Essays On Ayn Rand S Anthem

In this first book-length study of Ayn Rand's anti-utopia Anthem, essays explore the historical, literary, and philosophical themes presiding in this novella written in opposition to the totalitarianism of the Soviet Union (and Nazi Germany). Written in 1937, published in 1938 in Britain, and subsequently in a revised form in the United States in 1946, Anthem investigates the importance of the ego and freedom, and the individual against the state. Editor Robert Mayhew has collected a variety of essays dealing with such topics including: the history behind the novella's creation, publication, and reception; its connection to other anti-utopian novels; and, the significance of ego and freedom, which it portrays and defends. This book is important to philosophers as well as readers looking to gain a better understanding of Ayn Rand and Anthem.

About this Edition This 2021-2022 Digital Student Edition of Ayn Rand's Anthem was created for teachers and students receiving free novels from the Ayn Rand Institute, and includes a historic Q&A with Ayn Rand that cannot be found in any other edition of Anthem. In this Q&A from 1979, Rand responds to questions about Anthem sent to her by a high school classroom. About Anthem Anthem is Ayn Rand’s “hymn to man’s ego.” It is the story of one man’s rebellion against a totalitarian, collectivist society. Equality 7-2521 is a young man who yearns to understand “the Science of Things.” But he lives in a bleak, dystopian future where independent thought is a crime and where science and technology have regressed to primitive levels. All expressions of individualism have been suppressed in the world of Anthem; personal possessions are nonexistent, individual preferences are condemned as sinful and romantic love is forbidden. Obedience to the collective is so deeply ingrained that the very word “I” has been erased from the language. In pursuit of his quest for knowledge, Equality 7-2521 struggles to answer the questions that burn within him — questions that ultimately lead him to uncover the mystery behind his society’s downfall and to find the key to a future of freedom and progress. Anthem anticipates the theme of Rand’s first best seller, The Fountainhead, which she stated as “individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man’s soul.”

AYN RAND’S CLASSIC WORK! Hailed as one of Russian-American writer Ayn Rand's greatest works, Anthem, a dystopian fiction novella, was a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In it she examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. All decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. A young man rebels by doing secret scientific research because the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him, even though he has been taught it is sinful. When his activity is discovered, he is marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. He flees into the wilderness with the girl he loves. Together they plan to establish a new society based on rediscovered individualism and they live together in the forest. Trying to express their love for one another, they at first lack the words to speak of love as individuals. When one of them discovers the word "I" they realize they have rediscovered individuality and plan a future in which they will regain it. “My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose.” ― Ayn Rand, Anthem Rand originally conceived of the story as a play, then decided to write for magazine publication. At her agent's suggestion, she submitted it to book publishers and it was first published in the United Kingdom in 1938 only after her next novel, The Fountainhead, became a bestseller.

My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose. Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and a clear predecessor to her later masterpieces. The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. In Anthem, Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values. Equality 7-2521 lives in the dark ages of the future where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, and all traces of individualism have been wiped out. Despite such a restrictive environment, the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in him--a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, Equality 7-2521 dares to stand apart from the herd--to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin. In a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word--"I."

This is an annotated version of the book1.contains an updated biography of the author at the end of the book for a better understanding of the text.2.This book has been checked and corrected for spelling errorsIt is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others thinkand to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base andevil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own. Andwe know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or thinkalone. We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not writeunless the Council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!But this is not the only sin upon us. We have committed a greater crime, and for this crime there is no name. What punishment awaits us if it bediscovered we know not, for no such crime has come in the memory of menand there are no laws to provide for it.It is dark here. The flame of the candle stands still in the air.Nothing moves in this tunnel save our hand on the paper. We are alonehere under the earth. It is a fearful word, alone. The laws say thatnone among men may be alone, ever and at any time, for this is the greattransgression and the root of all evil. But we have broken many laws.And now there is nothing here save our one body, and it is strange tosee only two legs stretched on the ground, and on the wall before us theshadow of our one head.The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads withoutsound, black and glistening as blood. We stole the candle from thelarder of the Home of the Street Sweepers. We shall be sentenced to tenyears in the Palace of Corrective Detention if it be discovered. Butthis matters not. It matters only that the light is precious and weshould not waste it to write when we need it for that work which is ourcrime. Nothing matters save the work, our secret, our evil, our preciouswork. Still, we must also write, for--may the Council have mercy uponus!--we wish to speak for once to no ears but our own.Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron braceletwhich all men wear on their left wrists with their names upon it. We aretwenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, forthere are not many men who are six feet tall. Ever have the Teachers andthe Leaders pointed to us and frowned and said: "There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grownbeyond the bodies of your brothers." But we cannot change our bones norour body.We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which areforbidden. It has always given us wishes which men may not wish. We knowthat 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.We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be alike.Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there are words cutin the marble, which we repeat to ourselves whenever we are tempted:

How is this book unique? Font adjustments & biography included Unabridged (100% Original content) Illustrated About Anthem by Ayn Rand Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. Plot: Equality 7-2521, writing by candlelight in a tunnel under the earth, tells the story of his life up to that point. He exclusively uses plural pronoun(s) ("we", "our", "they") to refer to himself and others. He was raised like all children in his society, away from his parents in collective homes. Later, he realized that he was born with a "curse", that makes him learn quickly and ask many questions. He excelled at the Science of Things and dreamed of becoming a Scholar. However, a Council of Vocations assigns all people to their Life Mandate, and he was assigned to be a Street Sweeper. Equality 7-2521 accepts his street sweeping assignment as penance for his "Transgression of Preference" in secretly desiring to be a Scholar. He works with Union 5-3992 and International 4-8818, who is Equality's only friend (which is another Transgression of Preference). He found an entrance to a tunnel in their assigned work area. Despite International's protests that any exploration unauthorized by a Council is forbidden, Equality entered the tunnel and found that it contains metal tracks. Equality realized that the tunnel is from the Unmentionable Times of the distant past. He began sneaking away from his community to use the tunnel as a laboratory for scientific experiments. He stole paper and is using it to write his journal. He is now 21 years old. While cleaning a road at the edge of the City, Equality meets Liberty 5-3000, a 17-year-old Peasant girl who works in the fields. He commits another transgression by thinking constantly of her, instead of waiting to be assigned a woman at the annual Time of Mating. She has dark eyes and golden hair, and he names her "The Golden One". When he speaks to her, he discovers that she also thinks of him. Later he reveals his secret name for her, and Liberty tells Equality she has named him "The Unconquered".

Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age characterized by irrationality, collectivism, and socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the use of the word "ego" is punishable by death). Initially, Rand planned on publishing Anthem as a magazine story or serial, but her agent encouraged her to publish it as a book. The work has inspired many musical pieces, including full-length albums. Anthem is also credited by Neil Peart for influencing Rush's "2112" with strong parallels to the plot, structure, and theme of Anthem. The Libertarian Futurist Society awarded Anthem its Hall of Fame Award in 1987.

Rarely has a writer and thinker of the stature of Ayn Rand afforded us access to her most intimate thoughts and feelings. From Journals of Ayn Rand, we gain an invaluable new understanding and appreciation of the woman, the artist, and the philosopher, and of the enduring legacy she has left us.Rand comes vibrantly to life as an untried screenwriter in Hollywood, creating stories that reflect her youthful vision of the world. We see her painful memories of communist Russia and her struggles to convey them in We the Living. Most fascinating is the intricate, step-by-step process through which she created the plots and characters of her two masterworks, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, and the years of painstaking research that imbued the novels with their powerful authenticity. Complete with reflections on her legendary screenplay concerning the making of the atomic bomb and tantalizing descriptions of projects cut short by her death, Journals of Ayn Rand illuminates the mind and heart of an extraordinary woman as no biography or memoir ever could. On these vivid pages, Ayn Rand lives.