8. Reread the account of Liberty 5-3000 on page 38-39 and on 44-45. What character traits are revealed in this brief description? Note: Liberty is smarter than the other women as Equality is smarter than the other men. “ Liberty understood our thought, for they lowered their eyes for the first time” (Rand 44). Why? In Anthem Ayn Rand reveals character traits of Liberty 5-3000. “We wish to write this name. We wish to speak it, but we dare not speak it above a whisper” (38). That quote shows that Equality looks up to her, she is very intelligent and assumingly pretty.
He thinks this but he knows that he is not allowed to. It is a crime to look at a women in his society. “Then they glanced at us over their shoulder, and we felt as if a hand had touched our body, slipping softly from our lips to our feet”(40). Jackie 4 pts. 9. Find several examples of the ways in which this society tries to obliterate each individual’s mind (and self) by squashing personal choices, desires, and values. In Ayn Rand’s book Anthem their society has completely killed all sense of a personality or any sense of being an individual.
The society that Equality is living in doesn’t care who you have feelings for they pick who you mate with, even though you can’t have feelings for anyone because they control that as well. Equality can’t give Liberty 5-300 a “pet” name because “it is a sin to give men names which distinguish them from other men”(41). Equality doesn’t care that the law says that “men may not think of women”(41) and that they must “save at the Time of Mating”(41). Loren- 2 pts. 10. Contrast Equality 7-2521 with the rest of the men living in this society (pg. 46-47).
There are many different things about Equality in Ayn Rand’s Anthem and the other men that live in his society. Some of the differences are that he is much smarter than all of the other men. He strives to learn more, which is different than everyone else. “Yet our brothers are not like us. All is not well with our brothers” (46). The brothers that Equality lives with can’t wait for the lights to be turned out, but of course Equality is different. Equality always looks for the light, which is something else that keeps him separate from his brothers. And as we all undress at night in the dim light our brothers are silent. ” “But we, Equality 7-2521, look through the window upon the sky, and there is peace upon the sky”(47). Jackie 2 pts. 11. Of the whole range of feelings possible to man (joy, excitement, anger, embarrassment, etc. ), why is fear the prevalent emotion in this society? Explain your answer. Anthem by Ayn Rand is a book that displays little emotion but one that sticks out is fear. Fear of breaking one of the many rules. Fear of making one of the councils upset.
Their whole society is based on fear. They recite “May the council have mercy upon us! We had no wish to write such a question, and we knew not what we were doing till we had written it. We shall not ask this question and we shall not think it. We shall not call death upon our head. ”(49) in hopes that their sin would be forgiven and forgotten. Of all the things a man could feel their society makes them feel fear. Jackie- 4 pts. 12. See 49-51. What word is Equality struggling to recapture?
Why is mentioning this word the only crime punishable by death in this society? How does this word contradict the ideals of this society? What could its rediscovery possibly lead to? How does this relate to the Saint of the Pyre? WE this, WE that, WE like, WE have, Equality in Ayn Rands Anthem never refers to himself as “I”. Equality struggles with the word ‘I’. You could assume that he is this way because of the way the society is. It’s all about being equal, equal, equal. The society is taught to be selfless.
It’s they way it’s always been. If Equality ever discovered the word the society would change. It was make it possible for him to actually refer to himself opposed to a group. The Saint of Pyre had “no pain in their eyes”(51) and “no knowledge of the agony”(51). If he discovered ‘I’ he could actually feel like a person to himself. He would be so proud of himself just like The Saint of Pyre. But his society will always hide this word, even if they “have to burn for it like the Saint of pyre”(51).
Author: Hector Ramos