While reading Anthem, I happened to take a look at the author's biography. Ayn Rand was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and grew up during the Russian Revolution of 1917. The Communist society had a great influence on her writing, especially in her novel, Anthem. Communist ideals consist of a common ownership and control of all parts of government, and society in general. In Anthem, Equality 7-2521, as well as the rest of his society, is prohibited from using the words "I" or "me" or "mine". Anything that implies singular ownership or singular being is a violation of law. Everyone in the society must work together. Throughout the novel, Rand uses these restrictions to exhibit the flaws of these ideals. Equality 7-2521 eventually comes into his own, and begins to think, and develop his thoughts beyond his control. One example of this, in the very beginning of the novel, is the carving above the Palace of the World Council. It reads, "WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT _WE_,ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER." Equality then goes on to say, "These words were cut long ago. There is green mould in the grooves of the letters and yellow streaks on the marble, which come from more years than men could count. And these words are the truth, for they are written on the Palace of the World Council, and the World Council is the body of all truth." This is a subtle implication from Rand, expressing that the wild, human soul (the mold) eats through those words, always overtaking them, no matter how much it is suppressed. Over and over again Equality tells of how he yearns to be in higher regard, but can only dream of it. He knows that he shouldn't decide what he wants to do when he leaves the Home of the Students, and he should take what he receives and be glad, but there is no way to rid someone of all of their wants. In this Rand is saying that in a society where "all are one" and only together can they survive (a society riddled with Communism), is a society where individuality is hidden, but never defeated. Equality's knowledge progresses quickly for the duration of the novel, and at the end his knowledge helps him to realize his true potential as a human. The society was constantly brainwashing him to believe that because of his innate superiority he should be ashamed and feel guilty, when in reality he should be allowed to have his final word: ego.
We didn't discuss this in class, but more than once did I wonder about the title of this work. The dictionary definition of the word "anthem" is a song, as of praise, devotion, or patriotism. Upon reading this definition I was surprised. Yes, you would think that this definition would make sense with this novel because of the fact that the society in it revolves around devotion to their society as a whole. This is true. But it makes sense in more ways than one. When I first thought about the title, I thought about a personal anthem, one that expressed the feeling of being an independent person, not an anthem for a whole country or society. This sparked the idea that in the way the society in the novel works, it actually does the opposite of what it is put in place to achieve.
My favorite line(s) of the novel are these:
"Today,the Golden One stopped suddenly and said: 'We love you.' But they frowned and shook their head and looked at us helplessly. 'No,' they whispered, 'that is not what we wished to say.' They were silent, then they spoke slowly, and their words were halting, like the words of a child learning to speak for the first time: 'We are one . . . alone . . . and only . . .and we love you who are one . . . alone . . . and only.'" The fact that it took so much thought and processing for the Golden One to tell Equality that she loves him was so profound for me. Their society has been beaten down to the point where the concept of love is far beyond anything they have ever tried to comprehend. Three words that are often overused in today's society, "I love you," and often taken for granted, are hardly able to be spoken by anyone living in Equality's world. So much feeling has been sucked out of this world, and it leads to nothing but a natural and human need to rebel.
Overall, I thought that Anthem was a good introduction to dystopian works of literature. Although I was quite confused in the beginning of the novel, the rest of it did not disappoint me. The diction used in the novel as well as the details used throughout are used well in developing a vivid picture of Equality's society and the excessive amount of communal thought.
