The Theme Of Dystopian Society In Ayn Rand's 'Anthem'

The portrayal of a totalitarian world in the future is a common basis for a book. However, “Anthem,” by Ayn Rand, differs from most of the dystopian genre. Unlike the usual hovercrafts and artificial intelligence, the technology in “Anthem” is set back hundreds of years. The events of the book establish this deterioration as a comment on the conditions necessary for progress. Rand depicts a society operating under collectivism, defined by Merriam­Webster as “emphasis on [group] rather than individual action or identity,” which she implies is the opposite of what is ideal for growth. Throughout the book, the characters’ lifestyle is described, leaving the reader to make the connections to the poor state of science and technology under those circumstances.
Early in the book, freedom …show more content…
Do all your brothers think that?’ ‘No,’ we answered. ‘What is not thought by all men cannot be true,” said Collective 0­0009. ‘Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past,’ said Solidarity 8­1164, ‘but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas, as all men must.’” This event explains how previous inventors like the protagonist had been stifled by the enforcement of collective thought, leading to the society as a whole reverting back to primitive science. Additionally, Rand portrays the opposite of an ideal education system. Equality­72521 describes the restrictiveness in his education: “This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them.” By the end of the book, the protagonist has an epiphany in which he realizes the nature of scientific progress: “...Achievements... are open to me, but closed forever to my brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest ones among them... those eager to obey, eager to live for one another, since they had nothing else to vindicate