Anthem is a dystopian, romantic fiction written in 1937 by Ayn Rand. Anthem takes place in an unspecified future time when mankind has entered another dark age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. Anthem tells the story of how one man rediscovers the long-forgotten idea of individualism and struggles to reclaim it.
Anthem can be seen as a criticism of collectivism and totalitarian governments, the dangers of losing individuality and independence, and where this might lead society. Within Anthem, Ayn Rand uses archetypes to convey her message about the importance of individuality. For example, she illustrates how suppression of individualism is different for each person in Anthem; One’s sense of self derives from a number of sources: parental guidance or lack thereof, one’s peers, formal education or religion.
In Anthem, when everyone acts in concert with everyone else (i. e. , they behave like drones), there is no incentive to further advance human knowledge; thus, such advances cease altogether (leading to another dark age). By using archetypes, Ayn Rand is able to create a clear contrast between individuality and collectivism. Anthem begins as Equality 7-2521 discovers something he’d been told was impossible: individualism.
In Anthem , this discovery is an archetype that comes from inside of him, but also represents a nexus where several other archetypes connect: the first that coalesces into a constellation representing Anthem’s protagonist’s individuality is Science (an archetype in Anthem ). Later on, after Equality 7-2521 gains his freedom from the collective, another archetype symbolizing individualism– Liberty –arrives with the same essentials of its predecessors; however, unlike them all before it, Liberty has wings.
The rest of Anthem follows Equality 7-2521’s journey as he reclaims these archetypes and becomes an individual. The Anthem archetype of Science is one of Anthem’s most important: it is the symbolic representation of Equality 7-2521’s love for knowledge. He finds this archetype through his fascination with cogwheels, which represents Anthem’s theme of advancement; that mankind should never stop advancing human knowledge because such advancement has been integral to mankind’s survival (and thus, without such advancements, Anthem’s society starts heading back into a dark age).
The Anthem archetype of Science is also where many other Anthem archetypes–including those representing secret knowledge and Prometheus—connect; in Anthem, once Equality 7-2521 secretively learns how to use coal instead of wood for his lantern, he begins learning other Anthem secrets at night in the Anthem archetype of Science, thus becoming connected to the Anthem archetype of Secret Knowledge.
Prometheus also finds Equality 7-2521 in Anthem’s archetype of Science when the protagonist unveils the Anthem archetype representing fire—which is an important advancement because it represents not only future knowledge (as Anthem’s society has stagnated), but mankind’s means to survive in order to know more. The Anthem archetypes Liberty and Freedom are two separate entities that symbolize individualism; however, they share one common property: wings (representative of their ability to free themselves).
When Equality 7-2521 sees his first winged woman, she looks like “a bird in the last instant of her fall” and she cannot fly away from Anthem’s society. Anthem is a dystopia, thus Equality 7-2521’s inability to pursue such archetypes in Anthem symbolizes that he is trapped not just physically, but also mentally. The Anthem archetype of Duty is unique among all Anthem archetypes: it doesn’t represent individualism; instead, this Anthem archetype represents how Anthem’s collective (i. . , everyone in Anthem ) makes each person in Anthem feel like they have no life outside of what the collective decides for them: they work together, live together and sleep together (in group dormitories). This Anthem archetype prevents people in Anthem from becoming individuals because their lives are guided by Anthem’s collective.
In Anthem, Ayn Rand develops a dystopian society through Anthem’s character Equality 7-2521 as he discovers the Anthem archetype of Liberty. In Anthem, Ayn Rand’s creation of archetypes symbolizes how mankind should never stop advancing human knowledge because such advancement has been integral to mankind’s survival (and thus, without such advancements, Anthem’s society starts heading back into a dark age).
Ayn Rand also uses Anthem’s archetypes to develop and contrast individualism and collectivism: using the Anthem archetype of Science, for instance, she is able to show that individualism can bring advancement for both humankind and science; however, in Anthem, equality 7-2521 cannot pursue such archetypes because Anthem is a dystopia that symbolizes how mankind should not stop advancing human knowledge. Anthem was Ayn Rand’s first published work, which came out in 1938, and the Anthem archetype of Science has been essential to the development of human advancement because such advancements have been integral to Mankind’s survival.
Slavery has re-entered the human psyche through an old idea that one’s happiness can only be achieved through selflessness. The main character, Equality 7-2521, finds himself at odds with this philosophy when he becomes enlightened to the truth of individualism. He finds ways to rebel against his dystopian community by pursuing knowledge (which is condemned) and loving another; which is looked down upon due to its selfish nature thought to be inherent amongst humans. The central motifs in Anthem are ones of individuality, collectivism, rationalism, and romantic love.
Anthem can also be analyzed through archetypes on one’s journey towards self-awareness. Equality 7-2521 is the protagonist in Anthem. He is a member of The Collective, where everyone shares everything with each other evenly, which includes their own children. Equality 7-2521 discovers that man can think and reason for himself; he then rebels against The Collective by pursuing knowledge and acquiring technology to help him achieve his goal of building a flame-thrower. The Old Man: A symbolism used to represent Equality 7-2521’s inner struggle between courage and fear.
It does not make an appearance until Chapter V; however, it appears in Anthem’s opening paragraph. In this instance, Anthem begins with Anthem as the “I” of the story. Anthem’s life-long dream of being enlightened to himself is illustrated when he was inside The Room Where It Was Dark. He expresses feeling terrible loneliness until an old man with “a staff in his hand” appears before Anthem and tells him that he stands upon holy ground. Anthem then feels less alone because of this encounter with the old, unknown man.
After Chapter V, Anthem never enters into The Room Where It Was Dark again for fear of encountering the same situation… The Golden One: A love interest used by Anthem to represent the shadow archetype, which represents Equality 7-2521’s sexual urges. She is first mentioned during Anthem’s reflections on how one day he will create something more beautiful than a flower. Anthems want to create a woman who will love him and only him, making her a symbol of sexual desire. Anthem realizes that The Golden One is not perfect because of how she cannot speak.
Anthem thinks this to be an achievement since he created something beautiful without the help of knowledge or reason. Anthem later escapes from The Collective with The Golden One by his side but passes away before Anthem can make her into the ideal Woman he envisions her as being. This quote illustrates Equality 7-2521’s fear during his journey towards enlightenment through self-awareness. Equality 7-2521 states that true happiness comes from living for others instead of oneself.
