FROM THE OPENING line of Ayn Rand's Anthem, we're thrust into a dark future in which all traces of individualism have been outlawed. The very word "I" has been erased from language and long-since forgotten by humankind. "We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One indivisible and forever," reads the city palace's mantra. Nothing is permitted except for what the Council decrees.
Written in 1937, this dystopian novella remains a bestseller 80 years later, and rivals other classics like Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and Brave New World. The protagonist's journey to (re)discover his own self is a brief, yet powerful ode to what makes us human — our individuality — and the essential need to think, choose, live free from coercion.
Written in 1937, this dystopian novella remains a bestseller 80 years later, and rivals other classics like Fahrenheit 451, Animal Farm, and Brave New World. The protagonist's journey to (re)discover his own self is a brief, yet powerful ode to what makes us human — our individuality — and the essential need to think, choose, live free from coercion.
WHY I LOVE IT
I'm a huge fan of dystopian stories, especially Lord of the Flies. But it and the other classics depict humans and the universe at large as malevolent. Of course evil is accessible to humans and a part of our world, but so is good. Too often in literature, especially dystopian tales, the good is depicted as impotent, and doomed to lose. This is not true for Anthem.
For Rand, a dictatorship — like all evil — is anti-life. Evil is therefore doomed to fail because it wages war against life — against the fact that humans must choose to use their minds in order to live on earth. And any restrictions on a human's abilities to think and act necessarily hurts them and society at large. That's why her dystopian society holds candles as the pinnacle of technological progress, while 1984's state surpasses even what we have today in 2017.
In Anthem, like in life, enshrining individualism leads to human flourishing. Erasing it kills us. In that philosophical sense, I think Rand's novella stands alone from other classic tales of failed societies, showing a much more compelling case for what a dystopia looks like. But most importantly, that a utopia is possible, here on earth. {JG}
For Rand, a dictatorship — like all evil — is anti-life. Evil is therefore doomed to fail because it wages war against life — against the fact that humans must choose to use their minds in order to live on earth. And any restrictions on a human's abilities to think and act necessarily hurts them and society at large. That's why her dystopian society holds candles as the pinnacle of technological progress, while 1984's state surpasses even what we have today in 2017.
In Anthem, like in life, enshrining individualism leads to human flourishing. Erasing it kills us. In that philosophical sense, I think Rand's novella stands alone from other classic tales of failed societies, showing a much more compelling case for what a dystopia looks like. But most importantly, that a utopia is possible, here on earth. {JG}
FAVORITE QUOTES
{ 5 } “The secrets of this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who will seek them." — Prometheus
{ 4 } “I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him.” — Prometheus
{ 3 } "Today we have discovered the word that could not be said. 'I'. " — Prometheus
{ 2 } “You are damned, and we wish to share your damnation.”— Gaia
{ 1 } "My dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names. I have read of a man who lived many thousands of years ago, and of all the names in these books, his is the one I wish to bear. He took the light of the gods and brought it to men, and he taught men to be gods. And he suffered for his deed as all bearers of light must suffer. His name is Prometheus." — Equality 7-2521
{ 4 } “I understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him.” — Prometheus
{ 3 } "Today we have discovered the word that could not be said. 'I'. " — Prometheus
{ 2 } “You are damned, and we wish to share your damnation.”— Gaia
{ 1 } "My dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names. I have read of a man who lived many thousands of years ago, and of all the names in these books, his is the one I wish to bear. He took the light of the gods and brought it to men, and he taught men to be gods. And he suffered for his deed as all bearers of light must suffer. His name is Prometheus." — Equality 7-2521
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{ * } The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
{ * } The Night of the Hunter by Davis Grubb
{ * } Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
{ * } The Best Books I Read In 2016
