Equality 7-2521 As Depicted In Ayn Rand's Anthem

While Equality 7-2521 knows his invention will benefit mankind, he did not intend for it's purpose to be that. His primary motivation is the need to prove that he is the greatest of the people, who contributed even as a measly street sweeper. Equality should be motivated this way, because in a world where everyone is limited in their thinking to benefit man collectively, Equality has no such burden. Throughout "Anthem" it shows that when the scholars have had the mindset of collectively helping mankind advance, they are then limited and refuse to accept more radical idea's. However, through history the theory is often shown that when countries advance in technology and new inventions the primary motivation is greed. The world if motivated by this way would be more competitive, very challenging, and overall a more depressing place for people to live in. …show more content…
Equality, due to his compliance with the Council of Vocations is assigned to street sweeper, instead of his desired position of a scholar. Through "Anthem" the Council of Scholars is portrayed as a unmoving, unaccepting, group that only looks to maintain its own power. Instead of putting thoughts and idea's forward to be thought upon, the council played politics. They had one major achievement according to "Anthem" which was the candle, over a huge timespan proving that they were not motivated the right way. This feeds into Equality's motivation to prove them wrong. While it is ok to try and prove people wrong, this doesn’t always work out when you intend to help others. The Council instead of trying to help benefit their "brothers" bickered among themselves and controlled the rest of their