Terri Brunt

recorder: Val Harpster

June 28, 2001

Anthem, by Ayn Rand

The story is set in a future world where society has collapsed, and the population lives in a technologically inferior communal village. No longer identified by individual names, unable to live with their families, and having their life professions chosen for them by the Council of Vocations, all people were no longer their own masters. Individuals were sent to the Home of Students until age fifteen. At that point, a governing council selected each person’s line of work, and only the select few were allowed to continue an education. Those who offended the elders were given the worst occupations. The main character, Equality 7-2521, dared to question authority by expressing his desire to become a scientist, and for doing so, was sent to the Home of the Street Sweepers. After all, the job was important to his "Brothers" and that was all that mattered.

Equality 7-2521 found a tunnel in a field left from the Unmentionable Times, the previous technologically advanced society. It is in this tunnel that Equality 7-2521 discovers his inner gift of creation. At the same time, he meets and secretly falls in love with "The Golden One," a female working in the fields for her "Sisters." Love was not accepted.

Equality 7-2521 uses trash discarded by the House of Scholars to develop his "glass box", thinking it would be his ticket away from the Street Sweepers and on to the Scholars. Instead, he was reprimanded and scheduled to go before the World Council for punishment. This glass box contains the mechanism for creating electricity, and electricity would destroy their world by making the candle makers obsolete.

Equality 7-2521 runs away to the Unchartered Forest to escape, where the Golden One follows him. They pass through the woods to a house left behind from the Unmentionable Times. It is here that Equality 7-2521 discovers the forbidden: himself as an individual. He reads the books long left over and realizes that he has found his own Utopia. He is his own master. He controls his destiny.

1. How can a society that encourages individuality and personal success fall to the level of that in this novel? Could a war cause it, as is described in the book? Could its people be enticed to follow like lemmings, or would some incredible force be required?
2. What evidence, if any, do you see in our society that may lead people to allow themselves to be completely controlled by the government and punished for individualistic thinking?
3. How do you think a society falls like this?
4. How would the destruction of the family unit contribute to the destruction of individualistic thinkers?
5. What groups, due to a fear that their personal outcomes would be negatively affected, oppose technological advancements that would benefit society?

Memorable because Equality 7-2521 knows what he is doing is against all of his teachings, but he bucks the system he has always known:

It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven! (Anthem, p17).

We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike. Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there are words cut in the marble, which we repeat to ourselves whenever we are tempted:

"WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT WE, ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER."

We repeat this to ourselves, but it helps us not (Anthem, p. 19).

"Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past," said Solidarity 8-1164, "but when the majority of their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas, as all men must."

"This box is useless," said Alliance 6-7349.

"Should it be what they claim of it," said Harmony 9-2642, "then it would bring ruin to the Department of Candles. The Candle is a great boon to mankind, as approved by all men. Therefore it cannot be destroyed by the whim of one."

"This would wreck the Plans of the World Council," said Unanimity 2-9913, "and without the Plans of the World Council the sun cannot rise. It took fifty years to secure the approval of all the Councils for the Candle, and to decide upon the number needed, and to re-fit the Plans so as to make candles instead of torches. This touched upon thousands and thousands of men working in scores of States. We cannot alter the Plans again so soon."

"And if this should lighten the toil of men," said Similarity 5-0306, "then it is a great evil, for men have no cause to exist save in toiling for other men."

Then Collective 0-0009 rose and pointed at our box.

"This thing," they said, "must be destroyed."

And all the others cried as one:

"It must be destroyed!" (p. 73-74).

I am. I think. I will.

My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.

I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant and the sanction (p. 94).

I am done with the monster of "We," the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame.

And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride.

This god, this one word:

"I." (p. 97).

It was when I read the first of the books I found in my house that I saw the word "I." And when I understood this word, the book fell from my hands, and I wept, I who had never known tears. I wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind (p. 98).

A general overview of Rand’s life was given. She spent her teenage years in Russia shortly after the communist revolution. Rand believed in Objectivism. She denounced religion as a sort of mysticism.

A brief overview of the novel was then given (Please see Summary of the Novel, above).

Questions:

(Please refer to Questions section above)

Question 5: I suggested an example of people that would fear technology because their personal outcomes would be affected were the Unionists, specifically the automakers. When the robotic assembly line equipment was installed in the automobile manufacturing plants, Union workers would sabotage the equipment by trying to destroy it. They opposed the technology because of a fear of loss of jobs. Dr. White reminded us that Vice President Al Gore lost votes over this same idea in the 2000 election.

I also brought up the idea that the Amish are a good example of people who fear technology. They believe that technology is unnecessary and live without running water and electricity. They fear that technology will interfere with their relationship with God.

Question 4: Michelle Glenn stated that taking children away from the family removes imagination from the children that they would acquire with those families. Glenn Hough stated that the Borg race on Star Trek were like this, one collective mind and very dystopian. Dr. White brought the idea that there was an upside to the collective childrearing. Women would free mothers for careers, since their children would be cared for by a large group of individuals, and not in a daycare facility.

Question 2: I suggested that the California energy crisis was a fine example of people wanting complete government control. They complain that the energy prices for electricity are too high and that the government should take over to reduce prices. Then they will be unhappy because there is no choice of power supplier, causing no competition. This competition is necessary for prices to lower. Glenn Hough said that people do not want to be controlled by the government, but they certainly want their homes on the power grid.

Questions 1 and 3 were not addressed due to lack of time.

In closing, I reminded the class that the 50^th anniversary edition of Anthem was highly recommended, due to the fact that Rand had to basically rewrite the novel for its United States publishing and this version includes her handwritten editing. One can see how the novel originally was written and see the changes she made for her new audience.