Equality 7-2521 is a man who lives in a dystopian society. He is twenty-one years old, six feet tall, and lives with only men whom he calls his “brothers.” Equality 7-2521 refers to himself as “we,” or “us,” because it is wrong to have your own thoughts or personality. In their society, all men must be alike. He considers himself “cursed” because he is different than his brothers. He has his own thoughts and wishes that are forbidden. He has sinned by thinking and writing down his thoughts that no one else thinks. Equality 7-2521 has broken laws and committed crimes so terrible that there are no laws made against them. If he was ever found out, he would have to go to the Palace of Corrective Detention.
As a child growing up in the Home of the Students, Equality 7-2521 was lashed and punished for being smart and asking questions. He often asked questions and wondered about what the world was like before the Great Rebirth. It is forbidden to even question what the world used to be like during the Unmentionable Times, and of course, this interests Equality 7-2521. The author reveals that only the elderly who live in the Home of the Useless whisper about these times. During his childhood, the Home of the Students was not Equality 7-2521’s favorite place to be. Besides being punished by teachers, the building itself was very bland and had no personality. All of the beds were the same and the walls of the sleeping halls were blank and lifeless. Although it was a sin, Equality 7-2521 wanted to have his own identity, different from his brothers.
At the age of fifteen, the Council will decide a student’s “Life Mandates,” and chooses the work they will endure for the rest of their lives. Hoping to be able to ask questions and find answers to concepts he has always wondered, Equality 7-2521 is zealous about going to the Home of the Scholars. However, he was chosen to become a Street Sweeper instead. Equality 7-2521 did not want to be a Street Sweeper, but he chose to be happy and fulfill the Life Mandate the Council had given him. He knew he was guilty, and now he had an opportunity to erase the sins and crimes he had committed.
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In these first nine pages, I am enjoying the novel so far. I find it confusing how the author uses plural pronouns instead of singular. That must be significant for the society focusing on mankind instead of just man. I think it is interesting that in their society, all men must be alike, and already, I know that Equality 7-2521 is different. The point of view is first person because the narrator, Equality 7-2521, speaks by using pronouns such as “we” and “us.” Although he never uses the word “I,” the point of view of the story remains in first person. The diction used by the author can be seen on page 18. Ayn Rand writes, “We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall.”
This shows that their society is collectively oriented. I predict that he will not like his job as a street sweeper and try to get into the Home of the Scholars somehow. Besides Equality 7-2521, I have only been introduced to one other character, Union 5-3992. He is not as smart as Equality 7-2521, and did not think different thoughts like he did. I wouldn’t consider him a main character, but I can assume that he will become more significant, or I will meet a new character soon. The author did not say where the novel is located, but I know that it is in a dystopian society, and possibly set in the future. The “Unspeakable Times” could be the world today and their society just chooses not to speak about it.
During the first couple years of Equality 7-2521 being a Street Sweeper, nothing too eventful occurred. They followed the same schedule everyday. They would arise from their beds when the bell was rung in the morning, then eat breakfast in the dining hall. They would walk out of their gray house down the narrow street to the city where they would begin their duties for the day. They’d clean the streets with their brooms and rakes for five hours until their midday meal came. After going to work and returning home once more, the Street Sweepers would have one hour to get their dinner. Next, they would report to City Halls for the Social Meeting along with brothers from all Trades. From there, they would walk to the Home of the Actors for three hours of social recreation. Finally, they would return home to their sleeping quarters. Equality 7-2521 and the other brothers followed this same schedule for four years.
Once a man reaches the age of 40, they are considered an Old One and do not have to work anymore. One day, Equality 7-2521 made a discovery at the City Cesspool where they disposed of the Home of the Scholars discarded materials. He was with Union 5-3992 and International 4-8818 because Street Sweepers are found in brigades of three. International 4-8818 was not well liked in the home of the students because of his funny personality and the “laughter” in his eyes. He would always draw funny pictures out of coal on the walls, which was forbidden because only the Home of the Artists were able to draw pictures. At the City Cesspool, Equality 7-2521 saw an iron bar coming out from the weeds. He called for International 4-8818 to help him dig it out. The earth fell in and they saw an old grill over a black hole.
The Council didn’t know about the hole, so Equality 7-2521 tried to convince International 4-8818 that going down it was not forbidden, but he knew that everything not permitted by law was forbidden. Nonetheless, Equality 7-2521 climbed down the steps to see a great dark tunnel with iron tracks. He realized this tunnel was made by man, and must have been from Unmentionable Times. Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818 decide not to tell anyone about the tunnel, and say that they would rather die than share it with anyone. They stole candles from their home, and other tools and objects from the Home of the Scholars to furnish the tunnel.
I thought a very important part of this section was when the author mentioned what the Old Ones and the Ancient Ones do and how that could have been Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818’s lives but they committed the crime. I predict that they will be found out about the tunnel and International 4-8818 will regret his decision of choosing to be loyal to Equality 7-2521 over the Council. Also, I feel like Ayn Rand was foreshadowing when she mentioned that, “they are damned who touch things of the Unmentionable Times.” Because Equality 7-2521 has touched artifacts from these times, something bad will happen to him in the future. Plus, there must be some significance to Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818 choosing to die than sharing their secret tunnel. They both agreed that they would rather be evil than be good with the brothers and Council. International 4-8818 has become a main character and will go along with anything Equality 7-2521 says or does. The city of the story is still unknown, however as the reader, I know that the tunnel is behind the Home of the Actors and the ravine.
Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818 continue to go to the tunnel for the next two years. They steal manuscripts written by the Home of the Clerks from the Home of the Scholars. By reading these, they learned more than they did in the ten years they were in the Home of the Students. Although Equality 7-2521 and International 4-8818 had been sinning and committing so many crimes, they had no regret or shame for what they had done. They tried to convince themselves that they were traitors and wretches, but they did not even fear of what could happen to them due to their actions.
This tunnel acts as an asylum to Equality 7-2521, as believes that he is happy for the first time in twenty years. As a Street Sweeper, one of Equality 7-2521’s duties is to clean a great road winding off to the north. Just on the other side of this road is where the women of the Home of the Peasants work. Equality 7-2521 takes interest in one of these women, even though men are not allowed to speak of or to women. Her name is Liberty 5-3000, but Equality 7-2521 calls her “the Golden One,” because of her golden hair. It is a sin to give names to distinguish men from other men, but gives Liberty 5-3000 that nickname because he knows she is not like the others.
Equality 7-2521 looks at her almost everyday, and he believes that she looks at him, too. They even look straight into each other’s eyes without saying a word. The next day, Liberty 5-3000 smiles at Equality 7-2521, and from then on they begin gesturing and motioning to each other without talking. This is the first time Equality 7-2521 has felt emotions such as fear and pain. This new sin is causing Equality 7-2521 to break the Second Transgression of Preference, a law stating that individuals should not be chosen over one’s brothers. Since he saw Liberty 5-3000, he has not worried about his brothers at all.
One day, Equality 7-2521 intrepidly talks to Liberty 5-3000 for the first time. He tells her that he thinks that she is beautiful, and she responds by asking him his name. After their conversation, Equality 7-2521 begins to think that the earth is good and not a burden to live. He starts thinking about the Time of Mating: the only time a man may think of women. All men older than twenty and all women older than eighteen are sent to the City Palace of Meeting for one night. The Council of Eugenics assigns one man for every woman and vice versa. This disappoints Equality 7-2521 because Liberty 5-3000 tells him that she is seventeen. He plans to do whatever he can by being cogent to the Council so they will not send the Golden One to the Palace of Meeting.
In this section of the novel, I learned more about the setting. It isn’t specifically stated in what city it takes place, but I now know that the Home of the Street Sweepers is on the outskirts of the town, with a road leading from their city to the next. The fields in between the two cities is where the Home of the Peasants work, and the Street Sweepers must clean the road, so this is how Equality 7-2521 sees Liberty 5-3000 every day. I feel like Liberty 5-3000’s role as a character will become more important if she and Equality 7-2521 become better friends. I predict that he will either tell her about or show her his secret tunnel. Throughout the novel so far, Equality 7-2521 continues to refer to himself as “we” or “us” instead of “I” or “me.” This choice of diction shows that the society he lives in revolves more around them as a whole instead of him as an individual.
