Anthem by Ayn Rand

"WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT WE, ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER." These are the words of truth for the society in the book Anthem.

    Published in 1938, Anthem by Ayn Rand is a dystopian novella following the life of main character, Equality-72521 in a future world where the word "I" is forbidden and is the worst law you could break with the consequence of death. This book serves as a diary for 21-year-old, Equality-72521 as he writes about his life. 

    In this society, being different is frowned upon and everyone must be alike. Though, Equality-72521 is different. At 21 years old, he is six feet tall which he calls a burden as not many people are this height. Many of his teachers and leaders say that he has evil in his bones because he is taller than everyone else. He believes he has a curse which caused him to be so different. On page 5 he states, "We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden. It has always given us wishes which men may not wish. We know that we are evil, but there is no will in us and no power to resist it. This is our wonder and our secret fear, that we know and do not resist." 

The Structure of this society ("Homes" where people stay)

    There are many different homes that the people of this society reside in at different stages of their lives. For example, when you are born, you are in the Home of the Infants until age 5, then you are sent to the Home of the Students until age 15. Once you reach age 15, the Council of Vocations comes to the Great Hall where they assign each student with a job. You continue working with this job until age 40, where you are then sent to the Home of the Useless. In this society 40 years olds are known as "Old Ones" and if you miraculously reach age 45, you are considered an "Ancient One".  At that age, you are expected to pass away soon and are too old to work. 

    Equality-72521 recalls that he was unhappy when he was at the Home of the Students because what they were learning was too easy for him. This made him guilty since it was a sin to be born too smart and evil to be different or superior to the others. 

    On the day the Council of Vocations came, it was time for Equality-72521 to be assigned his career. Although it was evil to wish for things for yourself, Equality-72521 was guilty as he wished to be assigned to the Home of the Scholars because he loved to learn about new things and was curious about the world. Though when his name was called, he was assigned to the Home of the Street Sweepers (one of the lowest jobs he could get) as a punishment for being too smart and different. Though, Equality-72521 was happy with his assignment as he was freed from the guilt of his wishes since he didn't get to go to the Home of the Scholars like he wanted and got a bad job instead.

After being assigned to the Home of the Street Sweepers

    The rest of the book follows Equality-72521's life living as a street sweeper. He writes in his diary, while sitting in a secret mysterious underground tunnel he discovered while street sweeping. After exploring the tunnel, he realizes it is from the "Unmentionable times" (the ancient world that existed before this society came to be/ the time before the Great Rebirth, which is basically our present world, so the tunnel he found was actually some type of underground railway or subway, similar to what could be found today). This tunnel becomes an important place for him as it is a place where he can be alone and feel free in a way. 

    He comes to this tunnel every night to write in his diary and conduct science experiments. Although, he knows by doing this he is breaking many laws, it doesn't stop him. Throughout the book, Equality-72521 learns that the society's rules are wrong and he rebels against them. It follows his journey towards individualism where he learns that he can think and live for himself.

Themes

    I thought this was a really interesting book. It discusses what happens when society forces everyone to be the same. It shows that being different, and thinking for yourself is important, even when society tells you not to. The story also shows that freedom comes from being true to yourself and you only, without trying to be like anyone else. It also talks about happiness, that by following someone else without being true to yourself, can cause you to be unhappy. Overall, the story is about standing out, embracing yourself, and finding your own thoughts and views in the dystopian world that frowns upon differences.

Thoughts about the book

    My first reaction when reading this book was that I found it pretty confusing about who it was talking about because of the language style. It kept using the word "We" which was confusing at first until I realized shortly after, that "We" was actually "I". 

    Since "I" is a banned word in the society, the main character refers to himself as "We", "Us", and "Our". Although it was confusing at first, I think it made the book more interesting and engaging and was different from anything else I've ever read.

    For being only 63 pages long, I think this book covered a lot and was very engaging. Everything that happened was important to Equality-72521's journey and I feel there wasn't a dull moment, and everything kept me interested.

    

    Overall, I really enjoyed this book and if you are looking for a short, quick read you should definitely try Anthem!

-Jehan