Individuality is unique to everyone. It is the thing that distinguishes one from another of the same kind. It shows the quality of being one of a kind. Imagine one’s uniqueness being forbidden. The journey of a man without self love who learns that he is of much more importance than he is led to believe. Within the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand, she shows the struggles that the main character, Equality 7-2521, goes through to find his individuality in a society where thinking of oneself is sinful.
In the beginning of the novel it reveals a society, A place where one is not allowed to think of themselves. A place where names are given to the citizens because uniqueness is illegal, significant others are forbidden and self thought is practically prohibited. Equality 7-2521 sees himself as a criminal or a sinner. Not because he has broken a set in stone law, but because he likes being alone, writing, and just having personal preferences. It is considerably obvious from him expressing this:“It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon paper no others are to see” (Rand 17). The word ”cursed” is somewhat thrown around Equality. This is only because of his free minded thinking, an open, active, questioning mind that no one is supposed to have. Instead of being a community where this would appreciated, he is beaten by teachers and made a street sweeper. While cleaning a road at the edge of the City, Equality meets Liberty 5-3000, a 17-year-old Peasant girl who works in the fields. He commits another transgression by thinking constantly of her, instead of waiting to be assigned a woman at the “Time of Mating”. She has dark eyes and golden hair, and decides to call her, ‘The Golden One’. When he speaks to her, he realizes that she also thinks of him in the same way.
While reviving a frog with two wires, he discovers electricity. An extremely interesting way to come about this but it did in fact happen. With such great enthusiasm, he planned to approach the scholars. In his mind he believes that this miraculous breakthrough will outweigh his transgressions and be made a scholar himself. Unfortunately, he missed work. One absence from sweeping the dull streets gets Equality tossed into The Palace of Corrective detention. Fortunately, it is an easy escape. There were no guards because nobody has ever attempted to escape. The next day, he finally gets to present his discovery to The Scholars. Horrified that he has done unauthorized research, The Scholars say he must be punished. They want to destroy his discovery so it will not disrupt the plans of the World Council and the Department of Candles. Out of fear of punishment, he fled into the Uncharted Forest. Once he has broken from society, Equality 7-2521 finds a sense of vanity and pride. Something foreign to the society in which he is raised and, in so doing, he realizes his manhood. He sees himself as “damned” for leaving his brothers and sisters, he feels the freedom of being on his own: “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. That is freedom. This and nothing else” (Rand 53). He wanders the forest, he longs for The Golden One. Ironically, she shows up the next day. They live together in the forest and try to express their love for one another, but they cannot seem to find the words to speak of love as individuals.
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Equality and The Golden One stubble upon a house full of books. These Books finally taught him the word “I”. Equality 7-2521 suddenly realizes that he is the middle of his own universe, and the burden he has been fighting is, in reality, a blessing to be accepted . He realizes that he is an end in himself and that his joy is an enough reason to live. With this epiphany, one can see he is unafraid and singular, self-important and proud. He has discovered himself and become his own man. The importance of this word is told by the bolding of the letter in these words,“I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet” (Rand 91).With this amazing rediscovery of individuality, they give themselves new names from the books; Equality becomes ‘Prometheus’ and Liberty becomes ‘Gaea’. In renaming himself Prometheus, Equality 7-2521 shows that he identifies himself with the bringer of light, fire, and progress in Greek mythology. He considers himself a hero who, like Prometheus, must defy the conventions of his time.
With this piece of literature, one could experience our society through Ayn Rand’s eyes. She shows the journey of the main character finding his individuality in a society where thinking of oneself is sinful. Ayn Rand shows, through imagery, the struggle Equality 7-2521 is going through to find his singularity, the journey of a man without self love who learns that he is of much more importance than he is led to believe.
