Table of Contents
What is the government called in Anthem?
The story of Anthem takes place in an unnamed Communist- or Fascist-like dictatorship of the future, where an individual has no rights, existing solely to serve the state.
What happened to the man who spoke the unspeakable word in Anthem?
Speaking the Unspeakable Word is the only crime punishable by death. He recalls seeing the Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word burned alive in the town square for speaking the Unspeakable Word, and he remembers that there was no pain in his face, only joy.
What is the theme of Anthem?
Individualism. Without a doubt, individualism is the core theme of Anthem. The entire text is essentially a parable designed to illustrate the paramount importance of Ayn Rand’s idea of individual will.
What is the significance of the story of the transgressor of the unspeakable word?
A martyr for the word “I.” The Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word suffers no pain as he is burned alive because he knows the meaning of individualism. His death foreshadows the suffering and exile of Equality 7-2521, and he represents the way to die properly, in Rand’s view, for the cause of egoism.
What is Equality’s full name?
Equality 7-2521, who later renames himself Prometheus, believes in individualism and rejects the collectivist society around him. He is vain and self-centered, strong, beautiful, and intelligent.
How does equality learn the unspeakable word?
When Equality 7-2521 was ten years old, he watched the Transgressor being burned at the stake for speaking the Unspeakable Word: the anti-collectivist word “I.” Equality 7-2521 remembers this man’s saintly courage and composure, and recognizes him as a hero once he, too, discovers the power of the word “I.”
What was Equality’s punishment?
When he was 15, Equality 7-2521 was punished by the Council of Vocations for all his transgressions. He was made a Street Sweeper. Equality 7-2521’s life as a Street Sweeper went on uneventfully for four years, until one day he stumbled upon a hole that led to an underground tunnel from the Unmentionable Times.
What word is equality struggling to recapture on page 49 in your opinion why is mentioning this word the only crime punishable by death in this society?
Equality is struggling to recapture the unspeakable word from the Unmentionable Timed which has been lost, the word is “I”. T his word “I” is the only crime punishable by death because it promotes individualism, and it was forbidden after the Great rebirth.
What are the real reasons behind the councils rejection?
The four major reasons that Collective 0-0009 (the leader of the council of scholars) rejects Equality’s light bulb invention can be are: first, Equality is a street sweeper; second, the invention would “lighten toil” (74); third, it would ruin the department of candles; and finally, the department of candles cannot ” …
Why does equality Want to escape?
Escaping from detention was essential for Equality 7-2521 as he wanted to show the members of the World Council of Scholars the bulb that he had found in the Tunnel. He thought that they would appreciate what he had found and it would be put to use as a new source of light.