Anthem: Living for Our Brothers

• The winning essay is based on the following quote from Anthem, which is the central theme of the story: “'Indeed you are happy,' they answered. 'How else can men be when they live for their brothers?'"
• The essay explores how this statement relates to the themes, message, and relevance of Anthem to our own lives.

Collectivism in Anthem

• The story is set in a totalitarian society where individuality is oppressed, and people are trapped in ignorance, without even knowing it.
• Equality 7-2521 begins to question the invisible chains of collectivism through his intellectual curiosity and physical uniqueness.
• Equality begins to escape the restrictions while exploring a secret tunnel to satisfy his curiosities: which leads to punishment, but he persists.
• Equality begins to love Liberty 5-3000, considering it a transgression of preference: yet he does not wonder at this new sin.
• Equality sings without reason when returning to the Home of the Street Sweepers.
• Equality is reprimanded and answers that he sings because he is happy, prompting the Home Council member's quote.
• The quote highlights the society's ignorance and refusal to acknowledge individual happiness.
• The quote's placement is significant as Equality realizes the constraints around him and his peers.
• Equality recognizes the illusion of happiness within his society, realizing his peers live in fear of persecution and punishment.
• The realization causes him to recognize that others fear of realizing that the Home Council member is wrong.

The Unspeakable Word

• The Unspeakable Word is the cornerstone of Anthem, central to the climax, and becomes Equality's justification for transgressions.
• The Home Council member inadvertently inspires Equality to seek the Unspeakable Word, despite initially attempting to control the desire to express happiness.
• Equality realizes he isn't happy with his society, apart from Liberty 5-3000, and becomes willing to sacrifice to find the truth.
• Equality's actions define the rest of the story as he escapes the handcuffs society has created for him.

Collectivism vs Individualism

• The Home Council member's statement strikes at the heart of Anthem, and Ayn Rand's works, representing collectivism where the individual is subordinate or forbidden.
• The themes of individualism versus collectivism are explored in Rand's other works, such as The Fountainhead and We the Living.
• We the Living explores life in post-revolution Russia, where the totalitarian government suppressed basic human rights.
• Communist China and post-revolution Russia also used similar propaganda prevalent in Anthem.
• These societies draw parallels in stripping individuality and depriving fulfillment through a facade of happiness through brotherhood.
• The views expressed in Anthem reflect the writings of Marx and Engels in The Communist Manifesto.
• According to Marx and Engels "the world will be for the common people, and the sounds of happiness will reach the deepest springs,”
• Communism and collectivism fail to answer how one can be happy when society only recognizes the people, and not the person.

Triumph of the Individual

• One of the main messages in Anthem is the triumph of the individuals vs a collectivist society, and the quote serves as an ominous signal of the false promises that rulers use to silence people into forced submissiveness.
• Ayn Rand encapsulates totalitarian governments' values, and the Great Leap Forward resulted in disastrous consequences.
• Kira Argounova in "We the Living" was forced into societal molds of the state, which was disquieting.
• Individuality is appreciated, and one has a choice to vote, pursue a career, and decide which emotions to feel.
• Collectivism requires self-sacrifice, forcing citizens to live only for their brothers without achieving happiness.
• As an individual, the author is happy to have the freedom to be happy for themself, and no society or government can take that away.