Collectivism Themes In Anthem

Imagine living in a world where everything you know is different. In today’s age we are born selfish. It is the survival instinct we still have. Whenever we're hungry, angry, or disappointed, we show our selfishness. In this world that is all gone and all we know is doing what is best for everyone else. It might sound nice that we people are working together to benefit each other but that is not the case. We were robbed of an important thing to us people, individuality. Individuality is what makes us all different and makes life more interesting. Whether that is our names, our appearance, or what we wear, that no longer exist. The story Anthem takes place sometime in the future, somewhere on Earth where mankind has entered another Dark Age. Technological advancements have been forgotten and the concept of individuality cease to exist. For them the latest in technology is a candle in which the main …show more content…
Without a doubt the theme of Anthem is individuality. The entire story is designed to show Rand’s idea of individual will. The story shows the evolution of Equality 7-2521 from a brainwashed, faceless drone to a self-sufficient, creative, and powerful man living outside the system. The second theme is collectivism which naturally is the flipped side of Rand’s beliefs. In the foreward of the story Rand writes “ the greatest guilt today is that people who accept collectivism by moral default; that people seek protection from the need to take a stand,”. She puts this theme in the story to show how collectivism wastes individual's ability and works to hurt mankind. The third and final theme is love. The culture the main character is born and raised seemed to eliminate this from existence. This is a theme because in the story Equality and Liberty fall in love and they leave town together. It shows that love is very powerful and can make another person follow another person into crazy