As people live, they change. The same can be said of society, and the standards that people hold. Change is inevitable. However, whether these changes are a progression or a step backwards will depend upon many elements. The most common consensus is that humans will develop positively, and even in many stories of dystopian or apocalyptic futures, there are signs that technology and understanding are very sophisticated. Anthem, a novella by Ayn Rand, is a complete subversion of the expected. A dystopian tale about a world under totalitarian rule, it sounds similar to many other novels with the same premise, but there is one element it does very differently and exceptionally well; its world, its society, and its understanding of human beings
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The protagonist of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality 7-2521, goes against the laws of his community and does acts found to be unthinkable by his peers and higher-ups. Among these acts are making technological advancements. While seemingly like mere child’s play to a modern day reader, the science that Equality figures out on his own is a marvel to him and a terrifying unknown to everyone else. Equality writes “This discovery haunted us. We followed it… for it defies all the laws known to men.” (Rand, pg. 53), in response to creating his own lightbulb. Soon after, he presents his invention to those in power, hoping to spread this light through the community and lead to greater developments for the people around him. Instead, those in power speak in rage to him, and drive Equality to leave and swear to eventually return and try to show knowledge to people once more. In response to the poor conditions of life and technology that Equality saw, he planned to improve those conditions to the way they should be, the conditions that contemporary 21st century society mostly has now. While the answer of “what is the best way to improve that society” is obvious to a reader, those in the work of fiction are clueless to the truth, which further enforces the facts and ideas of what conditions society must have and keep in order to truly be
The protagonist of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, Equality 7-2521, goes against the laws of his community and does acts found to be unthinkable by his peers and higher-ups. Among these acts are making technological advancements. While seemingly like mere child’s play to a modern day reader, the science that Equality figures out on his own is a marvel to him and a terrifying unknown to everyone else. Equality writes “This discovery haunted us. We followed it… for it defies all the laws known to men.” (Rand, pg. 53), in response to creating his own lightbulb. Soon after, he presents his invention to those in power, hoping to spread this light through the community and lead to greater developments for the people around him. Instead, those in power speak in rage to him, and drive Equality to leave and swear to eventually return and try to show knowledge to people once more. In response to the poor conditions of life and technology that Equality saw, he planned to improve those conditions to the way they should be, the conditions that contemporary 21st century society mostly has now. While the answer of “what is the best way to improve that society” is obvious to a reader, those in the work of fiction are clueless to the truth, which further enforces the facts and ideas of what conditions society must have and keep in order to truly be