1. Enact in class a scene in which the mature Equality 7-2521, protected by devices powered by electricity, confronts the World Council. What would he say to them? How would they respond? 2. Create a dialogue among students between Equality 7-2521 and other great creative minds of history who have […]
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1. Why does the Council of Vocations assign Equality 7-2521 to sweeping the streets? 2. Why do the collectivists prohibit knowledge of the word “I”? 3. What is referred to by the Unmentionable Times? What were conditions like in that period of history? 4. In what way does the love […]
Read more Study Help Essay QuestionsStudy Help Full Glossary for Anthem
City of the Damned city in which Prometheus and Gaea formerly resided, and from which they fled. City Theater the large tent in which are performed plays for the social recreation of the workers. The plays are about the virtues of toil and the need to sacrifice oneself for one’s […]
Read more Study Help Full Glossary for AnthemCritical Essays The Regression of a Future Collectivist Society into a Second Dark Age
The question must be asked: Why does the author depict this totalitarian state of the future as a primitive, technologically backward society? The answer lies in Ayn .Rand’s theory regarding the cause of production and wealth. Examples of her theory abound in the novel. It is important to note that […]
Read more Critical Essays The Regression of a Future Collectivist Society into a Second Dark AgeCritical Essays The Role of Free Will in Anthem
Ayn Rand depicts characters that make important choices; her characters select from alternatives available to them — significant and sometimes life-and-death issues. Equality 7-2521 is the most obvious example, but not the only character in the book to make such choices. He chooses to wonder about the Unspeakable Word when […]
Read more Critical Essays The Role of Free Will in AnthemCritical Essays The Meaning and Importance of I” in Anthem”
One of the most striking features of Anthem is its use of language, especially the absence of the word “I.” Characters refer to themselves using the first person plural “we” and not the first person singular “I.” This use of language is often confusing, but must be understood if the […]
Read more Critical Essays The Meaning and Importance of I” in Anthem”Ayn Rand Biography
Early Life and Education Ayn Rand was born Alissa Rosenbaum in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Rand was raised in an upper-middle-class, European-oriented family, in the midst of the mysticism and nationalism of Russia. Having taught herself to read, Rand, at the age of 8, became captivated by the heroism […]
Read more Ayn Rand BiographyCharacter Analysis The Saint of the Pyre
Although this character appears only in a flashback and does not figure in the present-time action, he is an important person in the story. He is a young man whom Equality 7-2521, in his youth, witnesses being burned at the stake. The young man had re-discovered and dared to state […]
Read more Character Analysis The Saint of the PyreCharacter Analysis International 4-8818
International 4-8818 is a friend of Equality 7-2521 because he possesses the same independent spirit as do the hero and heroine. Equality 7-2521 states that, “International 4-8818 and we are friends.” Both men recognize this fact and understand that they commit the “great Transgression of Preference.” They both know that […]
Read more Character Analysis International 4-8818Character Analysis Liberty 5-3000 (Gaea)
Liberty 5-3000 (or The Golden One, as so named by Equality) is a perfect match for Equality 7-2521. She, too, has a mind of her own that refuses to blindly follow the authorities. She is more than a beautiful young woman; she is a woman whose inner beauty is externally […]
Read more Character Analysis Liberty 5-3000 (Gaea)