Anthem is a dystopian society novel written by Ayn Rand. Its content thoroughly introduces the philosophy of human nature. Our main character, Equality 7-2521, lives in a futuristic time called the Great Rebirth where everyone lives in a society with collectivism as the backbone. Citizens have no rights but exist solely for the state. This establishes the main theme of this novella— individualism versus collectivism. Equality 7-2521 does not feel the guilt in committing crimes against the State like thinking alone and keeping his discoveries a secret. Anthem brilliantly teaches us rebellion and individual responsibilities through Equality 7-2521’s eye-opening self-revelation. Anthem’s storyline is constructed around a communist, dystopian
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Anthem is narrated through Equality 7-2521’s journal; crime number one. During the Great Rebirth, unless you have permission from the Council of Vocations, no man can write. Crime number two occurs when Equality 7-2521 and his only friend, Internationality 4-8818, discover a subway tunnel on their shift. Our main character ventures into the tunnel to find remnants of the Unmentionable Times and objects he does not recognize. He is gifted with intellectual acquisitiveness from a very young age that led him to believe he’s cursed for not being like the others in the House of Students. For a change, this gift led to the biggest revelation of his society. It starts with him asking his friend to keep their finding secret from the Council. Equality 7-2521 sneaks out every night to study the objects he found in the tunnel and steals things from the Home of Scholars and Street Sweepers. Stealing is an obvious crime but the charm of this society is that laws aren’t always practical, making being alone a crime, too. He speaks to Liberty 5-3000, also known as the Golden One, when the State forbids them from taking notice of the opposite sex until the Time of Mating. He acknowledges his crime in his journal but did not let that stop him “for we did not think of all our brothers, as we must”. (Rand, 29) At this point, our protagonist has known what
Anthem is narrated through Equality 7-2521’s journal; crime number one. During the Great Rebirth, unless you have permission from the Council of Vocations, no man can write. Crime number two occurs when Equality 7-2521 and his only friend, Internationality 4-8818, discover a subway tunnel on their shift. Our main character ventures into the tunnel to find remnants of the Unmentionable Times and objects he does not recognize. He is gifted with intellectual acquisitiveness from a very young age that led him to believe he’s cursed for not being like the others in the House of Students. For a change, this gift led to the biggest revelation of his society. It starts with him asking his friend to keep their finding secret from the Council. Equality 7-2521 sneaks out every night to study the objects he found in the tunnel and steals things from the Home of Scholars and Street Sweepers. Stealing is an obvious crime but the charm of this society is that laws aren’t always practical, making being alone a crime, too. He speaks to Liberty 5-3000, also known as the Golden One, when the State forbids them from taking notice of the opposite sex until the Time of Mating. He acknowledges his crime in his journal but did not let that stop him “for we did not think of all our brothers, as we must”. (Rand, 29) At this point, our protagonist has known what