Response To The Book Anthem

730 Words3 Pages
Anthem is a diary of a man, Equality, struggling to be free of conformity. In his world, individualism is so forbidden, that they can't even use the word "I." Their society controls almost every choice that we have today, their names, clothes, housing, jobs, and even who they need to mate with. One day while Equality and International were sweeping the streets, they come across a hole leading to a subway road left from the unmentionable times. But Equality refuses to tell the Council, and International decides to go along as well when he says rather would we die to report us to the Council and see us lashed to death before your eyes (34). Equality is so intrigued by his finding, he goes down to the hole every night for three hours to experiment with new things he has found. But he is very careful he won't caught for he will get lashed if he does. While experimenting in his hole, Equality discovers electricity. And as he studies and experiments even more, he invents a glass box with light (the light bulb). After his invention is…show more content…
I think what this quote means is that love, respect, and anything else mutual needs to be earned and no just given away. And the same should be reciprocated. Just because he was born in the same city as another, and because of customs, they "live" for each other in that society. He doesn’t know them, nor care for them unless they give him reason to do so. My happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end (95). This quote I think sums up this whole book. Equality is saying here that he doesn't want to make everyone see exactly the way he does, but that he hopes by seeing his happiness, each person can see how great being an individual is and see it truly is the better way to life. A life where EGO should never be the word to die
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