Directions: Please read and review part I, pages 18-37. Next, compose a blog response using at least one of the questions below as a guide and 2-3 direct quotations in your response. Remember to read each other’s comments and have a discussion. I look forward to your responses.
- Explain the book's title and why Ayn Rand chose it.
- What were Ayn Rand's "villains"? Explain.
- In what is Equality writing? (i.e., what format is he writing?)
- What is Equality's curse?
- What is ironic about the Social Meeting?
- Why are friends forbidden?
- Describe the government and institutions where Equality lives.
Frankie Huntress
ReplyDeleteExplemation of the books title
The defintion of the word anthem is the celebration of one group or body of peapole. I the book people are always to gether in groups and every body is made even so it is one body of peapole and no one is seprerate from each other and in the book you see how every night peafore they go to bed the say a anthem all together.”we are nothing man kind is all by the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through by and for our brothers who are the state amen”. And this is what everyones life is about.
Davis Blanch
ReplyDeleteWhat is Equality’s curse
Equality’s curse is that he is taller than most men in the society and he is smarter. In the society he lives in you are frowned upon if you are smarter than anybody else. If you are taller you are told you have evil in your bones. “There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers.” (18)
I like the connection you made that he is frowned upon is smarter than anybody else.
DeleteI liked the quote that you used. I agree with you and how you believe that equality is cursed with things that in our society would be fine with.
Deletethe second one was julia campbell
DeleteFrankie
Deletei really liked how your quote really related to what you where saying and you didn't just throw in a quote
Julia Campbell~What is Equality’s Curse?
ReplyDeleteEquality’s curse is that he exceeds the expectations of his society, and in his case this isn’t a good thing. Equality's most eye popping feature to his classmates is that he is very tall, “We are six feet tall, and this is a burden…”pg 18. Something else that Equality is afflicted with is his vast intelligence, “It was the learning that was too easy”pg 21. In this book Equality struggles to fit in with his peers, he’s unique, and this is his curse in a society of mass produced humans.
I really like and agree with your last sentence.
DeletePeyton Levental
ReplyDeleteWhat is Equality's curse? Tall, Smart.
In Ayn Rand's book, “Anthem”, one characters name is Equality 7-2521. Equality is not your usual person in his world of all equal. When Equality starts to talk about who he is and what he is like, he starts to explain to the readers that he is tall, “We are six feet tall, and this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet tall” (18). When he says this I think it is a curse because being tall would mean being seen different and he wouldn't look the same like everyone else.
Another One of Equality's curses would be how smart he is. In the book he says, “It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden” (18). When he says this it mean that Equality has different thoughts than others. He is smarter, and being smarter than everyone else in his land was considered bad because then he is different and knew more than what he was supposed to.
Drew Wachtel
ReplyDeleteWhat is Equality's Curse?
Equality's Curse is that he is smarter than all of his other brothers. He is also taller than all of his other brothers. He gets in trouble with his teachers because he asks to many questions to the teachers. He got put as a street cleaner because he will do well at the jobs that you need to smart to play. The government didn't want him to be better than all of his brothers at their job.
Peyton Levental
DeleteI agree with what you said when they explained why Equality got put as a street sweeper. Because he was so smart they did not want him to exceed other people if he gets a job that requires such thoughts like his.
Abhi Sharma
ReplyDeleteWhat is Equality's Curse?
The Equality's cure is that he is smarter and taller than all his brothers. Teachers disrespect or get annoyed because he asks to many question. He got a job as a street cleaner so he can fall behind and be have the equal smartness as his brothers.
Drew Wachtel I like it when you said that he was a street cleaner so he could fall behind.
DeleteJayden Cho
ReplyDelete10/1/18
The book’s title is called “Anthem” which can have multiple meanings. The meaning I think fits more to this context is the more religious version, which can mean a sacred song/hymn of praise or gladness. I read in the introduction that it the book was first to be called “Ego”, which the author admits would have been a more fitting/straightforward title for the book. However, he chose Anthem for many reasons. One reason I think is because the book has a very poetic feeling to it, and since songs usually have lots of poetry embedded in them, I thought that this was the reason for the title. However, I thought more and more about the religious side to the meaning, and realized that the story has many religious/culturistic properties in the book. For example, in the very end of the chapter Equality says, “But we feel no burden upon our spirit and no fear in our heart. And it seems to us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes save those of the sun.” (Pg 37.) This passage makes me think about the spirit of the body, and has a very religious feeling as well. The book also talks about how the Earth is flat, is the center of the universe, and how all planets and stars revolve around it. This reminds me on how a long time ago, Christians in particular were very passionate about this idea, for if it was wrong, then their whole beliefs would be false. I think Ayn Rand put these subtle details on purpose and later on realized the connection between the word “Anthem” and the story’s message.
Equality’s curse are two big ideas in the story. One curse is their questioning, their wanting to learn/know more. This is a curse because it is forbidden to be different to others, as it Equality exclaims, “It was not that the learning was to hard fo us. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is to quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them.”(Pg 21.) In this dystopian society, it is forbidden to be different from others, and even worse to be superior. This includes Equality’s greater ability to comprehend and learn quicker, as well as his yearning to know more. Another curse Equality has is his preference making. He breaks this twice by admitting in the story, “We preferred some work and some lessons to the others. We did not listen well to the history of all the Councils elected since the Great Rebirth. But we loved the Science of Things.”(Pg 23.) as well as his friend “International”. It is a transgression of preference for him to prefer International than others, since all should love all at equal amounts.
Equality is writing in a first person narrative throughout the book. Although it doesn’t seem so at first, he is writing first person in plural form as of now. The plural form is to emphasize even more on the stories plot on collectivism, and how people should refer to themselves as a whole group, which thus eradicated the word I, me, and more tenses in singular form.
I liked how you related to the meaning of religion and how the book has a very poetic feeling.
DeleteI liked how you explained about equality in this blog entry!
DeleteMitch Keamy
ReplyDeleteEquality’s curse is that he is better than other people in his society. Equality's most noticable feature to his classmates is that he is very tall. Also, he struggles with his substantial intellegence, “It was the learning that was too easy”pg 21. In "Anthem" By: Ayn Rand, the main character 'equality' is very different from his peers in a society where that is looked down upon.
~The book's title~
ReplyDeleteThe word anthem means -a rousing or uplifting song identified with a particular group, body, or cause.- Every night the men in the book are to say a particular phrase, kinda like a prayer or anthem or motto, "We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the State. Amen." This is what they have come to believe and they even have another one they say when they are "tempted" it is, "We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever." I feel like the anthems that the men are told to recite are their way of life we see that there is no sense of individuality and it is forbidden, the main character is struggling and knows he is more than everyone else is but doesn't know why or how. I see that the anthems run their lives.
frankie huntress
Deletethat is like what i said in how you said they said the anthem very night and how it put this thought in there head
Julia Campbell
DeleteI like your last sentence, "I see that the anthems run their lives.". This makes sense, everyone in this story repeats this anthem everyday, I think that the anthem will play a major role in their lives.
Ben Worthley
ReplyDelete10-1-18
Equality 7-2521 is smarter than his brothers. In a society that is focused on equality that the word I is removed from the language than I think it is safe to say that they don’t want people to be smarter than others. “This is a great sin to be born with a head that is too quick”. In this quote they are not talking about a physical head, they are talking about the brain, and how they think it is bigger because he is smarter. “ So we fought agents this curse”. This quote stood out to me the most. The quote is saying that it is a sin to be smarter than someone else. That is shocking to me. In this world they are so focused on everybody being the same that they don’t stop and take the time to admire the individual strengthens.
Jayden Cho
Delete10/1/18
I agree with how they think it is a sin to be smarter than others. In the society we have today, it was almost essential to be different/unique, yet their dystopian one seems to think otherwise.
Evan Brenner
ReplyDeleteExplain the book’s title
The title Anthem means a rousing or uplifting identified with a particular group, body, or cause. I think this relates to the book because it is a very close-knit society and there is not many differences. For example, “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever”(pg.19). This is showing that they want equality and people to be like groups and have no differences. They want no one to be more superior than others. Another example is, “It was not that the learning was to hard fo us. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head which is to quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them” (pg. 21). In the society nobody can be more superior or different from anybody. This basically includes being smarter or being taller than anyone.
Lucas Kaufman
ReplyDeleteWhy are friends forbidden?
In the society envisioned by Ayn Rand in “Anthem”, all people are to be equal. When anyone is superior in any way, such as being taller, smarter, or more beautiful than the average person, it is looked down upon and called evil. Friends are important in our society, as they are not only people you can always have a good time with but people who can support you when you need it. Friendship is banned in the society in “Anthem” because it shows favoritism- it shows that you prefer one person to another, and that qualifies as a form of the superiority that is so resented in this community. Their ideology is that no men are your friend because all men are your friend- they all have the same lifelong goal, ambition (or lack thereof), and interests (once again, or lack thereof) as you. Any one of them can fill the shoes of a friend in today’s society because they are all exactly the same.
Lucas Kaufman
DeleteI keep forgetting to add direct quotes from the reading. Two that stood out to me were,
1. “International 4-8818 and we are friends. This is an evil thing to say, for it is a transgression, the great Transgression of Preference, to love any among men better than the others, since we must love all men and all men are our friends.” (30)
2. “The bell rings and we walk in a straight column to the City Theatre for three hours of Social Recreation. There a play is shown upon the stage, with two great choruses from the Home of the Actors, which speak and answer all together, in two great voices. The plays are about toil and how good it is. Then we walk back to the Home in a straight column.” (28).
The first quote talks about the concept of friends, which I mentioned in my main comment. Friends in this society are not individual people, but all men, as to have individual friends is one of the great Transgressions. Yet in today's society, so much of our social lives is based on personal preference, from who we make friends with to big life decisions like who we marry. The second quote talks about what Social Recreation is to the people of this society, just a period of three hours in the evening to watch plays about how good manual labor is. It is depressing to see that such a big aspect of human life has been lost in the creation of this society, as there really can't be much joy or positive emotion in general when friendship, creativity, and even social interaction in general have been eliminated from the world.
Davis Blanch
DeleteI like the quotes you chose and I agree with the way you connected the anthem society to today's society.
Sophia Lakos
ReplyDeleteThe title of the book is “Anthem” and an anthem is usually a repetitive uplifting song. I think that title was chosen because it seems like their lives in the book are very repetitive they don’t to many new things. Also I think the book will start to get more interesting as they discover more which covers the uplifting part. Ayn Rand's “villains” were the council who were the voice of all justice.”The teachers were just, for they had been appointed by the councils and the councils are the voice of all justice, for they are the voice of all men” It is also showed in “And we were punished when the council of Vocations came to give us our life Mandates which tell those who reach their fifteenth year what their work is to be for the rest of their days.” Equality is writing in journal format he is writing as each event happens. Unlike the other Equality is curious and thinks for himself which people there do not do. The social meeting is supposed to be enjoyable but no one is having fun, also not too many people are being social. They are not supposed to have friends because they shouldn’t be able to like someone more than someone else. In their government no one in a individual they are all referred to as one.
Lucas Kaufman
DeleteThe Council of Vocations is certainly a villain in "Anthem", though no one but Equality and, somewhat, International 4-8818, know it. They really are the only people there with any individual thought, and they're living in a world where any opportunity to express yourself has been eradicated.
Yeah
DeleteJayden Cho
Delete10/2/18
I also agree that it was ironic how the "Social meeting" was called that, yet lacked all attributes for being "social." The idea that everyone is equal also results in no one being able to be friends with one another, which is basically the idea that runs with a social meeting.
Equality 7-2521 is smarter than his "brothers". a society that is focused on equality that the word I is removed from the language than I think it is safe to say that they don’t want people to be smarter than others. “This is a great sin to be born with a head that is too quick”. they are talking about the brain, and how they think it is bigger because he is smarter. “ So we fought agents this curse”. This quote stood out to me the most. The quote is saying that it is a sin to be smarter than someone else. That is shocking to me. In this world they are so focused on everybody being the same that they don’t stop and take the time to admire the individual strengthens.
ReplyDeletejames kiladis
DeleteEquality 7-2521 is smarter than his brothers. In a society that is focused on equality that the word I is removed from the language than I think it is safe to say that they don’t want people to be smarter than others. “This is a great sin to be born with a head that is too quick”., and how they think it is bigger because he is smarter. “ So we fought agents this curse”. This quote stood out to me the most. . In this world they are so focused on everybody being the same that they don’t stop and take the time to admire the individual strengthens.
ReplyDeletejames
DeleteFrankie
Deletei liked the quote that you used
Rene Roustand
ReplyDeleteAyn Rand is writing in first person. I know this because even though she doesn't use "I" in her sentences, it sounds like a first person narrative. One quote that proves this is "We have commited a greater crime, and for this crime there is no name". Another quote that suppors my answer is, "We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of the Students. The last quote that supports my answer is, "Equality 7-2521. We walked to the dais, and our legs did not tremble, and we looked up at the Council." Ayn is talking about herself, but she makes it sound like the name was for a team.