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Theme Of Individualism In Anthem By Ayn Rand

1094 Words5 Pages
In the novella, Anthem written by Ayn Rand, the protagonist Equality 7-2521 emphasizes the importance of the many dystopian themes within the story. After the destruction of the Unmentionable Time, all knowledge was lost and a new society has sprung where individualism is banned. In their society, the government is in control of the population and people are conformed to uniform expectation. Since many of characteristics of individualism was stripped away from people, it is described that they live in a dehumanized state, where names are unspecified and decisions are made by the councils. In doing so, many of what was lost remained in the Uncharted Forest where all of mankind dare not to talk about it since they developed a fear the outside world. One of the many themes depicted in a dystopian literature that is presented in the novella is the expectations that the society has placed among its citizens. Immediately starting off in chapter 1, page 19, Equality 7-2521 helps the reader understand that citizens “strive to be like all [their] brother men, for all must be alike”. After the establishment of the Great Rebirth, a law has been created where individualism no longer existed. Everyone is equal to each other. This means that no one has the opportunity to do anything that would classify them as an individual. In chapter 1, page 22, the story further explains that everyone “exist through, by and for [their] brothers who are the state”. This is part of the pledge that the
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