Anthem By Ayn Rand

A stunning and brilliantly realized future world in which individuality has been crushed is the theme of Ayn Rand's bestselling masterpiece, "Anthem". Rand presents her tale of a man who dares to make individual choices, to seek knowledge in a dark age, to love the woman of his choice. In a society in which people have no name, no independence, and no values, he is hunted for the unpardonable crime: having the courage to stand above the crowd.

ANTHEM is a moving novel that makes you think about everything around you. Ayn Rand shows the reader a completely different world. That doesn't know the word I they only know we and they always think of the greater good. It especially makes you think about your freedoms and rights. Equality 7-2521 is an example of a person without rights or freedom in a world where everyone is equal and a few select people are allowed to think and use their creativity.

The setting in the novel is in a world where there is no technology. Equality is a street sweeper who isn't allowed to you his intellectual abilities. When cleaning one day Equality finds a tunnel and in this tunnel are a light bulb and a circuit breaker which have electricity. Equality then feels like he has discovered something that the world has never known about. Ayn Rand uses this because it is the privilege in which we take most advantage of and she shows use a world without electricity. Can you imagine a world without electricity? No computer, television, air conditioning, and most importantly no lights. Just like in the novel where they have no lights instead they use candles because in their society lights are banned.

Another event that changes the story is when Equality and the Golden One (the girl he falls in love with) find the vacant house in the Forbidden Forest. This house is special to the story because it is filled with modern day amenities such as lights, beds, bathrooms, and other things that we take for granted. The largest impact of this house is that she points out the flaws of society and how we have so much that we don't need or even waste. But in the house Equality finds things that are left from the society that we have today and he learns to be able to think and try things and even have ideas of his own.

When Equality is reading a book in the house he finds a word that he had never heard or seen before and it's the word I. Which to us doesn't seem like much but in a world where there is no "I" and everything is "we" it is a big deal.

After learning this word he starts to realize its power and how it helps people and life grow, so he decides to start a new life with the Golden One and in this new society everyone will know the power of the word I.