Anthem By Ayn Rand: Literary Analysis

Jenna Sunderland

In the final chapter of Anthem, Prometheus, also known as Equality, writes that he now understands “why the best in me had my sins and my transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.”(pp 98) He now can come to terms with his height and his mind, how he has been blessed with these “sins” and through his journey can finally distinguish the faults and conservatism of his society. Equality 7-2521: a label; a stamp; the only form of identification that is allowed in this society. A society where everyone is made equal and those who don’t fit in with the others are outcasts and sinners. Equality does not feel guilty about any of the “sins” or “transgressions” he has been told he is committing. He understands that society says he is wrong, but he knows that he is meant for more than they allow. Equality is looked down upon for being taller than his ‘brothers’ and has been told it is a sin to steal the height away from everyone else. He has committed transgressions of thought and preference but it does not bother him. He knows he is smart and that his brain is better than some of the others and so
They are no longer a soil worker or street sweeper, they become something greater. They are now brave and courageous and they have thoughts and preference and they are self-sustaining. They realize that being an individual is more satisfactory than being part of a great “we” all the time. Most importantly, they grasp that being different in their old society was not a bad thing; that sins or transgressions were actually parts of the best of what they each could be and what their society did not want them to become. This is why when Prometheus and Gaea use the word “I” and take their new names, it is with pride. They had been unique and their passion cannot be