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  • Essay / The Growth of Equality from Zero to Hero in Ayn Rand's "Anthem"

    Imagine a world where everything and everyone is the same, a world where there is no freedom to make your own visions or to live your own decisions. This is the cruel reality of equality. Anthem is a dystopian novel written by Ayn Rand that teaches the importance of individuality and self-deficiency. “Simple” It takes place in the distant future where humanity seems to have entered a dark age. When a man named Equality breaks the most forbidden law. Equality begins as guilty, but after a stage of despair, he becomes self-confident, which reflects Rand's message about individuality. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay At the beginning of Anthem, Equality is a guilty and curious character. He speaks to himself in a cave saying "...there is no blacker transgression than to do or think alone...that we may be forgiven." The guilt of equality emerges through Rand's language. Equality's choice of the words "transgression" and "forgiven" indicates a feeling of guilt so deep that it is almost a religious experience. Additionally, his images describing his sins as “black” show the deep sadness he has in his soul. Furthermore, equality is a curiosity. As Equality finished his work as a street sweeper, he discovered a tunnel. Trying to entice International to enter, he said: "'We will come down,' we told International 4-8818... 'It's forbidden,' they said... But we said, 'We will go anyway' ". Readers can easily recognize Equality's curiosity about this part of the text, as International's use of a short, direct response indicates a sense of urgency and concern over Equality's decision to go to against the law. Additionally, Equality's repetition of the words "we're going" indicated his determination as well as a slight sense of rebellion against the council's rules. Instead of cowering at this new discovery, Equality ignores all the rules and sets out to explore the tunnel. Creating Equality with guilt and curiosity at the beginning of the novel sets the stage for Equality's transformation into an individual and breaking down the barrier that is his society. As Equality develops, he begins to show traits of desperation and protectiveness. As Equality reflects on his childhood, he realizes that he has always been different. Fearing this fact, he said: "We are born with a curse...we know we are evil, but there is no will in us and no power to resist it." Readers can easily recognize Equality's desperation in this part of the text, as Equality's choice of the words "curse" and "evil" to describe their differences indicates a deep sense of despair. Furthermore, he is miserable enough to say "there is no will in us", as if he has given up and accepted that he may never be like everyone else. Furthermore, equality is protective. Equality is sitting alone in the tunnel when he discovers the power of electricity. 'Complex' Fearing the council will take away this power, Equality says: "Now let's be whipped for this, if we have to." In difficult times, Equality became persistent and devoted himself entirely to keeping his discovery safe from anyone who could take it away from him. Additionally, Equality even goes so far as to say "let's be whipped", indicating that he is willing to be punished if it means his discovery can be protected. Equality develops traits of desperation and protectiveness which may reflect the fact that even in a society where all hope for the future is lost, Equality is still ready to..