First Place

Rachel Singh, Boston Latin Academy, Chestnut Hill, MA

For each of the following quotations from Anthem, explain its meaning in the story and its wider significance.

a. Equality 7-2521: “The only things which taught us joy were the power we created in our wires, and the Golden One.” (Chapter IX)

b. Similarity 5-0306: “[M]en have no cause to exist save in toiling for other men.” (Chapter VII)

c. Equality 7-2521: “[T]he glass box in our arms is like a living heart that gives us strength. We have lied to ourselves. We have not built this box for the good of our brothers.” (Chapter VII)

Ayn Rand’s Anthem is the story of a man’s personal growth and quest for freedom. As the novel’s protagonist, Prometheus struggles to find meaning in his life and to understand his own unique nature. As he gains independence and freedom, Prometheus also discovers the beauty of his soul and the power of his mind. By the end of the novel, Prometheus has become a true man, proud, fearless, exuberant, and independent. He has also learned the evils of his society and in addition to rejecting them, he has begun a war against them. In following Prometheus on his quest to find himself, Anthem illustrates the evils of collectivism by depicting a society of frightened and oppressed men, crushed under the needs of the common good.

As Prometheus writes, “The only things which taught us joy were the power we created in our wires, and the Golden One” (86), he comes to understand the oppression ans sorrow of the race of men under a collectivist society. He sees that the philosophy which had ruled his entire life was wrong. He writes, “[T]here is some error, one frightful error, in the thinking of men” (86) and he begins to understand this error. The only joys he had ever known in his life were private and personal, a fact which contradicts his society’s ideal that “there is no joy for men, save the joy shared with all their brothers” (86). Prometheus realizes that this idea is false, for he has found his own happiness through himself, not through his brothers. In addition, by describing the happiness he has found solely in his creation and his lover, Prometheus proves that he has discovered his own individuality. Through his own personal, private loves he has found happiness. In fact, it is through love that Prometheus and Gaea, his lover, discover the essence of the word “I.” In her struggle to articulate her love to Prometheus, Gaea searches for the word “I,” the only word which can express their independent, “selfish” love. This reveals a nascent sense of self which is critical to their development as free human beings.

As an outsider viewing Prometheus’ journey to happiness and freedom, the reader learns the joys possible from Prometheus’ experiences. The reader sees that the glass box not only helps Prometheus discover himself, but also gives him immeasurable, unprecedented pride and joy. The reader can thusly learn of the happiness found in his own abilities and creations. Prometheus also found a personal “ecstasy” (84) in Gaea, his lover. This shows the reader the immense happiness and growth that can come through love; it demonstrates the inherently “selfish,” private and self-determined nature of love.

As a thoroughly indoctrinated member of Prometheus’ collectivist society, Similarity 5-0306 articulates the philosophy of this society when he berates Prometheus, saying, “[M]en have no cause to exist save in toiling for other men” (74). His words illustrate the absolute slavery of humans under a collectivist system. In such a dependent state, no one has any worth or significance. Miserable, men slave for their fellow brothers, who are no less wretched than they are. This depressed, subjugated race of men has no hope, no will, and no freedom because they have no identity. In “toiling for other men,” each human loses his own self, his own ego. Each man becomes expendable from this loss of individuality. Similarity 5-0306’s words reveal the tragedy of such a society.

In saying “[M]en have no cause to exist save in toiling for other men,” Similarity 5-0306 also puts the ideals of self-sacrifice and cooperation at their most literal meanings into perspective. In a modern sense, these words suggest virtue through altruism and peace through co-dependency and sharing. Ayn Rand proves that a utopia composed of such ideals is impossible by revealing the latent evils of these so-called virtues. The world of Anthem is a dystopia, as it is in antithesis of any ideal society. In “toiling for other men” and working for the “common good,” man’s ego has been lost and he has been enslaved. Ayn Rand’s dystopia forces her readers to reconsider their beliefs and remember the significance of their egos and freedom.

When Prometheus flees into exile and finds himself alone in the Uncharted Forest, his soul learns despair. He has lost hope for his life ans cares for nothing but Gaea. This despair is a critical stage in his emotional development. When mankind has thrown him to the beasts, and when he thinks, “[W]e have torn ourselves from the truth which is our brother men” (76), Prometheus turns his back on mankind and finds significance within himself. He writes “[T]he glass box in our arms is like a living heart that gives us strength. We have lied to ourselves. We have not built this box for the good of our brothers. We built it for its own sake. It is above all our brothers to us, and its truth above theirs” (76). He understands the lie of men and the truth in his creation and thus, in himself. This is the final step in his rejection of collectivism. His sense of altruism has vanished when he understands the erroneous, false nature of the philosophy of the society. Prometheus’ soul is free at this point, and he stands at the precipice of discovering his ego and becoming free in mind.

When Prometheus has learned to revere his soul and says, “My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is its own goal. It is its own purpose” (95), he expresses the independence which he first discovered when he wrote, “We have not built this box for the good of our brothers. We built it for its own sake.” He expresses the joy that can be found in such independence and the pride which can be achieved in one’s own accomplishments and strengths. He writes, “the glass box in our arms is like a living heart that gives us strength” and illustrates the profound joy his creation has given him. Prometheus shows the reader the strength and happiness one can find in the solitude of one’s own soul. Prometheus needed no other man to be happy, proud and free; he found these things in the strength of his own will. He remains “unconquered,” and is able to break free from the oppression and dependence of his society; he is able to perceive a better world, to perceive love, freedom, and joy.

The contemporary reader needs only to examine the past century in order to see the threat of collectivism in this modern world. He needs only to reflect on his own ideas on altruism and cooperation to see the extent to which the ego has been depreciated in today’s society. Ayn Rand illuminates the falseness of collectivist ideals by creating a hero who breaks free from a world of slavery and oppression. Prometheus teaches us all to discover and venerate our egos and in doing so, find the infinite joy of man. The soul is the root of all happiness, pride and strength and only through the reverence of himself was Prometheus able to become a man.