Citizendia

Anthem
Anthem
AuthorAyn Rand
LanguageEnglish
Genre(s)Fiction
PublisherCassell (London)
Publication date1938
Pages147
ISBNISBN 0-451-19113-7

Anthem is a dystopian, science-fiction novella by philosopher Ayn Rand, first published in 1938. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Fiction is the telling of stories which are not real More specifically fiction is an imaginative form of Narrative, one of the four basic Rhetorical modes. Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of Literature or Information &ndash the activity of making information available for public view Orion Publishing Group Ltd is a UK -based Book Publisher. It is owned by Hachette Livre. A dystopia (from the Greek δυσ- and τόπος alternatively cacotopia, kakotopia, cackotopia, or anti-utopia) is the vision of a society A novella is a written, Fictional Prose Narrative longer than a Novelette but shorter than a Novel. Ayn Rand (ˈaɪn ˈrænd &ndash March 6 1982 born Alisa Zinov'yevna Rosenbaum (Алиса Зиновьевна Розенбаум was a Russian born American It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age as a result of the evils of irrationality and collectivism and the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. This article is about the phrase "Dark Age(s" as a characterization of the Early Middle Ages in Western Europe Socialism refers to a broad set of economic theories of social organization advocating state or collective ownership and administration of the Means of production and distribution Socialist economics is a broad and sometimes controversial term Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the word "I" has disappeared from the language). As is common in her work, Rand draws a clear distinction between the "socialist/communal" values of equality and brotherhood and the "productive/capitalist" values of achievement and individuality. In biological terms a community is a group of interacting Organisms sharing an environment. Egalitarianism (derived from the French word égal, meaning equal) is a political doctrine that holds that all people should be treated as equals and have Productivity in Economics refers to measures of output from production processes per unit of input Capitalism is the Economic system in which the Means of production are owned by private Persons and operated for Profit and where

Many of the novella's core themes, such as the struggle between individualism and collectivism, are echoed in Rand's later books, such as The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. A theme, from Old French tesme, is a broad idea in a story or literary work or a message or lesson conveyed by a written text Collectivism is a term used to describe any moral political or social outlook that stresses human Interdependence and the importance of a Collective, rather than The Fountainhead is a 1943 Novel by Ayn Rand. It was Rand's first major literary success and its Royalties and movie rights Atlas Shrugged is a novel by Ayn Rand, first published in 1957 in the United States

Contents

Plot summary

Equality 7-2521, writing in a tunnel under the earth, explains his background, the society around him, and his emigration. A tunnel is an underground passageway The definition of what constitutes a tunnel is not universally agreed upon His exclusive use of plural pronouns (we, our, they) to refer to himself and others is immediately obvious. In Linguistics and Grammar, a pronoun is a Pro-form that substitutes for a (including a noun phrase consisting of a single Noun) with or The idea of the World council was to eliminate all individualist ideas. It was so stressed, that people were burned at the stake for saying an Unspeakable Word (which is not revaled at this time). He recounts his early life. He was raised, like all children in the world of Anthem, away from his parents in the Home of the Infants, then transferred to the Home of the Students, where he began his schooling. Later, he realized that he was born with a curse: he is eager to think and question, and unwilling to give up himself for others, which violates the principles upon which Anthem's society is founded. He excelled in math and science, and dreamed of becoming a Scholar. However, the Council of Vocations assigned him to the Home of the Street Sweepers.

Equality is assigned to work as a street sweeper, and accepts it willingly to repent for his transgression (his desire to learn). He works with International 4-8818 and Union 5-3992. For the Marxist concept of internationalism see Proletarian internationalism. A trade union or labour union is an organization of workers who have banded together to achieve common goals in key areas such as wages hours and working conditions forming International is exceptionally tall, a great artist (which is his transgression, as only people chosen to be artists may draw), and Equality's only friend (having a friend also being a crime because, in Anthem's society, one is not supposed to prefer one of one's brothers over the rest). Union, "they of the half-brain," suffers from epilepsy. Epilepsy is a common chronic Neurological disorder that is characterized by recurrent unprovoked seizures.

However, he remains curious. One day, he finds the entrance to a subway tunnel in his assigned work area and explores it, despite International 4-8818's protests that an action unauthorized by a Council is forbidden. A rapid transit, underground, subway, elevated railway or metro(politan system is an electric passenger railway Equality realizes that the tunnel is left over from the Unmentionable Times, before the creation of Anthem's society, and is curious about it. During the daily three hour-long play, he leaves the rest of the community at the theater and enters the tunnel and undertakes scientific experiments. Scientific method refers to bodies of Techniques for investigating phenomena

Working outside the City one day, by a field, Equality meets and falls in love with a woman, Liberty 5-3000, whom he names "The Golden One. Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force " Also, Liberty 5-3000 names Equality "The Unconquered. Liberty, the freedom to act or believe without being stopped by unnecessary force "

Continuing his scientific work, he rediscovers electricity and the light bulb. The incandescent light bulb, incandescent lamp or incandescent light globe is a source of electric Light that works by Incandescence, (a general He decides to take his inventions to the World Council of Scholars, so that they will recognize his talent and allow him to work with them. He is still motivated by a socially instilled need to aid his fellow citizens. However, his absence from the Home of the Street Sweepers is noticed, and he is arrested and then sent to the Palace of Corrective Detention, from which he easily escapes after being tortured.

The day after his escape, he walks in on the World Council of Scholars and presents his work to them. Horrified, they reject it because it was not authorized by a Council and threatens to upset the equilibrium of their world. In Sociology, a system is said to be social equilibrium when there is a dynamic working balance among its interdependent parts (Davis & Newstrom 1985 When they try to destroy his invention, he takes it and flees into the forest outside the City.

Upon entering the Uncharted Forest, Equality begins to realize that he is free, that he no longer must wake up every morning with his brothers to sweep the streets. He can "rise, or run, or leap, or fall down again. " Now that he sees this, he is not stricken with the sense that he will die at the fangs of the beasts of the forest as a result of his transgressions. He develops a new understanding of the world and his place in it.

On his second day of living in the forest, Equality stumbles upon the Golden One, Liberty 5-3000, who has followed him from the City. They embrace, struggling to express their feelings for each other as they do not know how to think of themselves as individuals. They find and enter a house from the Unmentionable Times in the mountains, perfectly preserved for hundreds of years by thick overgrowth, and decide to live in it.

While reading books from the house's library, Equality and Liberty discover that the Unspeakable Word, the one that carries the penalty of death, is "I. " Recognizing its sacred value and the individuality it expresses, they give themselves new names from the books: Equality becomes Prometheus, and Liberty becomes Gaea. As commonly used, individual refers to a Person or to any specific object in a collection In Greek mythology, Prometheus (Προμηθεύς "forethought" is a Titan known for his wily intelligence who stole Fire from Zeus As the book closes, Prometheus talks about the past, wonders how men could give up their individuality, and charts a future in which they will regain it.

Influences on Anthem

Rand describes an unnamed short story, which she read in the Saturday Evening Post circa 1937, that influenced her to write Anthem:[1]

It didn't have any particular theme, only the fact that some kind of war had destroyed civilization, and that there is a last survivor in the ruins of New York who rebuilds something. The Saturday Evening Post was a weekly Magazine published in the United States from August 4, 1821 to February 8, No particular plot. It was just an adventure story, but what interested me was the fact that it was the first time I saw a fantastic story in print--rather than the folks-next-door sort of serials. What impressed me was the fact that they would publish such a story. And I thought that if they didn't mind fantasy, I would like to try Anthem. . . . So I wrote Anthem that summer of 1937.

The story in question was almost certainly Stephen Vincent Benét's "By the Waters of Babylon," which was published in the Post in 1937. Stephen Vincent Benét ( July 22, 1898 &ndash March 13, 1943) was an American Author, Poet, Short story "By the Waters of Babylon" is a Post-apocalyptic Short story by Stephen Vincent Benét first published July 31 1937 in The Saturday Evening The Saturday Evening Post was a weekly Magazine published in the United States from August 4, 1821 to February 8, [2]

Anthem bears notable similarities to Yevgeny Zamyatin's novel We, which also influenced George Orwell's Nineteen Eighty-Four. Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin (Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин) ( February 1, 1884 – March 10, 1937) was a Russian We (Мы is a Dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin completed in 1921. Eric Arthur Blair (25 June 1903 – 21 January 1950 who used the Pseudonym George Orwell, was an English writer Nineteen Eighty-Four (also titled 1984) by George Orwell (the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair) is a 1949 English Novel Like Zamyatin (but unlike Orwell), Rand had some experience of the Soviet system.

We was first published in 1924 in the United States in an English translation. Though it was not published in Russian until 1952 (and not in Russia until 1988), it was privately circulated in Russia in the early 1920's. It is possible that Rand read it either in Russia or after moving to the United States, but there is no direct evidence that she did so. [3]

Below is a list of the similarities and differences between the two stories:

Similarities

Differences

Copyright status

Anthem entered the public domain in the United States at the end of 1966, due to the failure to renew its copyright after 28 years as then required by US law. The book's copyright status in other countries is dependent on their adoption and interpretation of the rule of the shorter term for this title; however, under the usual life plus 50 years rules of the Berne Convention, its copyright would remain in effect until 2033. The rule of the shorter term, also called the comparison of terms, is a provision in international Copyright treaties that allows signatory countries to The Berne Convention for the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works, usually known as the Berne Convention, is an international agreement governing Copyright 2033 ( MMXXXIII) will be Common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar.

Influence on popular culture

Like "Anthem", the 1971 science fiction novel A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg is set in a culture where the first person singular is forbidden - a similarity acknowledged by Silverberg himself, who however noted that the two books are otherwise very different in underlying philosophy. Year 1971 ( MCMLXXI) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display full calendar of the 1971 Gregorian calendar. A Time of Changes is a 1971 Science fiction novel by Robert Silverberg. Robert Silverberg (born January 15, 1935) is a prolific American author best known for writing Science fiction.

2112

The title track on the 1976 concept album 2112, by progressive rock band Rush, has a story that very strongly parallels Anthem (although, perhaps naturally, the protagonist of 2112 discovers a guitar instead of a light bulb). 2112 ("Twenty-One Twelve" is the fourth Studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1976. Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of The liner notes of the album acknowledge "the genus [sic] of Ayn Rand. "

Neil Peart, Drummer/Songwriter for Rush, said that 2112 was based on Anthem and inspired by it; though he did say that he didn't notice that they were so alike until afterwards, and so thought that it was necessary to provide a reference. Neil Peart (ˈpɪərt OC, (born Neil Ellwood Peart, September 12, 1952, Hamilton, Ontario) is a Canadian Musician Through his success as a Songwriter and drummer in pop culture, Neil Peart has become one of the biggest popularizers of Rand's ideas, although that was not the purpose of 2112 or his song "Anthem" on their earlier album Fly by Night. Anthem is a song written by Canadian rock trio Rush. It appears on their Fly by Night album from 1975

Notes

  1. ^ Peikoff's introduction to Rand (1999), p. ix, xiii. The quote is from an interview given in 1960 or 1961.
  2. ^ Milgram in Mayhew (ed. ) Essays on Ayn Rand's Anthem, pp. 120 ff.
  3. ^ Milgram in Mayhew (ed. ) Essays on Ayn Rand's Anthem, pp. 135-138
  4. ^ Ayn Rand, Anthem: p. 41. Penguin Group, 1995.
  5. ^ Yevgeny Zamyatin, We: p. Yevgeny Ivanovich Zamyatin (Евге́ний Ива́нович Замя́тин) ( February 1, 1884 – March 10, 1937) was a Russian We (Мы is a Dystopian novel by Yevgeny Zamyatin completed in 1921. 22. Penguin Group, 1993.

References

See also

External links

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