Summary Of Anthem, By Ayn Rand

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The setting sheds light on Equality’s conflict in Anthem as he navigates his role as a mental slave, gains insight into himself as an individual, and his cruel society. Knowledge serves as a blessing in “Priceless Instruction” because Douglass confirms it is the key to freedom for himself. Similarly, in Anthem, knowledge is also portrayed as a blessing as Equality discovers his individuality through his invention, the light bulb. His revelation highlights the uniqueness of each individual and challenges his initial ideas of conforming to society. Both texts explore the theme of limited knowledge, suggesting that with more knowledge comes new ideas and freedom. In Anthem, the prohibition of writing in the tunnel demonstrates the suppression of knowledge, fueling Equality’s passion for learning, which conflicts him, …show more content…
Equality is strong, unique, and extremely intelligent. These traits caused him to be shunned from the city. In Anthem, he tries to prove that he is intelligent, using his inventions to try to impress the Home of Scholars, so he can be “willed” into it (Rand). The Scholars did not accept it and felt threatened by the idea of someone being that smart. This did have a negative effect on him, but the positive effect was greater. He overcame freedom just like Frederick Douglass did in “Priceless Instruction”. The conflicts shown in The Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, are the challenges Frederick Douglass faced as an average American slave in the United States. These include him being born into slavery, being beaten, physically tortured, robbed of learning and many more difficulties. In the Anthem, “Mr. Auld immediately stopped Mrs. Auld from teaching me anymore. He told her that it was unlawful, as well as unsafe, to teach a slave to read” (Douglass). The male owner found out Frederick was being taught to read and thought it was completely