Anthem: A Dystopian Society

In the way that the civilizations are run the two seem remarkably similar and can be compared to each other quite easily. The state and mentality of the citizens is better in North Korea due to them being given much more freedom in what they want to accomplish throughout their lives. Where the progress of the civilization is concerned one of them advances where the other lacks, meaning that the military power isn’t too great in the fictional civilization but it is quite great in North Korea. From these three points either side can be argued about which one is better, which is right because although something is below standards from one perspective, it can be view upon from a different point of view from which it seems great, which means that neither of these civilizations are better than the

Utopian societies aren’t always as they seem. The author of the book Anthem grew up in a collectivist society and is voicing her opinion through the character Equality about individualism. The book Anthem can be classified as a dystopia, because the government is trying to force everyone to be equal, people are miserable, but don’t want to say or do anything about it, and not everyone knows the truth about the unmentionable times. In the book Anthem the government, known as the World Council, has an excessive amount of control over the people in their city.

Where ignorance is bliss, ‘tis folly to be wise. In a society that functions by this proverb, wisdom is hard to come by. However, for a being longing for this wisdom, with a natural urge of curiosity, this “bliss” is hell. Equality, a being longing for the validation of his differences in a society of group mentality, is spare of individual morality. He accepts the ignorance of total equality that is forced on him, but is contrastingly different from the image of a part of a communal whole.

Nothing to Envy Ordinary Lives in North Korea by Barbara Demick is a must read for anyone interested in North Korea. Because North Korea is isolated from the rest of the world, this novel gives readers a chance to explore these foreign grounds. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the different experiences each of the six defectors went through while living there as well as escaping. Numerous North Koreans are starving and living in poor conditions till this day; yet, amidst all of their hardships, they found love, learned, and enjoyed. My favorite part of the novel was the star-crossed lovers story of two defectors.

Anthem is a book that makes oneself contemplate the future and what evils are bestowed upon it. In this novel, the reader is caught in the life of Equality. Equality’s life is placed in the future, where the feared reality of communism has conquered all but the souls of few weary men. Equality is one of those few men who have a light that is invulnerable to a ravaging wind. Equality’s time captive before his extraordinary escape has taken a toll on his body and mind and now at the end of his journey forces him to question whether the decisions he’s made are full of sin or teeming with righteousness.

North Koreans speaks the Korean language containing some Chinese words and is the recognized language. The ethnicities of North Korea comprises of 99.8% Koreans and 0.2% Chinese. The religion of NK has a long history impacting religion beliefs of North Koreans. Confucianism, Buddhism, Shamanism, Ch’ŏndogyo, and Christianity are the religions that Koreans have been influenced by. The government does not have a ban on religion in their constitution.

After World War II, the United States and the Soviet Union divided Korea and occupied it as a trusteeship, however, they could not agree on terms and the country split into one communist and one capitalist. During the Korean War, the U.S. aided South Korea in trying to prevent the spread of communism from the North. This fueled hatred between the North and the U.S. Since then, the North Korean government has viewed the U.S. as a capitalist coloniser, and paints this exact description to all the citizens of North Korea. In addition, North Korea has tried to hurt the U.S. government and economy many times, for example, in the book, Harden states that many high class North Korean agents and operatives have gone to the United States and worked out ways to funnel money to the North Korean government, as well as selling U.S. information and weapons to countries such as Iraq and Syria. Furthermore, the government has brainwashed the citizens of North Korea to think that the United States is a bad capitalist country that is a threat.

Both “Postwar Reconstruction and a Declaration of Self-reliance, 1953-55” by Charles Armstrong and “North Korea’s Vinalon City: Industrialism as Socialist Everyday Life” by Cheehyung Kim focus on the post-Korean War reconstruction of North Korea as a model of the socialist economic development. The authors analyze the rise of North Korea as a showcase of socialist industrialization with “fraternal” supports from the whole Eastern Bloc, the role of this rapid` industrialization in consolidating Kim Il Sung’s power, and external and internal backgrounds behind the North’s gradual transition from an externally dependent economy to an autarky after the initial years of industrialization. Armstrong argues that “fraternal” assistances from the USSR, the PRC, and the Eastern European countries as well as its strict adherence to Stalinist economic programs with the heavy emphasis on heavy industries were the two biggest characteristics of the rapid industrialization of North Korea. Armstrong summarizes, “through a combination of tremendous work and sacrifice on the part of the North Korean people, generous economic and technical assistance from the “fraternal” socialist countries, and the

The North Korean people live in a world

As an American, we cannot comprehend the types of laws that are enforced upon North Korean Citizens. A few bizarre controlment rules that I still struggle to comprehend myself are there are only twenty-eight ways North Korean men and women can cut their hair, North Korean Men and Women are not allowed to own a bible or any western literature, and also there are only three channels on tv and you must only watch those. Along with those laws in place, the North Korean government has control over education and news which leads to many growing up to hate other countries besides their own with no reasoning behind their hatred. Our lives along with many others are still being affected by the iron grip of societal norms.

It’s an obvious difference between taking pride in oneself and taking another's life, but where does humanity draw the line between wrong and right. In the dystopian world of Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, none of these problems are existent due to lack of individuality. This makes Equality 7-2521’s need to be an individual seem all the more drastic, no matter how innocent it may seem to readers. Equality’s need to be his own person and motivation to follow his childhood dream of being a

North Korea is a mysterious place to outsiders but from the inside it may seem normal because the people have no sense of reality or awareness. In the novel 1984 a made up character named ‘Big Brother’ is much like Kim Jong-Un in our world. There are two parties outer and inner and the inner parties consist of people from the inside and the wealthier class unlike the outer witch holds the middle class. The outer party of 1984 worship Big Brother and most are forced to because they are being watched by spies and telescreens (surveillance systems). North Korea is very similar to 1984 due to the constant surveillance and the cult of personality.

North Korea, the modern day dystopia, has many similarities. There society is similar to a prison camp. They do not have a lot of human rights. North Korea is related to Anthem because the people who live in this society are closely monitored and controlled heavily by their governments. North Korean prison camps are a big part of North Korean society.

North Koreans believe that as long as they follow their ruler, they will have a happy, full life. They hold large, elaborate celebrations, parades, and children compete in the Mass Games. During parades “as they march past, they cry 'Mansei ' which means "Long Live!"”

Barbara Demick has developed the idea that North Korea “has fallen out of the developed world” by providing several examples of life as analytical ways of thoughts and processes of North Koreans in comparison to other countries