Anthem by Ayn Rand

Anthemby Ayn Rand Background Information 9th grade Language Arts

Ayn Rand • Born in Russia in 1905 • Educated under the Communists • Experienced firsthand horrors of totalitarianism • Form of government in which political authority has absolute and central control over all aspects of life. Individual thought, political and cultural expression is suppressed for the “good” of the government.

Ayn Rand • Moved to America in 1926 • America represented her individualist philosophy • She embraced the potential of the individual to thrive outside of governmental control

Review Question • Where was Ayn Rand from? • Bosnia • Russia • England • Europe • Asia • Why is it important to know she’s from this place?

Review Question • Why did Ayn Rand move to the USA? • The Russians made her because she would not conform to their government • She was a refugee from communism • She chose to move to the USA because she believed in its values as a society • She had family here and had nowhere else to go

Anthem (1937) • Novelette about the essence of collectivism • Political principle of centralized social and economic control • Theme: “The meaning of man’s ego” • Individual is swallowed by collective (group) • People have to accept the society’s ideas for the totalitarianism to take control • Lives of people in a totalitarian society are depressing • However, the individual can triumph over it!

Review Question • What is collectivism? • The idea that we should all work together towards a common good • The idea that a society is made up of many different types of people, all of whom are necessary for the society to function properly • The idea that politics and society should be under central control and everyone should believe the same things

Anti-Utopian society • A UTOPIA is a perfect society • An anti-utopian society shows the world presented in a way it should not be. • Anti-utopia: meant to scare you by showing how bad it could be • Anthem presents a collectivism as the worst possible society • Anthem suggests that economic progress depends on freedom • Anthem suggests that the uncoerced mind is the source of technology, prosperity, and progress • Philosophic issues are raised in the book and are dramatized through action

Collectivism • “Collectivism means the subjugation of the individual to the group– whether to a race, class or state does not matter”– Ayn Rand • An individual is owned by the group • No right to private existence • No right to pursue own happiness or own property • Individual only exists as part of a group • Worth is determined by service to the group

Individualism • “Individualism regards man– every man– as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being” – Ayn Rand • Every man is an individual and has the same rights as every other man • Does not mean that everyone can do whatever they feel like doing

Think about it… • Do you think collectivism is necessarily a bad/evil thing? • Do you think individualism is always a good thing? How might it go wrong?

Selflessness • No one has a self in collectivism– individuals are interchangeable • It is wrong to disagree, to have independent thoughts • Self-assertion is forbidden • Creats sub-human society: “What makes human beings human is having a self” – Ayn Rand • Selflessness requires that you abstain from thinking and obey your master without question

Note… • Rand’s idea of “selflessness” means losing your self/ego/identity– literally being without a “self” • We generally think of the word “selflessness” as a good thing: the opposite of being “selfish”– giving yourself up to help others • Keep both definitions in mind!

Egoism • Concern with one’s own interests • Ambition, wanting things for yourself, wanting to learn, wanting a career that makes you happy, loving someone, thinking for yourself • For Ayn Rand, the self is like a god– it’s your highest value, the source of what is good in life on Earth!

Question… • Do you think of EGOISM as a good thing? • Yes • No • Sometimes

Note… • Ayn Rand uses the word “EGO” the same way as the word “self”– having an ego is having a sense of your importance as an individual to society • We usually think as someone with an “ego” as a bad thing– someone who is “full of themselves” or selfish. • Again, remember both definitions: while we’re reading Anthem, keep Rand’s definitions in mind.

Free Will vs. Determinism • Free will means people can make choices, make up their own minds, make decisions, and direct their own lives by the ideas and values they adopt • Determinism is that people are by nature in the grip of forces beyond their control

Anthem by Ayn Rand