Anthem

I found Anthem to be rather bland and shallow. Ayn Rand's style, or perhaps you can say Equality 7-2521's style, was too curt and dry for my liking. I can just imagine Equality reading this diary, if you will, aloud in a low, monotone voice. I prefer details and descriptions and a little bit of fluff here and there. I believe the setting also added to why I did not enjoy Anthem. It is depressing to read about oppressed people and not be able to walk right in there and help 'em out! I can only sit on the edge of my chair and become frustrated with the character for not rebelling! Another factor that contributed to my view of the novel was the use of the word "we" in the beginning of Anthem. I was unsure as to whether or not Equality 7-2521 was one man or a group of men. It took until later on in the novel for me to realize that he was referring to only one man, himself. This confusion put somewhat of a damper on my enjoyment of the novel.

As I have previously mentioned, I did not like the style of Anthem, however, I do believe the style tells a good deal about Equality 7-2521's character. This is a diary/manuscript that is forbidden by the Council of Vocations. Because of this, Equality has to write it in private, which is not very often. Therefore, he has to balance his time and simply write down the basic facts, and has no time for details. Not only does this affect the style of writing, but at this time, Equality 7-2521 is also going through a major transitional stage, a metamorphosis. Under this oppressive government's rule, Equality is not taught to have individual thoughts and emotions, which is why his diary is lacking them. "We do not know if we drank that water. We only knew suddenly that their hands were empty, but we were still holding our lips to their hands...We raised our head and stepped back. For we did not understand what had made us do this..." This is Equality's first experience with love, physical attraction, or perhaps love at first sight.
Even though this transition from the collective body to the individual is causing Equality to experience some emotion, it is foreign to him and he cannot comprehend nor express it. He therefore interprets all forms of emotion as confusion.
At the end of the novel when Equality 7-2521 and The Golden One are living together in the woods, Equality's writing becomes more detailed and emotions are present, "We awoke when a ray of sunlight fell across our face. We wanted to leap to our feet...The leaves had edges of silver that trembled and rippled like a river of green and fire flowing high above us." Finally Equality fully understands and embraces his individuality.


"My dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names" (Rand).
This is what Equality 7-2521 says to The Golden One once they have discovered the sacred word "I." By granting Equality to chose his own name and the name of his wife, Rand is alluding to Adam in the book of Genesis. Adam is granted the power from God to name all of the living creatures on earth, "... whatsoever the man called every living creature, that was the name thereof" (Genesis 2:19). Power from God is immeasurable. By alluding to Adam and the power he possessed from God, Rand is displaying the comparable power granted to Equality simply by the word "I."