Freedom In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem envisions a future in which collectivist ideas are so integral to daily life that the characters don’t even use the word I, as it is too self-focused. In the novel Anthem, the main character Equality struggles against an oppressive, collectivist government, but eventually overcomes it and finds his individualism. Equality is fettered by collectivism in many ways, such as government suppression, physical punishment, and chastisement. However, Equality manages to overcome these bonds when he gains privacy and time to himself. The strength of his body and mind also help him to free himself from his society. To sum up, Equality frees himself from a collectivist government through privacy, strength, and intelligence.

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As Rand says in her Soul of an Individualist, “The basic need of the creator is independence”. This need contrasts Equality’s daily life in the city, as he has no independence, and all of his activities are forced upon him. He is told how to work, where to work, where to sleep, and where to spend his free time. This leaves him with no time alone to think. However, when he finds the hole, it provides him with the opportunity to be alone of the first time in his life. This freedom lends itself to his discovery of individuality. As he works on his electric light, he realizes that “we alone, of the thousands who walk this earth, we alone are doing a work that has no purpose save that we wish to do it” (Anthem 36). His solitude allows him to do work for a purpose other than the common good. He can freely ponder his actions in isolation, and he comes to the conclusion that he values individualism more than collectivism, which motivates him to abandon society later on in the novel. In summary, Equality’s adventitious discovery of a private space helps him to form independent ideas and breakaway from his oppressive
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