Allyson OGrady Essays - Literature, Fiction, Philosophy

Allyson O'Grady Mrs. Huyghe Honors English/Literary Analysis 29 August 2017 Individuality In 2017, we live in a society where individuality is what makes a person unique. They can dress to their own likings, listen to whatever music they enjoy, and in general just do things for themselves. Although modern day society can enjoy this luxury, the hardship and troubles of the lack of individuality are brought to life in " Anthem " by Ayn Rand . The main protagonist, Equality 7-2521, perseveres thr ough hardships relating to the main theme of individuality in a society where no one is an individual . In the novella "Anthem" by Ayn Rand, the theme of individuality is expressed throughout the plot, characters, and point of view. The plot showsEquality 7-2521'sevolution from a brainwashed man who is almost identical to his peers to a self-sufficient, creative, and powerful man who eventually creates his own society. It was shown at the beginning of the book that Equality was viewed as someone different. He "tried to forget his lessons, but we always remembered" (Rand 4). This immediately hints at his individuality and shows that he is different than others. Even though his original society discourages it, Equality 7-2521 gradually begins to act more and more in his own self-interest, instead of listening to the demands imposed upon him. At first, pursuing his passion for scientific discovery registers to Equality 7-2521 as an "evil" (Rand 28) act, but he learns to feel unashamed of his strength and slowly begins to develop as an individual towards the end of the book. Throughout the novella, Equality 7-2521 refers to himself using the first-person plural "we", showing that the government has stripped the i dea of being a "self". As Equality 7-2521 begins to progress, he eventually begins to grasp the concept of the "I," and feels "torn, torn for some word we could not find" (Rand 65). Although Equality 7-2521 is that main protagonist and faces many of the challenges alone, he was befriended by a "golden sun" (Rand 17) named Liberty 5-3000. One of the first encounters that the reader experiences where Equality 7-2521 shows his hidden individuality is when he describes his love for Liberty 5-3000. Despite the law stating that "men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men" (Rand 17), Equality 7-2521 stated that "we think of one among women, they whose name is Liberty 5-3000, and we think of no others" (Rand 17). Not only did Equality 7-2521 break the law by thinking of another woman the way that he did, but he also showed his individuality by expressing his feelings to her and calling her "the dearest one" (Rand 30). Since these two characters began to create a close friendship, they eventually fell in love, but never knew how to express it. Towards the end of the book, both Liberty and Equality totally threw away their old life and began making a new one. After finding book written before the Great Rebirth, they both said "I love you" (Rand 69). This shows that these two protagonists were able to declare their love for one singular person and were able to be loved as an individual The main struggle that most readers can agree on about reading the book is the point of view. Although it was a struggle, it expressed that idea that no one was considered an individual in the society that Equality and Liberty lived in. Instead of using "I", Rand used "we". Instead of using "my", Rand used "our". It was used like this because using singular words was considered to be "selfish" (Rand 3). In fact, what may be the most important moment in the book happens when the narrator finally switches from "we" to "I" at the start of Chapter 11. Equality begins by saying words such as "my hands my spirit my sky... this earth of mine" (Rand 65). The change from plural to a singular choice of words is probably the main source of the theme of individuality. No other people except Equality and Liberty decided to use these words because they wanted to be their own people. They wanted to