem is a good book about the future and their own versions of a Utopian society. This novel is all about independence and how options are limited. The question asked is if you think Equality’s eventual assessment of his sins is correct. My answer to this question is, he felt as if his sins taught him more.

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In the book, “Anthem” we explore inside the mind of Equality 7-2521 and how his mindset changes from “We” to “Me”, making him a very dynamic character. Equality 7-2521 is in a sense a more “Superior” being to his peers and those around him. He possesses a bright and adventurous mind; it’s almost like he doesn’t have any weaknesses at all. The only visible trace of weakness is the guilt inherited from his society about pursuing his own happiness. As the story progresses Equality starts to evolve beyond the guilt which he has endured for so long.

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In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand uses diction, imagery, and syntax to create a confident tone in Equality 7-2521 to show how he is changing for the better. Equality learns that individuality is ok and states “ I am done with this creed of corruption,” to emphasize that he’s “done” with how the governing body brainwashed him and that he now has his own views on society (55). Equality thought all the things the governing body wanted him to think, but as he broke off he realized that none of it was true. He did not want to live by the standards of the governing body so he broke through the standards and started to individually listen to himself. Equality grew up with the impression of everyone should have the same thought but, the individuality

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What is the meaning of Ego? In today’s world, it means “a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance”, it is to be self-centered and care for nothing else except for one's self or, in other terms, being an individualist. Today, people have been told to care for others instead of themselves, but that is not completely true. For example, Prometheus in Anthem by Ayn Rand- is not what one would consider to be a total egotistical person. Searching through different types of definitions and reasons about the definition of ego, the assumption is that egoism is not immoral or virtuous but the balance in between.

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Individuality’s Role in Society Anthem is a dystopian novel written by Russian author Ayn Rand in 1937. Ayn Rand was avid about the importance of the individual, and she supported a hands off government, where the people define and sustain themselves. Ayn Rand’s interest in the government’s effect on society certainly led into her creation of Anthem. At the start of the novel, Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, writes from a secluded tunnel and shares about the dystopian society he lives in which prevents education, and individualism. The society prevents individuals from learning on their own, having questions, doubting their elders, and threatens any sort of rebellion or individuality with extreme punishment.

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Equality 7-2521: The Individual “No one should part with their individuality and become that of another” (BrainyQuote 5). William Ellery Channing, a poet and preacher, stresses the significance of staying true to oneself and not being succumbed to be another being. Similar to Channing’s statement, Equality 7-2521 found the importance of embracing the freedom to think, isolation, and individualism in the midst of being in a collective society. In the end of Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Equality 7-2521’s assessment of solitarily expressing his thoughts is that it is not a sin anymore; he is correct because he is free to believe whatever he wants to, learns that he is an individual with purpose, and realizes that no one can control him.

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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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Alex Lin Mrs. Cattolico LA II Honors 15 February 2023 Anthem Essay Sometimes, an action, while not legally acceptable, can still be considered morally acceptable. The rebellious actions of Equality 7-2521 in Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem portray this exact situation. Frustrated by the extreme collectivist laws of his society, Equality breaks them and bases his behavior on his personal beliefs alone. The monotony of the conformist culture pushes Equality to deviate from his brothers and create his own identity.

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Equality truly believes in what he is told, and he accepts it. He talks about how he feels that he is cursed, and that he is a bad person, “Such would have been our life, had we not committed our crime which changed all things for us. And it was our curse which drove us to our crime. We had been a good Street Sweeper and like all our brother Street Sweepers, save for our cursed wish to know. We looked too long at the stars at night, and at the trees and the earth.”(29).

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Anthem is a story written by Ayn Rand as a propaganda piece portraying the evils of communism. The book takes place in the future in a undisclosed city surrounded by forest. In this city a collectivist society dwells. The conflict of Anthem is character vs. society where one man by the name of Equality decides to go against his broken government. Equality took a stand against his broken society, he has defied the council of scholars and his government, had a relation with a women, and escaped the city to The Uncharted Forest.

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An egoist always has their own mindset and thinks without the influence of any other person. This definition fits Prometheus very well, in that throughout the story, he struggles to fight the demon of wanting to learn more than he was allowed to. This ultimately led him to the discovery of the light bulb, which meant he was defying the rules of his society. Obviously, the discovery of the light bulb is a great technological advancement, a discovery which Prometheus wanted nothing more than to share with the world. As case in point, “We can give our brothers a new light, cleaner and brighter, than any they have ever known” (60).

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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 Ayn Rand’s dystopian novel, Anthem, the citizens are trained from birth to think only in the plural, to the point where they cannot even conceive of individuals, but only see each other as part of the whole group. Rand’s protagonist, Equality 72521, begins the novel as a street-sweeper who is devoted to the group, but begins to move towards individuality as he progresses towards pure selfishness, as Rand believes we all should. Rand uses the words “we” and “I” to represent Equality’s journey from being dependent on the group, to being utterly independent of everyone.

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Ego. A simple word to describe a self-sufficient person with no help in need. Although in this generation, people believe the word “ego” is something awful and it is used to describe a person who puts themselves first and neglect those who are around them, but there is another definition in which Ayn Rand explains. In “Anthem” by Ayn Rand the author portrays the word “ego” in a more suitable and in a considerate way. She explains that being an egoist is discovering the unimaginable things you can do by becoming an independent without a hand helping you.

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Equality has changed from a collective to an individual having the knowledge of realizing what he can do to change himself in the environment. Anthem has shown how the society works. The main character Equality has proven the allegory when he realizes there's more than just a collectivism society. From start of the novel Equality has been able to grow from a part of a collectivism to learning about individualism to becoming an individual. Equality conquers the battle of collectivism and individualism for

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