Anthem is a dystopian novel that exemplifies the need for one’s self to be individualized. I was first required to read this book in the ninth grade and at the time I wasn’t that much of a fan, however, I recently reread this novel and found it much more enlightening. The story follows Equality 7-2521 in journal form as he struggles against the tyrant society that looks to control every aspect of the people’s lives and his curiosity that drives the internal conflict of wanting to know his place in the world. As Equality 7-2521 learns what it means to be a man separate from the society that held him, prisoner, for so long, this deep philosophical book will have you questioning what it means to be yourself. The book itself is short and sweet but has a great plot that clearly conveys the philosophy that the “ego” is what makes a person an individual due to its ability to categorize our emotions and esteem as being a part of our own selves rather than being a part of a collective mindset.
In all, Anthem by Ayn Rand is a great book for those that are searching for what makes them a person on their own and a good book to read in general. It questions if you are a leader or follower in a parable that makes it easy to understand. This book was meant to teach anyone willing to look in between the lines to figure out the subtle meanings Ayn Rand strategically placed there (and not to ninth-grade students just worried about how to get a good grade). Read my synopsis of the book below or copies of Anthem by Ayn Rand can be found here
Character list
- Equality 7-2521: Our main protagonist that believes he has a curse due to his need to discover and be curious. Nicknamed “The Unconquered” by Liberty 5-300 and later is renamed Prometheus.
- Union 5-3992: A pasty dolt that succumbs to convulsions, he works on the street sweeper team with Equality 7-2521.
- International 4-8818: An artistic character that works with Equality 7-2521 on the street sweeper team and is a friend to Equality 7-2521
- Liberty 5-3000: The love interest of Equality 7-2521 that works as a “seed sower”. She has a harsh face that goes against what Equality 7-2521 has always been taught. Nicknamed “The Golden One” by Equality 7-2521 and later renamed Gaea.
- Fraternity 2-5503 & Solidarity 9-6347: Irregular citizens in the society, Fraternity 2-5503 randomly cries and Solidarity 9-6347 screams “help us” their sleep.
- Collective 0-0009: Oldest and wisest in the Council of Scholars
- The Saint of the Pyre/ The Transgressor: One that had his tongue ripped out and was burned to death in front of everyone for speaking the Unspeakable word.
- Evil ones: Those that fought against the Great Rebirth
- Old Ones~ People ages 40 and above who are no longer fit to work and live in the House of the Useless and are allowed to talk about the times before the “Great Rebirth” without fear of being punishment.
- Ancient Ones~People above the age of 45 that live in the House of the Useless.
- The World Council~ To be seen as the rulers of the world, they have the ultimate decision over everyone. To be on the World Council is seen as a high honor and the council is seen as the voice of truth.
- Council of Vocations~ Council that decides the jobs of others
- The Council of the Home~ Look after those in those in the House of Infants
- The Council of Scholars~ scientist and inventors that make discoveries about the world
Settings list
- Home of the Street Sweepers~ Where the street sweepers live.
- Palace of Corrective Detention~ The jail where people go to serve out sentences.
- Palace of the World Council- Were the World Council lives.
- Home of Infants~ Where children live until age five.
- Home of the Students~ where children go to live after turning five to study for ten years.
- Home of the Scholars~ where the Council of Scholars live.
- Palace of Mating~ where men over the age of twenty and women over the age of eighteen go for one night in the spring. Children are born in the winter
- The Uncharted forest- a forest that has yet to be explored by the new society, it is forbidden to enter, this is where Equality 7-2521 escapes to with Liberty 5-3000
Synopsis (From my understanding of the book/Opinion)
Equality 7-2521 believes himself to be a sinner due to the “curses” that have followed him all of his life. What are these curses you ask? Well, Equality 7-2521 believes that anything that makes him stand out from the society in which he lives, a society that values the word “We” as a way to equalize everyone. So, to Equality 7-2521, he was cursed with his height which made him quite literally stand out in the crowd and curiosity which availed him to discover and explore new things. It was noted that Equality 7-2521 had a mind that wanted to see and know the unknown and so he was given his life task to be a street sweeper. This twist surprised me the first time I read it but can be understood if you think about it a little more. To illuminate, Equality 7-2521 always wanted to know the unknown and in a society in which everyone was supposed to be the same (same brain capacity, same ambitions, same train of thoughts) if you have one person making all of the discoveries people would begin to question why one person could uncover what so many more people couldn’t do, furthermore, the more advanced the society became the harder it would be to control. And so Equality 7-2521 was placed in the Home of the Street sweepers where it becomes clear that my hypothesis was correct as he was placed with the artistic deviant International 4-8818 and brainless Union 5-3992. Fortunately, Equality 7-2521 was happy to do the job of a street sweeper because it allowed him to atone for his sins, such as wondering about more than his teachers taught him and having a preference of which job he wanted to do.
One day, while he was returning from street sweeping, Equality 7-2521 stumbled across an abandoned subway (presumably from the Unmentionable Times) with his unspoken friend International 4-8818. International 4-8818 promises not to tell the council and let Equality 7-2521 have the subway to himself. The Subway becomes likened to a lair for Equality 7-2521, a base of operations if you will, and Equality 7-2521 begins to steal anything from candles to full manuscripts for research supplies and felt no shame about it because he felt that it was his purpose in life.
The subway wasn’t the only thing that Equality 7-2521 discovered while street sweeping. Liberty 5-3000 works as a soil worker or farmer, and while Equality 7-2521 was walking by he saw her and instantly was caught up in the look of her, her harsh face proved that she too wasn’t conformed to the beliefs of the society they lived in. Every day they got closer and spoke a little to each other and Equality 7-2521 began to call her the Golden One (yes, she was a blonde but there is some symbolism in that) while she began to call him The Unconquered in her mind. The Forbidden love sparks something in Equality 7-2521 and he begins a dangerous chain of thoughts about the Evil Ones and the Uncharted Forest until he remembers a Transgressor that dared to utter the Unspeakable word and was burned on a pyre for everyone to see.
Deep in the abandoned subway Equality 7-2521 discovers the power of electricity and, using copper wires and glass, crafted a Light Box that could generate electricity on it’s own. Equality 7-2521 decides to tell the World Council of Scholars about his discovery. Unfortunately, Equality 7-2521 is caught staying out late and, after refusing to tell where he has been, is lashed and thrown in jail. Not wanting to miss the World Council of Scholars, Equality 7-2521 escapes from his cell and brings the light box to the World Council of Scholars thinking that they would find his invention great and forgive him of his sins.
The World Council of Scholars condemns Equality 7-2521 for creating the box alone and calls it useless, so, once again, Equality 7-2521 finds himself escaping and running for his life. Equality 7-2521 flees to the Uncharted Forest and there walked until hearing the steps of the Golden One, who confesses to following him after hearing that he escaped, and together they walk until seeing an abandoned cabin. Liberty 5-3000 admits to being in love with Equality 7-2521 without knowing the words to say and they begin a life together.
Sometime later, Equality 7-2521 is reading a manuscript and, upon discovering the word “I”, weeps at the ownership that had been denied to him his entire life. Together Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 come up with new names for themselves (Equality 7-2521 would take the name Prometheus, and Liberty 5-3000 would take the name Gaea) and decide that they will create a new world in which everyone (including their child) will know the word “I” and their friends that had been oppressed would live with them. The novel ends with Prometheus finally figuring out that sacred, Unspeakable word: Ego.
Personally when I read the unspeakable word I was extremely confused and angry due to the suspense build-up and the negative connotation associated that goes along with the word ego. I was thinking of ego in way of arrogance but that’s not exactly what I think Ayn Rand was trying to hit at here. The ego is our self-esteem, but also it’s what makes us who we are. The Ego in psychology is the part of the mind (unconscious and conscious) that gives us our own personal identity away from everyone else. So Anthem is the ode to having an ego that makes us different than the herd that we sometimes find ourselves in.
The Light Box 