Anthem by Ayn Rand

1. Anthemby Ayn Rand

2. Man is a hero. His own happiness is his reason for living. Man must be a productive worker. The only thing man can be sure of is his own reasoning. Man’s rights are set by the government. The government decides what job is best for each man. The government decides how man should look, act, and think. Man does what is best for the group. The novel has two competing philosophies.ObjectivismCollectivism

3. Theme • Angered by the conformity encouraged by her homeland of Russia, Ayn Rand authored this rather short novel to display one crucial theme - preservation of self at all costs.

4. Author Information • Born in Russia in 1905. • She was born with the name Alissa Rosenbaum

5. Ayn Rand lived in the town of St. Petersburg. (Photograph of St. Petersburg in 1906)

6. Author information • At age 9 she decided to become a writer. • She later changed her given name to her pen name Ayn Rand.

7. Author Information • The communist government began to take over when Ayn Rand was 12. Her family had to leave Russia for a few years. When they returned Ayn graduated from the University

8. COMMUNISM • A form of government where a society works toward the benefit of the community. • Everyone is seen as equal. • Wealth is distributed equally among the people. • The state owns and controls all business and property. • The state is run by one leading elite.

9. Demonstrators in 1917 demanding that the government give power to the Socialist and imprison the Czar.

10. Demonstrators fleeing as government troops fire into the crowd. The picture is dated July 4, 1917.

11. The government effectively lost control . The Communist Party took over police functions.

12. “New Economic Policy“ allowed a limited restoration of private trade. The photo above shows people gathering in a square to sell goods in the cold of January 1922.

13. Author Information • Rand's hatred of the communist government in Russia brought her to the U.S in 1926. She traveled from New York to Chicago, and then Hollywood.

14. Author Information • Ayn Rand began her career by serving as an extra in films. She then began editing screen plays. She finally began writing plays, short stories and novels.

15. Author Information • She met her actor husband Frank O’Connor in Hollywood. They were married in 1929 and remained married until his death fifty years later.

16. Author Information • Ayn Rand died March 6, 1982.