ANTHEM by Ayn Rand
Imagine yourself in a future where individuality has been eliminated Imagine yourself in a future where individuality has been eliminated. Every human being exists only to serve the greater collective of mankind: the "great WE." You have no say over how you live, who you spend time with, what you study, or what job you get. You can't smile or laugh without reason. Every hour of the day is scheduled, managed, and policed by society. You're never allowed to be alone. And you're never, ever allowed to use the word "I," which means that you're always stuck using the royal "we." Yes, this is the world you'll find yourself in if you read Anthem. Does it sound like a nightmare? It's meant to be. But the frightening thing is that, according to Ayn Rand, we're getting closer to that world every day.
Anthem by Ayn Rand Anthem is a novella (shorter than a novel; longer than a short story) Written in 1937 It’s a work of dystopian literature that depicts an oppressive society you'd never want to live in. Like the Divergent and Hunger Games. In the society Rand portrays in Anthem, individuality has been completely erased right down to the first-person singular (the characters say "we" instead of "I"). Rand intended Anthem to be a scathing critique of collectivism, which can be defined as any philosophy that puts the needs of a collective society above the needs of individuals.
Meet the Author: Ayn Rand A controversial novelist It's no big surprise Rand hated collectivism so much – the real life version of it that she experienced scarred her for life. Rand was born in Russia in 1905, to a fairly well-off, intellectual Jewish family (her father was a chemist and pharmacist). At age twelve, she witnessed the Russian Revolution, in which the communists (most definitely "collectivists") took over the county and began to "expropriate" (forcefully take away) property from the rich in the name of "the people" and "the proletariat" (the poor, working class). Rand's family lost almost everything to the government, including their pharmacy, and Rand herself was later almost expelled from the university for not being "proletarian" enough (that is, not enough like your average member of the working class). As a result, Rand developed her own unique brand of philosophy called egoism, centered on the idea that an individual should act "selfishly" – that is, act mostly, or only, to promote his or her own happiness.
Literary Elements Theme: The main idea; what is the author really trying to tell/teach us. Symbol: Physical objects that represent something beyond themselves Trigger: Event that spurs the would-be hero into action, beginning the Rite of Passage. Moment of Insight: The character comes to an important realization about himself or his situation or the world around him. Rite of Passage: Journey to become a hero by separating from society and overcoming obstacles. Success = Survival Failure = Death.
Themes to look for… Freedom vs. Confinement Individual Identity Individual Happiness Love Loyalty
Bell Work 2.3 DIRECTIONS: Using the “It’s a RACE” formula, respond to the following prompt in a well-developed paragraph: Create a definition for the word “Equality.” What does it mean to be equal? Does equality exist today? Explain.
Bell Work 2.4 DIRECTIONS: List what literary devices (your vocabulary words) are being used in each quote from Anthem. “We blew out the candle. Darkness swallowed us. There was nothing left around us, save night and a thin thread of flame in it, as a crack in the wall of a prison” (Rand 57-58). “But International 48818 are different. They are a tall, strong youth and their eyes are like fireflies…” (29). “And questions give us no rest. It whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, and that we can know them if we try” (24). “[Liberty’s] body was straight and thin as a blade of iron… Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it. They threw seeds from their hand as if they deigned to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was a beggar under their feet” (38).
Bell Work 2.5 Ayn Rand said, “Accept the fact that achievement of our happiness is the only moral purpose of your life, and that happiness—not pain or self-indulgence—is the proof of your moral integrity, since it is the proof and result of your loyalty to the achievement of your values.” Do you agree or disagree? Why? Or in other words, is Anthem convincing in its attempt to present the human ego (individual happiness) as an object worthy of reverence? Using the “It’s a RACE” formula, respond in a well-developed paragraph.