Anthem(A) Essay, Research Paper

A young man lives in a place where the word “I” does nothave meaning. It is a society where there are noindividuals. It is, however, a place where you strive toserve your brothers. Equality 7-2521 was taught from birththat the individual is not important. He is in a crazedsociety where the only form of government is collectivism.Equality, at age 21, has absolutely no freedom. He is aa strong, tall young man who stands about six feet. However,in this society, anyone who is six feet tall was consideredto be evil. His dream of going to the House of Scholarsis lost and he is sent to the Hose of Street Sweepersinstead. Here the rules are very strict. He is not allowedto laugh or sing for any reason. These are a couple ofhardships that Equality has to face so far in this mixed upsociety. His troubles get greater and greater until finallyhe does something about it.All through his life, Equality thinks he is not capableof accomplishing anything. Through time though, he discoversthat he is capable of doing many things by himself and moreimportantly that he is an individual. When he is in thetunnel, he discovers a light. This provides him with theconfidence that he is able to do things. Other experiences,such as falling in love with Liberty and seeing hisreflection in the pond also help him to believe in himself asa strong individual.Equality later realizes that he has commited sins as hewas growing up. He thinks by showing his invention to theHouse of Scholars that he would be forgiven for hiswrongdoings. He hopes to show his invention to society andfind a way into the House of the Scholars. He also wants toprove that being tall does not make you an evil individual.He feels that he has sinned because he was sent to the Palaceof Corrective Detention when he did not reveal where he hasbeen. He wishes to be forgiven for being sent there. Eventhough entering the tunnel is against the law, he feels thathe is going to discover things that would improve the societythat he is living in.Equality tries to get the House of Scholars to accepthim for the last time. He finds out when and where they are

going to meet and devises a plan. He decides to escape fromthe Palace of Corrective Detention and go to where themeeting is being held.He arrives at the Council of Scholars and look at him inastonishment. The members are afraid at first because theydo not know exactly what Equality is presenting to them.After they realize what it is that Equality is showing them,they are very insulted that a mere street sweeper wasbelittling their intelligence as Council members.Upon hearing that his idea is rejected, he leaps out thewindow and runs to the Uncharted Forest where no mansurvives. He finds out that Liberty has followed him intothe forest. They come together and find an abandoned house.They enter it and see things that they have never seenbefore. They find clothes, 2 beds in one room, and one thingthat shocked them the most, a mirror. After looking at themirror, he now knows for sure that he is an individual. Henow understands that the word “I” that he had learned fromthe manuscripts of the Unmentionable Times has meaning. Heknows that he lives for himself and not for others. Herealizes that he is his own self and he determines his ownfate. He then changes his name to Promethus which is a GreekGod who stole the light of the 600’s and gave it to man.Promethus had suffered just as Equality had, and Equalityadmired him very much and chose his name to be his own.Liberty also changed her name. Equality gave her the nameGaea after the Greek Goddess who was the mother of earth andall the God’s. Gaea becomes pregnant and they both decide toraise their child as an individual and to never let itexperience the hardships they had faced in the crazed societyof Collectivism.Equality makes it his duty to rescue the other friendshe had left behind. He feels that they deserve the samefreedom that he is now experiencing. He plans to “save allmen and women whose spirit has not been killed within themand suffer under the yoke of brothers.” Equality wants tobring his friends to his fortress and start over a newbeginning in which the dreadful word “we” will never againhave meaning.