Anthem And Fahrenheit 451: Literary Analysis

In the books Anthem by Ayn Rand and Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury the ideas and battle between Collectivism and Individualism play a central role in each novel’s (or novella in the case of Anthem) plot. Although the storylines, characters and settings are different, the hardships that the protagonists face are one in the same. Both are individuals in a society where true individualism is frowned upon, discouraged and punishable. However in each book while living under a repressive regime our protagonists fought and clawed their way through pain and suffering to gain their own version individualism and freedom. In Anthem any sense of individualism and freedom was taken away since the moment the child was born. They are told from birth that they do for their brothers "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen” (Rand 21). That all men must be alike, “We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike. Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there are words cut in the marble, which we repeat to ourselves whenever we are tempted: ‘We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever’” (Rand 19). By forcing these creeds into the heads of the people of their society, the people …show more content…
By highlighting the weaknesses and strengths of each system, they authors, Ayn Rand and Ray Bradbury let the reader decide for themselves what to think. But in each book our protagonist prevails and enlightens the reader with inspirational words about each philosophy that should be heeded and taken to heart. By writing objective and thought provoking novels about how society should be run, each book does its best to expose the true nature of Collectivism and