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What Is One Reason For The Title Of Anthem, By Ayn Rand

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The short dystopian text titled Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a spectacular demonstration of dystopian fiction. The book is a very intriguing book as the story is set in an unspecified future date where the world has entered another dark age. Society is much different now as everyone's life is decided for them by the government. No man is allowed to think of themselves as above anyone else in their life. They are also not allowed to amount to anything more than their brothers. The main character in the book is named Equality 7-2521. In the book Equality and some other men discover electricity while experimenting in a train tunnel they had found. They then show their discovery to the Home of the Scholars. However, the scholars are not happy about …show more content…

After reading these books, Equality discovers many new words and many new ways to express himself and his feelings. The most important word he discovers however is the word I. The word I is banished from being spoken in his society so he does not yet know that the word I exists. This relates to the title because an Anthem is a song identified with a specific and particular group of people. Near the end of chapter 11, Equality states, “I am done with the monster of “we,” the word of serfdom…of falsehood and shame.”(Rand) This is one reason why the word anthem relates to the …show more content…

This is a reason that Rand chose the title Anthem because Rand believed that the word “individual”, is a sacred word and must be defended against all collectivism. Rand was raised in Russia during a time of strong collectivism and this is why she feels very strongly about individualism. The book states, “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE. One, indivisible and forever.”(Rand) This quote is an example of the collectivism within the society that Equality is living in before he runs away into the Uncharted Forest. Rand expressed her strong feelings towards collectivism through her book and this is a reason that she tilted her book

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Chapters 11 And 12 In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

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Anthem, by Ayn Rand, is a book that portrays a dystopian world where every day is the same and everyone lives for the benefit of their brothers. Though the world is painted as a perfect society, Equality 7-2521 performs an altruistic act when he illegally makes inventions. This act leads to Equality vanishing from society into the woods for the protection of himself and his invention. Chapters 11 and 12 reveal the reasoning behind the title of the book when he finds the missing aspects of his life. Chapters 11 and 12 show the freedom that was missing in the dystopian society, the importance of love that was forbidden in previous paragraphs, and the importance of individuality that all left something missing from Equality’s life and the book itself.

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Examples Of Individuality In Anthem By Ayn Rand

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Individuality allows every person to be themselves and be different from each other. However, In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Rand describes a society where the people were not allowed to openly be themselves, or else they would be punished for being different. The main character, Equality, notices he is different slowly throughout the novella, but kept continuing to be like everyone else for awhile. These rules exist in this society to strip human individuality in order to achieve total equality.

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Summary Of Individuality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

1128 Words | 5 Pages

Equality-72521. With an inquisitive nature, an innovative mind, and latent desire, Equality withholds the traits of a visionary who advocates for individuality. Every step Equality takes, is one away from the public-spirited system. Another towards personal identity. Each step is an internal struggle, due to the communist machine’s brainwash and eloquent reprogram of Equality’s instinctive mind.

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Figurative Language In Anthem

458 Words | 2 Pages

Ayn Rand manipulates the vocabulary in Anthem to express a great earnestness in the story. While establishing the setting, she describes the sky above “like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through” (Rand 28). This illustration of the expanse above uses both a simile and potential symbolism to represent an individual, the silver, trying to force his way out of his collectivist society, the sieve. By employing figurative language, Rand arranges a

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Summary Of Anthem, By Ayn Rand

1083 Words | 5 Pages

At the beginning of the novel, Rand delves into what is considered sinful, which is what would appear to be common things in our society. This post-apocalyptic New York City banished writing, being alone, as well as having a preference or a favorite. Individualism is crushed and following teachings mindlessly is demanded. It is emphasized that there is no individual and the word “I” is an evil and disgusting word to use. One must think the same thoughts of the group, believe the same things as the group, and must be the same as the group, otherwise, they are selfish and sinful.

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The Theme Of Ego In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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“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.

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The Theme Of Freedom In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

581 Words | 3 Pages

The story “Anthem” by Ayn Rand is a dystopian novel that shows how freedom is an important right. The story is based on a character named Equality 7-521 and the society is all about being equal. There is no freedom, every choice is decided for you. You cannot speak for yourself and are not allowed to use the word “i”. If you think highly of yourself it is a sin.

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Individual Rights And Freedom In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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While sweeping the streets, Equality discovers a dark tunnel that was made during the Unmentionable Times. He sneaks into the tunnel every night to perform scientific experiments. In his experiment of dissecting a frog, Equality discovers that metal draws the power of the skies and that

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Theme Of Equality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

977 Words | 4 Pages

In society today, the meaning of equality is much different than it is depicted in Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem. Today, the word ‘equality’ means to treat everyone the exact same way to keep the fairness between all individuals. In Anthem, equality means everyone is one, no one is placed above the other. Everyone’s needs are cared for as a group, not individually. With that vision of equality in a collectivist society, words that demonstrate ‘selfishness’ have vanished, like ‘I’.

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Analysis Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

311 Words | 2 Pages

Have you ever felt like a total outsider? In Anthem Ayn Rand shows a perspective from a young boy in a dystopian society. In the far future what lies ahead, no one knows. In this story you get an idea of one scary scary possibility.

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Theme Of Individualism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

1082 Words | 5 Pages

This mistake removed the thoughts and actions of individuals, which is what allows a society to flourish. While the city in Ayn Rand’s novella uses a complex system of laws and government controls in hope of suppressing ego, they ultimately fail due to the fact that there will always be someone whose ego cannot be suppressed, which is why the society that Equality 7-2521’s has envisioned creating would include none of these rules. Anthem’s community removes individuality and in its place instates a sense of togetherness and collectivism in an attempt to eradicate ego. First, the assault on the individualistic nature of mankind is overwhelming evident in the moss-strewn marble engraving above the Palace of the World Council: "We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever" (19).

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Objectivism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

1284 Words | 6 Pages

Objectivism in Ayn Rand’s Anthem Ayn Rand established her philosophy of objectivism in order to eliminate the traditions she experienced while she was growing up under collective governments, and to emphasize the importance of the individual over the collective group. It can be defined as a philosophy for living stating that man himself is the greatest power, and man must decide what is best for himself based on reason. The four basic tenets of objectivism are reality exists as an objective absolute, reason is man’s only method of interpreting his surroundings, man must exist as an individual in order to pursue his own interests, with the ultimate goal being happiness, and the economy of an objectivist society should be laissez-faire capitalism,

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Examples Of Collectivism In Anthem

1219 Words | 5 Pages

However, he fails to realize that collectivism still exists outside his tunnel of intellectual and individualistic refuge. Thus, the council is horrified by his invention using personal thought and they mock and ridicule him, even threatening to burn him at the stake. One member of the council, International 1-5537, points out the major issue with Equality’s invention, saying “what is not done collectively cannot be good” (Anthem 73). The Council fails to understand the basic idea that Rand proposes in “The Soul of an Individualist” in which she says that “no work is ever done collectively, by a major decision. Every creative job is achieved under the guidance of a single individual thought” (Rand).

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Anthem Essay On Equality

559 Words | 3 Pages

Anthem is a book that makes oneself contemplate the future and what evils are bestowed upon it. In this novel, the reader is caught in the life of Equality. Equality’s life is placed in the future, where the feared reality of communism has conquered all but the souls of few weary men. Equality is one of those few men who have a light that is invulnerable to a ravaging wind. Equality’s time captive before his extraordinary escape has taken a toll on his body and mind and now at the end of his journey forces him to question whether the decisions he’s made are full of sin or teeming with righteousness.

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Summary Of Anthem By Ayn Rand

1067 Words | 5 Pages

"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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