ANTHEM ESSAY CONTEST

A hell we never knew existed in our wildest imaginations - that's what best describes the dystopian
society set in the book Anthem by Ayn Rand. In this book, the word anthem can be seen with
different meanings which vary from the perspectives of the readers.

Collectivism and altruism were the two ideals that served as the base of the anthem of the
dystopian society in Rand’s novel. The collective society emphasises the idea that all individuals
need each other to thrive. It deprives the true meaning of altruism and makes harsh rules to which
the citizens are condemned. It curbs the individuality of the people and makes them feel sinful for
thinking individually. It turns living into a system, where one is born to learn, work, reproduce, and
die. It hides the truth about the Unmentionable Times when technology flourished but people did
not live by the “Great Truth” that “all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men
together.”Citing the discovery of making candles and glass the collective society is also far back to
the inventions that had been discovered during the Unmentionable Times.

In contradiction with the collective society, Equality 7-2521 sees objectivism and ego as his
anthem at the end of the story. Equality 7-2521 at the beginning of the novel, has a natural gift of
curiosity and a passion for scientific discovery which he considers a curse. He refers to himself as
showing the impact of the collective society on a person. After discovering electricity, he is very
much eager to show it to the Council of Scholars; however, after the Council decides to destroy his
invention he escapes into the Uncharted Forest. During the times he spent in the forest with The
Golden One ( Liberty 5-3000) he defied the rigid rules made by the collective society. Yet, as he
communicates with The Golden One using the pronoun” we” he yearns for a word to showcase his
individuality which he later discovers in the book.

Chapters 11 and 12 show the real ideas of the anthem in the novel. For the first time, Equality
7-252 narrates the story using the pronoun “ I”. “I am. I think. I will'' he writes as he understands
his individuality. He realises how he doesn't need to share his' 'treasures' ' with anyone.“I ask none
to live for me, nor do I live for any others.’’ he claims. He also adds that placing the collective
before an individual is a monstrous thing to do and claims that his route to fulfilment and God is
the word “I”.

When he discovered the word “I” in one of the books he had read he broke into tears, for
achieving salvation and to pity the rest of mankind who live in the collective society waiting to
break free. He realises how his “curse” was his greatest quality. He names himself Prometheus- the
Titan who was punished for stealing fire from the gods for mankind like how Equality -2521
discovered electricity defying the collective society. He sees ego as a word that would never die.
Ayn Rand tried to convey that it is truly one’s individualism and ego that is the anthem and
how one’s anthem should be celebrated and not suppressed by naming this book “Anthem”. This
can also be related to how the colonial rule had suppressed the native’s freedom of speech and
expression and how leaders like Prometheus rose in rebellion fighting for their independence. This
book also shows how no matter how hard mankind is suppressed from his individuality he will
break free. And how there is an Equality 7-2521 in everyone and it takes a true individual to find
him. This novel reminds us how life cannot be contained and how life breaks free.