Cato Institute

Equality vs. Society “True independence and freedom can only exist in doing what’s good”(Young). This quote states that you need independence and individuality to be good, and that is exactly what Equality demonstrates. Anthem was written in 1938 by Ayn Rand, who is from Saint Petersburg, Russia. Many novels first words have a huge impact on the entire story, this is especially true in the novella Anthem. “It is a sin to write this.” The opening line of Anthem suggests in the society, there is a…

“Anthem” by Ayn Rand is a book from the perspective of a character named Equality about a society where everyone that lives in it is completely equal. No one is aloud to think differently than each other or have unique thoughts or talents. There are multiple rules and controls in this dystopian society which everyone has to follow. These rules exist to keep everyone under control. The purpose of everyone in the society is to work until they die and repeat the cycle. To begin, there are many…

When it comes to writing novels, how does one decide on the name of the main character? The main character in Ayn Rand’s Anthem had two names. He starts off as Equality 7-2521, a name given to him by the society he lives in. The name represents one of the beliefs that the society worships. Later on, Equality 7-2521 renames himself “Prometheus”. Ayn Rand chose to name her character “Prometheus” because Equality and the Greek god, Prometheus, have numerous similarities. They both happen to be…

Anthem is a book about a controlled society written by Ayn Rand. Equality has to break free from a collective society with a controlling government. The society that Equality envisions creating at the end of the story is a society with a strong structure with heavy belief behind individualism and curiosity. A strong society with a strong structure is what Equality envisions. Growing up from birth in a controlling environment and escaping from it calls for a new society based on individualism.…

In the novel, Anthem by Ayn Rand authentic happiness is the one thing a person loves more than anything. The main character, Equality 7-2521 finds his happiness through the things he never thought he would. It shows that authentic happiness can appear in many different forms whether it was expected or not.This novella shows that true authentic happiness is discovering inner self, love, and freedom. Authentic happiness represents finding your true self and doing whatever it takes to get there.…

Well-known author Ayn Rand in her short novel Anthem introduces individualism in a post-apocalyptic world. Ayn’s purpose was to show how to be unique in an environment that is forced to be the same. She creates a tone of pity for most of the humans in the book while still showing respect to the two main characters. Likewise, English author E.M. Forster in his novella “The Machine Stops” uses futuristic ideas to portray a life unlike today’s world. Forster’s purpose was to show the harmful…

The rules in Anthem are very strict, but why do these rules exist in the first place? The book 'Anthem’ is written by Ayn Rand in 1937, first published in 1938 in the United Kingdom. Ayn Rand is very creative with coming up with a book that takes place in the unknown future, with Equality is being different than his brothers. The book itself is good, once you start reading the book you will suck into the imaginary world and you won’t be able to stop reading, at least that is how it was with me.…

Anthem by Ayn Rand tells the tale of a dystopian society in which people are to think only of others, and taught that people shouldn’t think of themselves, eliminating all personal pronouns. In this society people are not able to pick their own careers, and instead a group known as the Council of Vocations decides what a person’s career is going to be. In the novel Equality, the main protagonist is a fantastic student, who aims to learn as much as possible and wants to use his knowledge to…

In Ayn Rand’s fiction novella “Anthem”,the world is a dreaded dystopia of collectivism that labels all forms of individuality as sin which seems to resemble an exaggeration of socialism or communism. Members of this society are selfless. They’re told by their superiors that their only purpose in life is to toil for their fellow men. They should not have feelings or care about living but rather care about working for their fellow brothers in whatever way they can. They are forced into dismal and…

The book Anthem starts off with “It is a sin to write this”(1). However, is it really a sin? How can something so simple be a sin? The truth, is that it isn’t really a sin. Throughout the story Equality 7-2521 gains different moral views on the matter of his sins, and he has a different opinion about them. This eventual view that all of his sins were actually not sins is correct. We learn that Equality can be considered a sin himself, as it is a sin to be taller than your brethren, or be…