Leonard Hofstadter

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…

In the poem “The Lesson of the Moth,” both the moth and the cockroach have their own philosophies on how life should be lived. I believe in the moth’s philosophy. I believe beauty is everything. Like the moth, I would prefer to have a shorter life filled with beauty and happiness than to have a long life full of fear causing me to avoid everything and never being able to experience anything fun or getting to see true beauty. The moth lives an exciting and short life, and he was able to see what…

Virginia Woolf demonstrates the universal struggle between life and death in "The Death of the Moth". Observing the moth, Woolf sees that is trying to accomplish something unattainable by going into and out of a windowpane to get outside. Virginia Woolf sees the moth in another context that recognizes the moth not as insignificant and in demand of pity, but as a small creature of the world. The moth symbolizes the wonder of life and death by being used as an example of the simplicity of life,…

How would the world go if everyone were to listen to the rules and be exactly the same? Have no different thoughts and being involuntarily equal? Ayn Rand creates a world as if that was how we lived today in Anthem. Equality 7-2521 lives in a small city with rules undergoing almost everything. He has an insufficient job that the leaders expect him to learn nothing so he can not discover true reality and be individual from everyone else. Throughout the story he begins to disobey the rules and…

Anthem is a novella first envisioned as a play by Ayn Rand when she was a teenager living in the Soviet Union. The plot of Anthem revolves around Equality 7-2521, a young man living in a dystopian society in which there is neither individuality nor free thinking. Throughout Equality 7-2521’s life, they have always been different from their brother men, whether it be due to their abnormal height, or their thirst for knowledge. As they grew older, they find themselves committing many…

There are many societal ideals that influence individual behaviour. In our society, these may include peace, freedom, and equity. In Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem, the ideals that influence the protagonist are collectivism, equality, unity, liberty, and harmony, as seen in the naming of the characters. A societal ideal (in this instance collectivism) deeply affects every individual’s identity and purpose in life. Additionally, collectivism impedes the imagination and creativity of each individual.…

Some countries believe in communism. After all, it aims to make everything equal and fair. Despite of this, most of the world rejects this idea. In Anthem, by Ayn Rand, communism and collectivist societies are viewed as a terrible idea. Anthem explores what would happen if the idea of communism continued to grow. There would be no individualism in communist societies, because everyone should be equal. According to Anthem, communism and collectivist societies should be disapproved of because…

“All that is valuable in human society depends upon the opportunity for development accorded the individual”(Albert Einstein). In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, all that is valuable in human society is gone. What is left is a collectivist society that justifies, and keeps their power in dominating ways. With the overwhelming weight of this system, it is hard to imagine how the protagonist, Equality 7-2521, finds an out and a different way of living. Anthem shows a collectivist society that expresses only…

Anthem Essay In Anthem there are a lot of things that are misconstrued, including the wording in the book. Once you get past the wording it turns out to be a fantastic book. Ayn Rand has thought everything through and Anthem has been very well put together. Though, there are some questions that I have, and I am going to break the questions down. Equality 7-2521 is right about criticizing his leaders because there community is not natural and they need a change of environment. Equality is right…