Electricity In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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In Anthem, the protagonist Equality uses his intelligence to invent electricity. This sounds like a great thing, except the World Council—the leaders of Equality’s world—demands full control over society. This is more problematic since Equality is supposed to be just a street sweeper. In the world of Anthem, when someone like Equality acts against the rules of the World Council, they face severe consequences, like getting whipped, if they do not keep their actions hidden. Therefore, it is important that Equality should conduct the experiments privately rather than publicly.
First of all, Equality should not have presented his invention of electricity to the World Council because in their warped minds they want society to run with no changes. The World Council fears their citizens becoming too powerful and asserts, “how dared you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the minds of your brothers?” (71). By demeaning Equality during his presentation, the World Council reinforces that the citizens are not allowed to change things. By knowing the importance of electricity in the modern world, it is clear how important it would be in Equality’s world. Additionally, the World Council believes that Equality has brought his invention to show that he is smarter and more …show more content…
“Take it, and let us be one of you, the humblest among you.” (71). Also the idea of introducing this to the World Council for an exchange to be a part of the World Council is a good way to mislead your opponent. “But they looked upon us, and suddenly we were afraid.”(71). This epitomizing that it is still risky and not worth trying. Equality defending him for the sake of society was a great scheme. With prior knowledge that the World Council is a dictatorship to the citizens they are most likely to reject all citizens’

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