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Anthem Author & Background Information

Anthem Author & Background Information. The Author: Ayn Rand. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in February 1905 She lived during the Russian Civil War & the Bolshevik Revolution; these gave way to the Communist era in Russia Her family lost its business & lived in extreme poverty

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Anthem Author & Background Information

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  1. AnthemAuthor & Background Information

  2. The Author: Ayn Rand • Born in St. Petersburg, Russia in February 1905 • She lived during the Russian Civil War & the Bolshevik Revolution; these gave way to the Communist era in Russia • Her family lost its business & lived in extreme poverty • She majored in Philosophy & History in College & studied screen-writing at Cinema Arts • When Stalin ascended to power in the 1920’s, she escaped to Chicago in 1926 • She then moved to Hollywood to become a screen-writer

  3. The Author: Ayn Rand • She married the actor Frank O’Conor • Anthem was published in Great Britain in 1938, she later revised the novella and, in 1946, published it in the United States • She is best known for The Fountainhead (1943) and Atlas Shrugged (1957)

  4. Communist Russia • Stalin was the leader of the USSR & he improved the country's economic status • Stalin also ordered purges (execution) of all those who opposed him, especially independent thinkers & intellectuals • Millions of people were killed including government officials, military & common people • There were also forced labor camps and collective farms, causing many people to die from starvation • 1879-1973

  5. Anthem: Themes • Themes to look for . . . -Individual self-expression is important -Humanity should preserve and value the past -Humanity has the ability to be reborn or revived -People lose their humanity when not able to communicate/interact with each other on a personal level

  6. Anthem: Other Information • The novel is written as an allegory, a fictional story whose purpose is to present a fictional idea • Rand is critical of the idea of Collectivism – Belief that man must be part of the collective group for the sake of the common good • Rand supports the idea of Egoism – An ego is essential for a human to be unique, everyone has their own “ego”

  7. To Know, before you read… • The novel is written using the word “We” because people were not allowed to use the word “I”, they were a collective society & not an individual one • The novel is written in the future and people can barely remember/know what life was like (life as society now). Imagine that everything has been wiped out & society is starting from scratch even though it is the future

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