Theme Of Social Conformity In Ayn Rand's Anthem

Growing up in the early 1900’s Ayn Rand had to deal with social conformity from a young age. At 12 years old the communist revolution began in Russia. Her family's business was raided and the once hard working prosperous Rosenbaum family was stripped down to be just like everyone else. In Ayn Rand's 1938 “Anthem” she depicts when social conformity goes far by letting us inside the mind of young and rebellious Equality 7-2521 opposing his corrupted and distorted society.

The idea of social conformity goes too far based on the punishments of the society. After being caught spending time alone in his tunnel and being sent to the palace of corrective detention equality writes, “They tore our clothes from our body, they threw us down upon our

Throughout the novel Equality 7-2521 had been living a sort of double life. He would work his assigned job as a street sweeper, then he would go and work on his electricity box. He finally gathered the courage to present his great finding to the council. The council looked down upon Equality in disgust one member went as far to say, “And if the Councils had decreed that you should be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be of greater use to man than in sweeping the streets” (72). This is the council's way of humbling Equality in telling him that he is no use to any of his brothers other than sweeping the streets. At age 15 Equality was granted this job title with no choice but to comply, and he was expected to fulfill his duties as a street sweeper until he reached age 40. This shows the government having way too much control over its people as at age 15 their life is practically decided for them, they have no control over where they live or what resources they are given as everything that is granted to them is dependent on their job, which is chosen by the city council. The citizens of the city also have no choice on their partner. Once Equality meets Liberty 5-3000, otherwise known as the Golden One, he begins to think how it is a sin to think about any women not assigned to them by the council. To this he writes, “And we take no heed to the law which says that men may not think of women, save at the Time of Mating. This is the time each spring when all the men older than twenty and all the women older than eighteen are sent to the City Palace of Mating. And each of the men have one of the women assigned to them by the Council of Eugenics” (41). This shows Equality pondering about how men and women are not able to choose whom they want to spend time together and have children with. This is important because the council give its citizens little to no freedom