Ayn Rand's Anthem: Individuality Depicted In Reality

Individuality Depicted in Reality
Individuality is a feature that defines us. Individuality is a large aspect of our lives that we do not even realize we have until we see an example of a lack of individuality. Factors that we believe would make us unique compared to everyone else would surely fade away if we were to live in the kind of society that Ayn Rand depicted in her novel, Anthem. This novel demonstrates what life would be like if everyone lost their sense of individuality and had to obey the laws that were set by the government. Struggles regarding this lost privilege are depicted in this dystopian society to present what a loss of individuality would look like if we were to introduce it in our own society. In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the
Since individuals in this society are known to be one whole, no spontaneous bursts of intelligence and creativity are allowed. In Anthem, Ayn Rand demonstrates how human nature could affect the individual, “We have made a bow and many arrows. We can kill more birds than we need for our food; we find water and fruit in the forest. At night, we choose a clearing, and we build a ring of fires around it. We sleep in the midst of that ring, and the beasts dare not attack us” (Rand 84). Based on this quote, the main character runs away from his dystopian society so that he could finally be in charge of his own life and he manages to somehow use his natural instincts in order to survive. Since he is no longer allowed back into the society that he has always lived in, he resorts to doing what he believes is right in order to survive in the forest by himself. K. Buvaneswari and Dr. B. R. Veeramani discuss human nature in Anthem by stating, “…individual persons form values of their own not in the name of society” (241). Equality 7-2521 and the Golden One present the factor of human nature in the novel by showing their own beliefs and values not induced by their society. For example, they both manage to collect food on their own instead of normally being supplied food in the City. In addition, both of the characters figured out their own virtues by realizing that they loved each other even though it was forbidden. Philip Gordon presented in his article, “Crucial discoveries, of man and nature can only be made by ‘a man of intransigent mind,’ whose theme, to be sung in Rand’s subsequent novels of ‘rational self-interest,’ is typically simplistic…” The article describes if a man is stubborn enough to go against himself or his own human nature, he could discover something within him. This is related to the novel because the main