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Essay / Tyrannical Government: The Cause of Family Influence in Anthem
When tyrannical governments rule corporations, they must eradicate possible threats to their power at all costs in order to stay in power. The underlying dangers to the power of these governments can be as common as the relationships between families within society, which authoritarian power must take significant steps to suppress. In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand tells the story of Equality 7-2521, a man living in a totalitarian society that separates children from their parents at birth and prevents any relationships significantly close to family ties from forming. Despite these conditions, Equality builds relationships that challenge government ideas and further affirms why tyrannical leaders in power would wish to isolate citizens from forming relationships or family ties. In the book Anthem, Ayn Rand argues that a dictatorial ruler would impose an isolated lifestyle in order to instill his laws in citizens from an early age in order to avoid a decline in zeal for government and, ultimately, to prevent the formation of a single identity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, in the novel, Rand demonstrates how totalitarian societies separate children from their families in order to raise them according to their own principles. Specifically, when Equality 7-2521 was born, he and all other children his age were immediately taken to the Infants' Home and raised by teachers who harshly enforced the Council's morality. Growing up with the teachers was difficult for Equality due to his inability to blend in with the other children, which earned him additional punishment. He describes, “we were whipped more often than all the other children” (Rand 22). Equality was castigated more frequently than others due to his inability to put himself down and behave identically to his peers. The teachers who raised him were easily able to identify that he was an exception whose behavior would be problematic to the ideals of their society, so they found it necessary to reprimand him cruelly. Equality's frequent lashings demonstrate that when a person's behavior is closely monitored, it is easier to identify flaws that need to be corrected to adhere to a certain ideal. Later, Equality develops the principles that have been instilled in him since his birth. He said: “If your fellow human beings do not need you, there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies. “We knew it well, in the years of our childhood” (Rand 22). Equality shows that he understands and knows this principle of the Council and teachers very well. When he was young, he was constantly reminded that his existence was meaningless if not for the greater good of society. Through Equality's deep understanding of the Council's principles, even at a young age, he demonstrates how, when a person is raised by an authoritarian authority, they are given a solid foundation of the rules and what is expected of her. Later in the book, Ayn Rand shows how dictatorial leaders choose to isolate people from their relationships to prevent a decline in fanaticism toward government. Specifically, the relationship preference that Equality 7-2521 forms with International 4-8818 and Liberty 5-3000 poses a threat to the power of the totalitarian society in which he lives. When Equality describes his first friendship with International 4-8818, he portrays it negatively: "it is the great transgression of preference to love one.