Fulk1 Athena Fulk Senior English September 16, 2014 Comparison Essay Anthem is a story about a 21-year old boy named Equality 7-2521 and a 17-year old girl named Liberty 5-3000 who are both different from the others in their secluded society which lacks individualism and self-interest. The movie, Divergent, also follows a similar story line. Divergent is a story about an 18 year-old boy named Tobias Eaton and a 16-year old girl named Beatrice Prior who are both different from the others in their society which lacks individualism and self-interest. Anthem and Divergent are similar in hat the main characters have one set lifestyle, they change their name, and they develop similar relationships between each other. Each society has a set requirement for the developmental stages of children. In Anthem, the children live in the Home of Infants until they reach the age of five, then they move on to the Home of the Students, where they then stay until they reach their fifteenth year. After this, the children go on to be assigned their career by the Council of Vocations and they begin working. Each child is assigned a career and they cannot be changed. They will work heir assigned career and have no interest in others. Similar to Anthem, Divergent has set requirements for the developmental stages of children. The children will live with their parents in the faction which they are born in until they reach the age of sixteen. Each year, all 16-year olds are required to Fulk2 take an aptitude test to give them an idea of which faction would suit them best. (Factions are similar to jobs in the Anthem society. ) After receiving their results, the children will then decide whether they want to stay with their family’s faction, or transfer to a new faction.
Once they have chosen a faction, they cannot change their faction. They will go on to live with the faction of their choice and pursue the following lifestyle, while having no interest in any other faction. The male lead in Anthem is Equality 7-2521. Equality is a 21-year old man who stands 6 ft. tall, taller than the average man in his society. The female lead is 17-year old Liberty 5-3000. Liberty is tall with blonde hair and dark eyes. During the story, both Equality and Liberty change their name. Equality begins to go by the Unconquered, which then changes to Prometheous.
Liberty begins to go by the Golden One, which then changes to Gaea. These two give each other different names, which is by far against the rules of their society. They live in a society where everyone is expected to be the same, and share similar interests in everything. Nobody should thrive to be different, which is where the problem begins. Equality and Liberty have this personal mindset, believing they are different, and they wish to be different. They are “better than the others” because they have the mind set to believe in the sacred word. They believe in self-interest. Equality and
Liberty want to be their own person and have personal experiences. In that sense, Equality and Liberty change their name, expressing their hope to be different than the others in their society. Likewise, the male and female lead Fulk3 of Divergent share similar characteristics to those in Anthem. The male lead in Divergent is a tall, 18-year old man named Tobias Eaton. The female lead is 16-year old Beatrice Prior. Just like Liberty, Beatrice is tall with blonde hair and dark eyes. Both Tobias and Beatrice are different than the other members of their society. In Divergent, each person is expected to choose ne of the five factions, or lifestyles. In some cases, though, a faction may not be chosen. There is a possibility of not fitting into any faction, or fitting into all factions. However, if you fit into all factions, you are considered divergent, which makes you a threat to the society. Both Tobias and Beatrice choose the faction, Dauntless, a group of fearless people who are willing to take risks. When you enter the Dauntless faction, you are offered to keep your name, or change it. Whichever you choose in permanent. When Tobias entered Dauntless, he changed his name to Four. Tobias changed his name to
Four because he has four fears. A true Dauntless member is supposed to be fearless, so this expresses that he is divergent without coming out and saying it. Beatrice changes her name to Tris. She chooses this name because she wants to keep a similar name to the one her parents gave her, while giving herself a different name. Just like Equality and Liberty, Tobias and Beatrice are different, and they thrive to be different than the others in their society. Throughout both Anthem and Divergent, relationships are formed between the male and female lead. In Anthem, Equality and Liberty are both ifferent than all others in their society. “We were born with a curse” (Rand Fulk4 18). Equality and Liberty discover that each of them are different than the others and do not thrive to conform to their society. This being said, the two of them relate very well with their interests, hopes, and personality. Throughout the story, they form a very close relationship to each other which lasts through the entire story and they set up a better lifestyle. In comparison, Four and Tris develop a very close relationship. Four found out he was divergent when he reached the age of 16. Towards the beginning of he story, Tris discovers that she is divergent. If a person is divergent, he is very different than any other person in the society, and is also considered a threat. Unfortunately, being divergent is not a choice. In fact, it’s more like a curse. Four watches tris and discovers that she too is divergent. When he notices this about her, he realizes that they can very easily relate to each other in everything that they do. Throughout the story, he trains her and tries to help her blend in with the others in their faction. While doing this, the two develop a very close relationship. Just like in Anthem, this relationship asts all the way throughout the story and the two set up a better lifestyle. In conclusion, Anthem and Divergent are very similar. The male and female lead characters of both stories carry on a very significant role. Also, the characteristics of the male and female lead characters of each story are very alike. Both of these stories are an encouragement of individualism and authenticity. Anthem and Divergent are similar in that the main characters have one set lifestyle, they change their name, and they develop similar relationships between each other. Fulk5 Fulk6 Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Penquin Books, 1995. Print
Author: Hector Ramos