The Anthem by Ayn Rand

In the city in the book The Anthem by Ayn Rand, many rules and controls exist. These rules and controls exist to retard the knowledge of the people. In this way, by setting rules that limit or nullify learning and research, people cannot realize that they are being unfairly treated. They "live for their brothers" because they know not what else to live for. Equality had a vision of making a new society and these rules would not belong in it because he believed that men should live for themselves. There are relations of this book to modern world history in which governments have tried to prevent learning and encourage work for a common good. This book shows us a society beyond our belief; however it is not so far away.

The rules in this book are strict and harsh. So enforced are these rules that everyone says "we" instead of "I" because they do not live for themselves but for their brothers. They were brainwashed from their birth, and therefore knew no other life. Anyone who threatened this society and its ways were immediately silenced. Fortunately Equality could not be silenced.

Equality envisions a new society where every man is free to make his own decisions. The rules back from the city would obviously not be enforced because they infringe upon men's rights .Like Equality said There is a basic right that every man has that cannot be taken from him. The communist like society such as the one in the city cannot exist for that long until men will be "reawoken". In Equality's society men would be free to learn and do as they wish without being punished. There are other examples of this in modern day governments.

Communists governments wished to use the people as a whole for their good. However, like in the book, man's basic rights will prosper. Some examples of this in modern day were when the countries of the Soviet Union began to taste freedom and began to break off from the Soviet Union. Equality represents man's curiosity and ambition to know why.

In conclusion, the book shows that rules and laws thrive. They exist to impede the knowledge of all. They don't know that they are being treated differently. They live for each other because they don't know what else to do. Equality envisioned a new world where men lived for themselves, and not for each other. This book gives us and insight that seems inconceivable at times, but truly