Ayn Rand's Anthem

Equality’s road to individuality begins with standing up to his oppressors and learning that thinking for one’s self is the only way to happiness and success. To begin, Equality’s road to freedom begins with finding the underground tunnel system. This is where Equality begins to explore his individuality. He steals candles, flints, knives, paper, glass vials, powders, acids, and even manuscripts. He is breaking the law by taking these things, but he is curious, which is where his individuality stems from.

Besides, the knowledge and materials used to guide his discovery were obtained through burglary. Sneaking out of the City Theatre every night, Equality stole candles, flints, knives, paper, glass vitals, acids, and manuscripts to formulate his reinvention (Rand 35-36). Stealing, sneaking out, and self guided research are all transgressions of the council's society. His transgressive behavior for his own personal interest classifies him as a selfish narcissist. Equally, he feels no guilt in his delinquencies when he reveals “there is no shame in us and no regret.

Equality performs science experiments every night in his newly discovered tunnel for 3 hours each night. He did this with a few other people for two years. In this time he made a discovery that changed him forever, electricity. He was cutting open a frog and his knife accidentally touched the copper wire the frog was hanging on and the frog shook. They tested it with the candles blown out, “Darkness swallowed us.

Equality’s individuality is the second step to rediscovering the lightbulb. He has his own individuality, and his individuality is what makes him

Equality also talks about the Home of the Infants and the Home of the Students. He talks about how much he loves the Science of Things and yearns to learn more about how things are made. He asks so many questions that the Teachers restrains how many he may asked, “We asked so many questions that the Teachers forbid it,” (23). Equality was determined to learn about everything around him and how everything worked, he asked questions after questions that no more questions where allowed. Equality eventually finds out his life job as a Street Sweeper, he meets a woman named Liberty 5-300 working in the fields.

Essentially, he has been given the opportunity to fully experience being a person. At the end of the book, Equality says he has “eyes which see, and the sight of [his] eyes grants beauty to the earth. “ When Equality says he has “eyes which see”, he means that, as a result of his newfound independence, he can now see as an individual. He calls that individuality beautiful, and a gift to the Earth, which we know is a representation of the Council/Cities. Furthermore, when Equality calls the “sight of his eyes” beautiful, he means that he thinks his literal eyes are beautiful.

Equality is really enjoying his time in the forest he enjoys making things with his own hands and being able to do and say whatever he wants. Though a couple days in he meet someone, The Golden One, the two travel together and eventual find a house from the unmentionable times. There he discovers many things including books, the books he reads contain something new for him, the word I. This brings him to revelation of how the only thing holding a person back is his brother

With all of his experience that nobody has known in at least a century he is extremely capable of deciding whether of his choices are right. His personality keeps him from giving up hope and giving up on his society and his companion but keeps him curious enough to keep searching for something better in life. Equality has aged to the point where he thinks he needs to change the world and will try to do so. Most would believe that Equality’s actions were righteous and could not contemplate that his actions were

Equality disregards the fact that what he has been doing if forbidden in his society and takes his invention to the World Council of Scholars. But, before he can take his invention to the council, he is caught in the act of creating the glass box and is taken to he Palace of

To start, Equality feels it is important to be true to himself. He grew up in a strict community

So long a road lies before us, and what care if we must travel it alone!” (54) In this statement all Equality cares about is his invention and he is still trying to expand his

He is the one, put in the book to break all the rules and bring the life of knowledge and ideas back to where they belong. At first Equality felt awful for many of the things he had done for example; “each night […] we, Equality 7-2521, steal out and run through the darkness to our place. ”(35), but sooner or later it didn’t matter much to Equality anymore. When Equality worked in his place (a dark hole in the ground from the unmentionable times) he worked on a box that made electricity when he finished it he brought it to the home of the scholars, who rejected it. This was the last straw for Equality and that’s when he lost it; “You fools!

As Equality starts to grasp onto topics not known to people of his society, he starts questioning the actions he involves himself in, but ultimately develops a sense of independence from society as these new activities start bringing him happiness and delight. Equality shows these emotions as he describes, “And yet there is no shame in us and no regret... it seems to us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes” (37). Equality feels “no shame” and “no regret” in everything he’s doing, but this is just the beginning of his growing awareness towards being sovereign from his original society. He continues by expressing that his “spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes.”

However, since the council fails to recognize this idea, Equality has two options: either face imminent execution or flee. By choosing the latter and fleeing into the Uncharted Forest, Equality finally is, in a physical sense, free from the rule of collectivist society. Now he is alone in the forest, alone with his thoughts. He decides where he goes, when he sleeps, what he eats. However, he is still not fully

Equality discovers what individualism is and what it means, but when Equality finds out what it means it changes his view throughout the