“There is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, save other men.”
A young man finds himself out of place in his world. He cannot stop thinking individual thoughts when he is only supposed to agree with the collective “we.” His name is Equality 7-2521 and everyone in his world has similar names – an ideal word and a number. Children are removed from their mothers right after birth, raised by the government, sent to school and then given jobs by a panel. No one can question anything, but must work for the common good. Yet, when Equality 7-2521 realizes he has a desire for a thinking job and is given a manual job, he can’t stop his ideas from inspiring his free will.
I read Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand in high school and found that story to be very thought-provoking. I’ve had her other books on my to-read list for a very long time, but a friend just recommended Anthem to me and said it was a quick read. I put it on my holds list and waiting a few weeks for the library e-book to become available. I read it in less than three days.
When Equality 7-2521 comes across a beautiful woman he can’t stop thinking about and then a tunnel from the past where he can escape and study, he becomes a different person. He stops thinking about what his brothers want and starts thinking about himself. All the things he is doing is breaking the law, but when he discovers a new scientific breakthrough, he thinks all his sins will be forgiven. He is wrong. Driven from society, he finally finds himself and freedom.
I really enjoyed reading Anthem and think it is a very powerful story about individual freedoms. It is a dystopian novel set after an implied war where most of the population is killed. The established new rules are for protection, but some find they cannot easily put themselves aside, even if they are taught to think and act like that from birth. I would highly recommend this book to every adult.
Are you familiar with any of Ayn Rand’s works? Share your thoughts on her books on the blog!