Nathaniel Branden

enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. But he broke their chains” (Rand 101). This ongoing plight has carried humanity to where it is today: the pinnacle of our development and progress. Equality has chosen to walk a path of independence and personal growth. For society as a whole, following in Equality’s sizable footsteps would require humanity to be guided by a strong set of moral principles. Though art, culture, and science would undeniably flourish in a world of independent thinkers, it is impossible to ensure that every man has such noble and fruitful desires. Rand supports the concept of putting the self first, but emphasizes that this drive must be balanced by a strong moral code. In the Virtue of Selfishness, Rand and Branden state “It is only on the basis of rational selfishness—on the basis of justice—that men can be fit to live together in a free, peaceful, prosperous, benevolent, rational society” (28). With virtues such as honesty, justice, and integrity to serve as a personal compass, an inward focus can result in outward change that will improve society as a whole. If the world were populated with replicas of Equality, scientific discovery and technological progress would leap forward. Artists, free thinkers, and philosophers would quickly rise to power. In the absence of moral virtues, a society driven to pursue personal interests would rapidly disintegrate into chaos. The personal freedom and morality that are praised in Anthem are not the only…

Well, we could blame the coaches or the parents. Or we could place direct blame on the self-esteem movement of the 1980s. Nathaniel Branden, a psychotherapist and author, has written countless books on the power of self-esteem. Branden had a great impact on the self-esteem movement, which is slowly making our country soft. His view on self-esteem suggested that it is the single, most important facet of a person (Mohler). This self-esteem movement commenced the whole participation trophy craze.…

According to Nathaniel Branden, self-esteem is the disposition to experience oneself as being competent to cope with the basic challenges of life and being worthy of happiness. It is the confidence in the efficacy of the mind, ability to learn, appropriateness of the decisions and choices, and effectiveness of the response to change. Self-esteem is not a euphoria that may be temporarily induced by a drug or a compliment nor an illusion or hallucination. It is grounded in reality and built…

Honoring the Self: Self-Esteem and Personal Tranformation by Nathaniel Branden is exactly what a person would assume it to be: learning how to honor one’s self. It goes into great detail about self esteem; Branden describes self esteem to be the most important concept for a fulfilling life. There are three parts to the book: The Dynamics of Self-Esteem, The Struggle for Individuation, and Egoism. The first part is broken up into seven sections, with Branden going into detail about how self…

In the book Anthem by Ayn Rand, Equality 7-2521 is a young man who struggles to find ways to show his true self because he lives in a society based on conformity. Ayn Rand uses the symbols of the light bulb, the Uncharted Forest, and his new name to demonstrate the conflict of individuality versus conformity in order to demonstrate the importance of individuality and self-discovery. Thus, through the use of these symbols, Ayn Rand is able to integrate the theme of individuality versus conformity…

B.Z. Smith AP Lang 1 Feb. 2013 Videogames and Violence In today’s society, the vast majority of adolescents spend their free time indoors. Many of those hours are enjoyed playing video games, a habit which teenagers will never hear the end of from their parents. “These games will ruin you”, they say, “It makes you angry and violent”, they say, but does it really? Media often portrays videogames as detrimental to mental health, and this topic is especially scrutinized today because of the…

“Young Goodman Brown” is the story of a young man’s adventure through the forest, which, when examined contextually, is actually a disturbing criticism of Puritan morality. In the short story “Young Goodman Brown”, the author Nathaniel Hawthorne uses symbolism with the names of Goodman Brown and his wife Faith to assess the necessity of faith in the lives of religious men and the importance of faith in maintaining one’s trust of God’s goodness. Hawthorne’s use of name symbolism in “Young Goodman…

While reading The Scarlet Letter, I was introduced to many characters such as Hester Prynne, Arthur Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth, and Pearl Prynne. Of all the main characters in the story, the person I most empathize with is Pearl. Even though Pearl is a little girl, I can understand, in a way, what she is going through. Throughout the beginning of the story, she has no idea who her father is. While I have known my father for my whole life i have known of people who have never met…

Young Goodman Brown: Dancing with the Devil Suppose a person was given the opportunity to do something they have always had wanted to do, and no one would find out. Would they, even though they knew it was wrong? The idea of good verses evil is a common controversy found in literature because it is a relatable conflict of wanting to do something even though it is the wrong thing to do. In the story, “Young Goodman Brown,” author Nathaniel Hawthorne writes about Goodman Brown, a Christian man…

The most important part of any story is the plot, but what is the most important part of the plot? As shown in The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the characters are what drives the plot. Characters can drive the plot in a couple of ways that can be shown with The Scarlet Letter; they can be symbols, they can be used to show aspects of the plot in a more visual and less abstract way, and they will physically move the plot forward. Without the characters there is no plot and so by…