Archetypes In Ayn Rand’s Anthem Essay, Research Paper

Julie Gibson English 2 – Pre-AP

QUOTATION COMMENTARY

1. (p. 18) “The walls are cracked and water Water represents the mystery of creation, the

runs upon them in thin threads without cycle of death, and rebirth. The color black

sound, black and glistening as blood.” is a color of mystery and the unknown. The

Home of the Street Sweepers is a mystery to

Equality. He doesn’t understand why things

happen. The water and the color black

symbolize his felling towards this home.

2. (p. 18) “It matters only that the light is As a source of light, the candle represents

precious and we should not waste it to creative energy and spiritual enlightenment.

write when we need it for that work Equality’s life is, indeed, precious. His

which is our crime.” courage to write a journal took more power

than anyone one at that time had. Equality

was a source of light or knowledge for the

world. His creative energy gave him the power.

3. (p. 20) “The sleeping halls were white This exact quote is mentioned three times in

and clean and bare of all things save the book, on page 20, 21, and 28. The color

one hundred beds.” white represents the purity and cleanliness

of the room. On page 90, the author states,

“We found the sleeping hall and we stood in

awe upon its threshold. For it was a small

room and there were only two beds in it.”

When Liberty and Equality find this house in

the forest, it is an amazing discovery. When

Ayn Rand states this exact quote three times,

she is expressing that we need to realize the

incredible amount of sharing that these men

did. Sharing a room with one hundred other

men is a difficult task, but when they find a room with only two beds, they are shocked.

The room is also very dirty and dusty, unlike

his old sleeping hall.

4. (p. 21) “We looked upon Union 5-3992, Pale can be interpreted as white. White means

who were a pale boy with only half a bran, purity and innocence. Union was innocent.

and we tried to say and do as they did…” Union was not as smart as all the other boys.

He kept to himself and didn’t talk much.

5. (p. 23) “We think that there are Water represents the mystery of creation,

mysteries in the sky and under the the cycle of death, and rebirth. The

water and in the plants which grow.” plants are a symbol of the life principal-

growth, fertility, creativity, and

regeneration. The water is a specific

example of Equality’s feelings toward

life and earth. It is a mystery to him. His

growth from adolescence has been a

difficult task. It’s been hard growing up

and not knowing who he is or what his

purpose was.

6. (p. 24) “Scholars must study the earth Rivers embody the transitional phases

and learn from the rivers, from the sands, of life and the flowing of time into

from the winds, and from the rocks.” eternity. The Scholars learn from the

river, hence they learn the ways during

the flow through time. The Scholars are

through the river.

7. (p.30) “Beyond the ravine there is a The forest represents the unconscious,

plain, and beyond the plain there is a mystery, and darkness. No one has ever

Uncharted Forest, about which men dared to enter the Unchartered Forest

must not think.” and live to tell the story. To all, the

forest is a mystery. To some, it is

unknown. They blocked it out of their

mind. They believed that the forest was

evil and demonic, thus, they stayed away

from it.

8. (p. 31) “Of a sudden the earth fell in When Equality and International found

before us, and we saw an old iron grill this black hole, it was an open door to

over a black hole.” solve the unknown. The color black

represents mystery and the unknown.

This hole was like nothing that they had

ever seen. It was unknown and it was a

mystery.

9. (p. 32) ” But we could not follow, for Once Equality entered the hole, it was very

we were losing the puddle of light difficult for him to see because it was so

behind us.” dark. Light represents the conscious and

the known. When Equality was losing the

the light behind him, he was entering a new

world. A world of the unknown and full of

mysteries. Once he began to lose sight of

the light, he had to turn around and go

back to the light, the world of the known.

10. (p. 38) “Women work in the fields, and When Equality first lays sight on Liberty,

their white tunics in the wind are like the he is breathless. She was like nothing that

wings of seagulls beating over the black he has ever seen. She was of pure beauty

soil.” and innocence. This is demonstrated with

with the usage of the word white. White

represents innocence and purity.

11. (p. 42) “And the drops of water falling Water represents the mystery of creation,

from their hands, as they raised the water the cycle of death, and rebirth. When

to their lips, were like sparks of fire in Equality meets Liberty, she started a new

the sun.” life for him. It was a rebirth. He found a

new reason for life. He found Liberty.

12. (p. 47) “And beyond the city there lies This forest must be very mysterious. Not

a plain, and beyond the plain, black upon only is it referred to as black, which

the black sky, there lies the Uncharted represents mystery, it is also a forest, which

Forest.” represents the unconscious. To everyone, this forest is a mystery to all and it is unknown, hence causing more wonder. The

The people believed that whoever dared to enter it was sure to die.

13. (p. 58) “He blew out the candle. Darkness Darkness represents mystery, the unknown,

swallowed us.” chaos, and evil. When Equality burned out

this candle, he blew out his knowledge of

what he knew. The darkness represents this.

He was know in a world of chaos and evil.

Unable and not knowing how or why anything happens.

14. (p. 61) “… and they would destroy us Light represents the known. By taking

and our light.” away Equality’s knowledge, he is

destroyed and has nothing else to live

for. Equality’s light is an archetype which

which symbolizes his knowledge.

15. (p. 66) “‘The light… The light… The Again we see another reference to light.

light…’” Light is a very important prospect of this

novelette because the characters in this book had nothing. Their only possession

was knowledge, what little they had of

it. Without their knowledge, their existence had no purpose. They were just

there to be slaves for the council.

16. (p. 68) “It is dark here in the forest.” This is the first time Equality and Liberty

have ever been to the forest. It is dark and mysterious. It is unknown to them.

This is demonstrated by the usage of the

word dark. Once again, we see the

author expressing the mysterious forest.

She does this to enhance our thoughts

and pictures of the forest. When we picture a forest, she doesn’t want us to

merely see trees, she wants us to see the

negative features of the forest, the

darkness and isolation.

17. (p. 71) “Let us bring a new light to Equality is conscious of the evils of the

men!” city. He understands that others are not so fortunate. By using “new light,” he is

showing that he wants open the world’s

eyes and show them what it has to offer.

18. (p. 75) “Trees taller than we ever The tree is a symbol of the life principal-

seen before stood over us in great growth, fertility, creativity, and

silence.” regeneration. The usage of tree symbolizes Equality’s life with Liberty.

After meeting her, he unlocked the door

to himself and he became free. He has

transformed and become a new man or

rebirth.

19. (p. 79) “… as an arrow at a bird…” A bird symbolizes imagination and

because birds are associated with air,

they represent spiritual transcendence.

When Liberty and Equality escape from

the city, they enter a new world, a world

they know nothing about. It’s become

a imaginary place, hence the usage of a

bird.

20. (p. 82) “Their white tunic was torn…” White is a color of purity and innocence.

When Liberty was back at the city, she

always did what she was told to do, but,

of course, she wasn’t taught differently.

After she left to go to the woods with

Equality and never return, she lost her

innocence and she became a new

woman. This is shown by the usage of

“torn, white tunic.”

21. (p. 88) “…crossing a chain of mountains.” Mountains are a point of contact

between the earth and the sky. Their

journey to the mountain top corresponds

to the struggle for spiritual elevation and

intellectual achievement.

22. (p. 88) “We climbed paths…” The path is a passageway between the

real world and the inner self. Since this

symbolic passageway usually requires

sacrifice and risk, it often occurs as a

mountain path. Liberty’s and Equality’s

quest is coming to an end because they

are almost to the end of the path. This

journey was actually a search for freedom and knowledge.

23. (p. 92) “We brought water from the A stream represents the flowing time

stream.” into eternity. This is used to show that

Equality and Liberty loved each other

very much and that they would, most

likely, be together forever.

24. (p. 94) “I stand here on the summit of The mountain represents the point of

the mountain…” contact between the earth and the sky.

Equality has discovered the one most

powerful word, I. This is a revelation

to him, a new discovery. He can do

anything now. He knows the forbidden

word. That single, yet powerful, word,

“I”.

25. (p. 104) “Through all the darkness…” Darkness symbolizes mystery and the

unknown. He realizes that all the struggles that he went through, it was worth it. He was finally free to be himself. He now new who he was and he felt that he could conquer anything, even the world.