Understanding Morality in Anthem
The city of Anthem is unlike anything seen in the modern world. Ayn Rand’s strange, futuristic society is seen by many as a place from the past. Though Anthem may begin out sounding like this, readers later find out that that this odd city is from the mysterious future. It is believed by the people of Anthem that in order to create a perfect world there can be no sort of ego. These people always use the word “we” instead of “I”. Citizens do not have distinct names so that no one is seen as better than another. One’s career is not chosen by the citizen, but by a council. Technology is only good enough to create candles. Even though the people of this twisted world are meant to be happy, many are not. The most …show more content…
One rule is that the people can never be selfish in what they do. “the word ‘selfishness’ is a synonym of evil; the image it conjures is of a murderous brute who tramples over piles of corpses to achieve his own ends . . .”(Novel & Works). Even though this is what most people imagine selfishness as being like, this is not the actual definition of the word. This is how Ayn Rand explains it: “This concept does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one’s own interests is good or evil”(Novel & Works). So, selfishness really just means that an individual is more concerned about their own problems more than others. Another rule and practice of the people of Anthem is that the word “WE” must replace the word “I”. “There is no crime punished by death in this world, save this one crime of speaking the Unspeakable Word”(Rand 49). The Unspeakable word is “I” because it shows one’s individuality which is considered evil. Equality 7-2521 believes that the word “WE” should never be spoken. “For the word “WE” must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought”(Rand 96). This is saying that an individual should use the word “I” more often than”WE” in order to show distinction from others. This concept also includes having distinct names, instead of a number like Equality 7-2521. Equality did not believe in these …show more content…
If a utopia is attempted to be created by imperfect beings, then a possible outcome would be to end up creating a dystopia where everyone is can not agree on the same principles as each other. One problem that would occur is argument on how to control certain things. Just like shown in this essay, the people of Anthem tried to create a utopia and ended up having problems as simple as the definition and views of morality mess them all
The city of Anthem is unlike anything seen in the modern world. Ayn Rand’s strange, futuristic society is seen by many as a place from the past. Though Anthem may begin out sounding like this, readers later find out that that this odd city is from the mysterious future. It is believed by the people of Anthem that in order to create a perfect world there can be no sort of ego. These people always use the word “we” instead of “I”. Citizens do not have distinct names so that no one is seen as better than another. One’s career is not chosen by the citizen, but by a council. Technology is only good enough to create candles. Even though the people of this twisted world are meant to be happy, many are not. The most …show more content…
One rule is that the people can never be selfish in what they do. “the word ‘selfishness’ is a synonym of evil; the image it conjures is of a murderous brute who tramples over piles of corpses to achieve his own ends . . .”(Novel & Works). Even though this is what most people imagine selfishness as being like, this is not the actual definition of the word. This is how Ayn Rand explains it: “This concept does not include a moral evaluation; it does not tell us whether concern with one’s own interests is good or evil”(Novel & Works). So, selfishness really just means that an individual is more concerned about their own problems more than others. Another rule and practice of the people of Anthem is that the word “WE” must replace the word “I”. “There is no crime punished by death in this world, save this one crime of speaking the Unspeakable Word”(Rand 49). The Unspeakable word is “I” because it shows one’s individuality which is considered evil. Equality 7-2521 believes that the word “WE” should never be spoken. “For the word “WE” must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought”(Rand 96). This is saying that an individual should use the word “I” more often than”WE” in order to show distinction from others. This concept also includes having distinct names, instead of a number like Equality 7-2521. Equality did not believe in these …show more content…
If a utopia is attempted to be created by imperfect beings, then a possible outcome would be to end up creating a dystopia where everyone is can not agree on the same principles as each other. One problem that would occur is argument on how to control certain things. Just like shown in this essay, the people of Anthem tried to create a utopia and ended up having problems as simple as the definition and views of morality mess them all