Finn1

Taylor Finn
Mr. Farmer
9 English red
20 September 2016
Anthem
Anthem, originally published in 1938 in England, is a fictional novel all about a
dystopian life. The life of the ones who live in the world of Anthem have a strict language, no
individuality, and limited knowledge. Nowhere in the language of someone from Anthem will
the pronoun I be found. From a young age, the people are molded to think like a collective and
forgo individual beliefs and abilities. Even their names, which distinguish them from the
collective, are manipulated. All the people in Anthem have similar names, a word then a set of
numbers. All these problems correlate with the decisions of the World Council; the decision to
blind them from the past. The World Council controls a mans mind by limiting their language
and individuality and indoctrinating them until they believe what is thought to be correct.
The World Council controls a mans mind by limiting their language and individuality. In
Anthem it is said that when one of the men feels tempted they repeat: We are one in all and all
in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One indivisible and forever. (Rand 1.19) All
brothers strive to be alike. When there is a temptation otherwise the quote is repeated. Taking
actions to stand up to others against what is thought to be wrong, would never be an option
considering that there is not a thought of an individual.
For the word "We" must never be spoken, save by one's choice and as a second thought.
This word must never be placed first within man's soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all
the evils on earth, the root of man's torture by men, and of an unspeakable lie. (Rand 11.97)

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Restricting certain words from an alphabet causes the loss of meaning of others. When speaking
without any use of the word I, thoughts as an individual are forgotten. As mentioned in the
quote, [WE] the root of all the evils on earth, the root of mans torture by men, and of an
unspeakable lie, for the people of anthem, to mention individuality was a sin.
An individual should be able to express themselves and shouldnt be punished for
thinking of just themselves. That is why the word "I" exists in the English language. It is not a
sin if a thought of ones self popped into their head, it is inevitable. Not letting out what has
accumulated over time of a persons personality should be a sin because that is not expressing
yourself. An individual has characteristics that make them who they are. If someone is named
almost like everybody else, if they all have to be alike, and they can never think of anybody else
other than their brothers, then there is no individuality. It is not selfish or egotistical to think of
yourself, put your thought before other, and want to be different once in a while.

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Work Cited
Rand, Ayn. Anthem. New York: Dutton, 1995. Print.