FREE ESSAY ON ANTHEM BY AYN RAND

ANTHEM BY AYN RAND

Anthem by Ayn Rand
The novel Anthem by Ayn Rand tells the story of Equality 7-2521, an individual living in
a communal society devoid of human individuality. In a future where there is no love, no
science, and everyone is equal and of one entity, one man defies the group to be his own
person. "I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to
live for me, nor do I live for any others. I cover no man's soul, nor is my soul theirs
to cover." (Rand 96)[Antimetabole]Equality 7-2521 began his life in the Home of Infants
and was educated in the Home of Students. He had a keen mind and excelled at his
schoolwork; however, he was punished for his achievements because to be in any way
superior to others was considered evil. Equality's hope was to be made a Scholar by the
Council of Vocations, but when he reached the age of fifteen, the council assigned him to
the profession of Street Sweeper. Equality accepted this as his punishment for desiring
one profession over another. 
Equality worked with the street sweepers until, while working one day, he found an
underground tunnel. He spend large amounts of time in his tunnel studying stolen
manuscripts and learning about an individualistic society that had obviously disappeared.
Equality's discovery of electricity becomes a revolutionary concept in his and the
Council of Scholar's minds. When Equality took his discoveries to the World Council of
Scholars, the Scholars rejected them because they had not been generated by the group.
Equality fled and ran into the Uncharted Forest where he found Liberty 5-3000. Together,
they found a house in the forest and settled there. Through reading books he found in the
house, Equality rediscovered a great lost word: I. Perhaps promoted by these new ideas,
Equality violated the conventions of his culture and fell in love with Liberty 5-3000. To
show preference for one person over another was a grave transgression, for only those
ideas, values, and feelings held by everyone were valid. With their newly found
individuality, Equality and Liberty took the names Prometheus and Gaea. They found a home
and Prometheus vowed that he would keep it just for them and not share it with anyone
else. He built an electric fence to keep others away. Rand portrays this as a perfectly
appropriate, even heroic action. In her view, this kind of selfishness is essential if
anyone is to be happy. When people have to live in large dormitories because it is for
the greater good of all, everyone is miserable.
In Equality's world, the individual had been destroyed, leaving only the lumbering
"group." Throughout the book, the reader becomes aware of the striking absence of
1st-person pronouns-everything is "we" and "our" instead of "I" and "my." Individuals are
even stripped of personal names and left with the gift of common names followed by
numbers (Equality 7-2521, International 4-8818, Union 5-3992, Solidarity 9-6347, Liberty
5-3000). Once Equality sheds this "nameber" and chooses his own name, Prometheus, he has
become an individual, thus breaking away from the oppressive group. This is proven when
Equality declares "Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am
not a tool for their use. I am not a servent of their needs. I am not a bandage for their
wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars. I am a man. This miracle of me is mine to
own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before!" (95)
[Anaphora] A man needs his brothers to free him from his fears. A brother needs a man to
free him from his guilt. [Antimetabole] The common names, incidentally, are another jab
at communal societies. "Equality" implies that all men in the group-centered society are
equal. "International" implies the cooperation of many different groups of people, when,
in the reality Rand presents, all people (regardless of ability) are lumped together and
are drawn upon at random. 
In addition to non-personal nomenclature, repercussions of communal living are also seen
in other areas of society. In Anthem, education promotes not excellence, but mediocrity.
Through her exploration of Equality's world in Anthem, Rand criticizes and comments upon
many social issues. Such commentary may relate to the occurrences in the late Twentieth
Century. The apparent theme of individuality within Anthem applies itself naturally to a
number of issues, with a direct example involving contemporary education. While in the
Home of the Students, Equality's direct statement that "We...were not happy in those
years in the Home of the Students. It was not that the learning was too hard for us. It
was that the learning was too easy" (21) casts a negative light upon the educational
system of Rand's time, as well as the current educational system. Additionally, the
clause, "This is a great sin, to be born with a head that is too quick" (21) illustrates
the idea that the school systems, by placing too heavy of a focus upon those needing
assistance, inevitably draw down those with a higher intelligence because of negligence.
If a student falls behind, that student is worked with in order to bring him/her up to
the other students' level. However, should a student begin to excel (as Equality did),
that student is harshly disciplined. Equality was taught that "it is not good to be
different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them" (21). 
With the decline in education and the practice of seemingly random job-assignments,
technology has stagnated, and much of it has been lost. Fundamentally, this goes to prove
that without the creativity and innovation of individuals, nothing will ever improve.
This is exemplified by Equality's rediscovery of electricity and the rather militant
reaction incurred therein by the ruling class. Through this, Rand is conveying the
message that, in a group-oriented society, there is no motivation to innovate, to create,
to improve-only to BE and to do what is expected. [Anaphora] After all, one would not
want to be better than one's brother.