“They whisper many strange things, of the towers which rose to the sky, in those Unmentionable Times, and of the wagons which moved without horses, and of the lights which burned without flame. But those times were evil” (20). In Equality 7-2521’s society, the technology and advancement are drastically behind the level we are today; however, this world is set to take place in the future. This situation is strictly caused by the sense of “we” in Anthem’s world. This society lives by “What is not thought by all men cannot be true” (73). Due to this, inventions are practically impossible to create because they have to be thought of collectively. Not one sole person can create products to advance their world because individual invention is perceived
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This was the only regard of what incident happened before the new world and society of anthem, alluding to a previous intentional revolution. Ayn Rand, who grew up in the Communist dictatorship atmosphere of Russia, understood how these power-hungry rulers could stifle anything from becoming better. The “Evil Ones” understandably were the inventors, scientists, authors- the intellectuals. The leaders of the totalitarian revolution in Anthem apparently believed that it was dangerous to have different views and thoughts. They eliminated all books, inventions, and discoveries to make it easier for them to control the minds of people working for them. Primarily, these leaders of Anthem were motivated by power. How could they everyone working for the same cause if everyone thought something different? At the beginning of Anthem, the society is seemingly perfect and productive, until an intellectual emerges- Equality-2521. Ironically, later in the novel, he is the one who discovers and invents. The leaders of Anthem, the Council of Scholars, try to ignore and suppress Equality-2521’s uniqueness by first appointing him to Street Sweeper, then later imprisoning him for sneaking away during recreation. The people of Anthem accept their society as reasonable because they cannot think or know anything else; they do not understand how oblivious and unsophisticated they are living. Equality-2521 …show more content…
The new gadget offended and scared them. They make their reasoning clear for having such a primitive lifestyle- pride. They shame Equlaity-2521 for showing his pride and boasting about his product. This shows they have set up their new world to be humble and collective, not idiosyncratic and egotistical, as they believed Equality-2521 was being. Also, when Equality-2521 rants and rages about his invention being “the future of mankind” (70), he is quickly refuted with the fact that his new invention would cause a collapse in another well-off business, the Department of Candles. They do not want to jeopardize any fields of work and seem to not want to deal with the
This was the only regard of what incident happened before the new world and society of anthem, alluding to a previous intentional revolution. Ayn Rand, who grew up in the Communist dictatorship atmosphere of Russia, understood how these power-hungry rulers could stifle anything from becoming better. The “Evil Ones” understandably were the inventors, scientists, authors- the intellectuals. The leaders of the totalitarian revolution in Anthem apparently believed that it was dangerous to have different views and thoughts. They eliminated all books, inventions, and discoveries to make it easier for them to control the minds of people working for them. Primarily, these leaders of Anthem were motivated by power. How could they everyone working for the same cause if everyone thought something different? At the beginning of Anthem, the society is seemingly perfect and productive, until an intellectual emerges- Equality-2521. Ironically, later in the novel, he is the one who discovers and invents. The leaders of Anthem, the Council of Scholars, try to ignore and suppress Equality-2521’s uniqueness by first appointing him to Street Sweeper, then later imprisoning him for sneaking away during recreation. The people of Anthem accept their society as reasonable because they cannot think or know anything else; they do not understand how oblivious and unsophisticated they are living. Equality-2521 …show more content…
The new gadget offended and scared them. They make their reasoning clear for having such a primitive lifestyle- pride. They shame Equlaity-2521 for showing his pride and boasting about his product. This shows they have set up their new world to be humble and collective, not idiosyncratic and egotistical, as they believed Equality-2521 was being. Also, when Equality-2521 rants and rages about his invention being “the future of mankind” (70), he is quickly refuted with the fact that his new invention would cause a collapse in another well-off business, the Department of Candles. They do not want to jeopardize any fields of work and seem to not want to deal with the