Gesell Institute

The Japanese and Norwegian violation of the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC) moratorium on whaling are two distinct issues in my mind. In 1986 the IWC imposed a moratorium on whaling (IWC. n.d.) in order to protect the worldwide population of whales. I contend that the protection of whales, or any other species which are in danger of extinction is a positive and necessary step, but the protection of thriving species is unnecessary. Norway only allows whaling of minke whales (fisheries…

The song, “Viva la Vida”, by the British band Coldplay represents the beginning of the story, Anthem, by Ayn Rand and protagonist Equality 7-2521’s hopes to become a Scholar and the misery he faces with being chosen as a Street Sweeper. In the song, Equality says that everyone is else is equal besides “we, Equality 7-2521, who were born with a curse” (20). By aspiring to become a Scholar when he is fifteen, this future rebel desires to break his sui generis curse and start a new life. He…

When looking at today’s world, each individual has their own preferences and style, creating a diverse society in which no two people are exactly alike. In the opinion based society of today, it is difficult to visualize a world where nobody has originality and their own identity. Ayn Rand, however, illustrates a world where the individuality that is favoured in today’s society does not exist. Her novel, Anthem, focuses on the collectivist society that Equality 7-2521 lives in, in which there is…

Selfishness is the pursuit and maintenance of all “the values required for human survival” (Rand 31). In The Fountainhead, Ayn Rand uses the terms “selfishness” and “egotism” in distinctively different ways than most people commonly use those words. By redefining these terms, Rand is able to separate and classify her characters and people in general society, into what she considers to be two groups: first handers and second handers. The leading example of this, Howard Roark, is a struggling…

Anthem In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, the protagonist Equality is far from similar to his fellow brothers. The society in this setting wants everyone to believe that being the least bit divergent, the least bit uncommon is shameful. Throughout the novel Equality takes notice of the differences from him and his peers. At the Home of the Students Equality stood out for being too tall, too smart, asking to many questions, and daring to get into fights with his brothers. Equality could not…

Ayn Rand had written a story called Anthem as her way to warn that depending on others will be our downfall, but I disagree. Her ethical egoism outlooks on life is what drives her to believe that man should be self reliant, using others makes you a “looter,” and accusing conservatives of being, “Futile, impotent, and culturally dead,” (Ayn Rand’s Long Journey to the Heart of American Politics, paragraph 7). This idea is, to me, flawed because this country and it’s developments have come from…

‘’When there is, there is a way’’ The novel, Anthem, published in 1938 by Ayn Rand is set in the future when society is a communal dictatorship. Rand wrote this novel during the great purge in Russia. Anthem tells us our individuality is crucial. Ayn Rand wanted to show us how important that individuality is and what life can become without it. You may find yourself asking, ‘’what is society exactly about’’? This society basically enslaves the mind. It is illegal for them to do such actions.…

“It was when I read the first of the book I found In my house, that I saw the word I”(98). It was that moment that Equality 7-2521 realized that he knew and discovered freedom and the word “I”, Also characters in Ayn Rand’s Anthem and Kurt Vonnegut's “Harrison Bergeron” set their freedom and escape by going to journey and figuring out thing that they don't know about their society.The ways that their dystopian societies affected them on their escape is that first of all, their society is really…

Ayn Rand’s Anthem is a rebuttal of collectivism. The ideology of collectivism is heavily criticized in Rand’s novella where the oppression of an individual is summarized in the following statement, “What is not done collectively cannot be good” (Rand 73). Collectivity robs the people of their individuality and uniqueness, attributes that are disregarded in Anthem. The need for everything to be done collectively in order to be beneficial for the society is a fallacy. Reaching a full consensus…

In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, Equality 7-2521 is faced with a lots of problems. In the begining, Equality is living in a collectivist society, where morals dictate that any individual act is a sin and should be severely punished. But still Equality doesn’t like the life of togetherness, and as a result he wants individuality. As the story goes on, his morals begin to change from those he learned to ones he finds in his own mind. In his last journal he says that all the guilt and shame he felt…