Other editions of book ANTHEM

AnthemAyn Rand (1905 - 1982)This Novella by Ayn Rand was first published in England in 1938. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age characterized by irrationality, collectivism, and socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur at all) and the concept of individuality has been eliminated (for example, the use of the word "I" is punishable by death). Rand, as a teenager living in Soviet Russia, initially conceived Anthem as a play. This is a novel upholding Rand's central principles of her philosophy and of her heroes: reason, values, volition, individualism.

Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. The story takes place at an unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated. A young man known as Equality 7-2521 rebels by doing secret scientific research. When his activity is discovered, he flees into the wilderness with the girl he loves. Together they plan to establish a new society based on rediscovered individualism.

Anthem is Ayn Rand's classic tale of a dark future age of the great "We"-a world that deprives individuals of name, independence, and values. Written a full decade before George Orwell's "1984," this dystopian novel depicts a man who seeks escape from a society in which individuality has been utterly destroyed. Rand expertly shows how collectivism (including social programs in the United States) destroys freedom and individuality. Her philosophy is simple: "planning" is a synonym for "collectivism," and "collectivism" is a metaphor for communism and tyranny. This important book should be read by all who are concerned about the role of government in modern life. Newly designed and typeset in a modern 6-by-9-inch format by Waking Lion Press.

Individualism is illegal. Personal initiative is illegal. Being alone is illegal. Not obeying the government is illegal. There is no "I." There is only, "WE." In this dystopian look into what could be a bleak, mundane and soul-killing future for humanity, Equality 7-2521 wonders if the people that came before him and lived in comforts that he had never known had even put up a fight to save their civilization. Maybe you are asking that same question as we live in the decline as it's happening. Do we want for our children a joyless, drab existence without meaning or hope? Where they may be executed for simply saying forbidden words? In the story there no longer exists the word "I." There is only "We." Rand's short story in a look into a world where life is short, your mind is controlled, and your life never belonged to you. But there are those that can sense something is all wrong. That there should be more meaning to existence. While the masses go on without question- there are those that suffer as their souls want to be free of the cage they were born into. A cage of the body and mind. The human soul does not flourish under tight controls. It must be free to grow and do. To love. To express. To LIVE. To live as an individual.

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