Theme Of Individuality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Everything in the world is unique, no two things are the same no matter what. Whether it be mass-produced clothing, snowflakes, twins, or handmade jewelry none of it is the same as another. Yet it is expected for them to be different, after all, it’s impossible to have an exact copy of something. Imagine though if people did expect things to be the same. No not something but people, imagine if everyone was to be the same, and if not you would suffer for it. Well, that is the reality in the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand, where everyone in society is a collective the same who do what they are supposed to like everyone else until the day they die. To many, this life sounds unpleasant having to conform to a group, and disregard yourself to focus on

One of those reasons may be that society discourages individuality. Forcing others to fit the predesigned mold of what a person should be whether that be intelligence wise, personality, or physical appearance. Society would want that all to be the same, and Anthem shows how this aspect of society can upset people. This is seen when the novella states, “It is a sin to think words no others think…” (Rand 17). This at the very least shows that in the society in Anthem that they think of individuality as wrong and that everyone should fit into the same perfect mold; people think that being different is a sin and wrong. Regardless or not if the person is mostly happy no one can be the same as everyone else. Views like these brew self-hatred in individuals for they cannot be how they perceive everyone else, they are not who they are supposed to be according to society. This is one of the many reasons why someone in a society that is perceived to be happy is not happy as an individual; because they were born different and cannot control that fact but are still punished for

In the novella Anthem, no one except those at the very top could make decisions for themselves as simple as what they were to eat. The people there did not have any freedom; forced to live as they were told. Freedom is often associated with happiness, contentment, and many other positive things. Men cannot be free if they live in a society that strips them of it. This point is explicitly stated in Anthem by saying, “There is nothing to take a man’s freedom from him, save other men. To be Free, a man must be free of his brothers”. ( Rand 92). Happiness is impossible without the option to try and find happiness to choose to do things that you enjoy. Equality had mentioned before that the first time he truly felt happiness was when he ignored his society and did what he wanted. Equality 7-2125 even said, “-in our heart there is the first peace we have known in twenty years.” (Rand 37). This proves that if a society strips you of their free will then you cannot be happy for you must seek out what makes you happy to incite the emotion; nothing ever came from sitting and waiting for it to arrive. This is another reason why there is not a correlation to a society that at the very least appears to be happy and content and happy members of said