Anthem Advanced Research Essay

3.  Is Anthem a realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarian society? Compare the fictionalized society in Anthem to a real dictatorship, past or present. Some options are Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia, etc.
    Throughout history, there have been numerous totalitarian societies. Some of the most commonly thought of are Soviet Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia and most of all Nazi Germany. In most cases, things have not turned out for the better. The society in Anthem would also be considered totalitarian. The people have no say, the world council decides everything, as did Hitler in Nazi Germany.
    In the grand scheme of things, Hitler’s effect on Germany was physically and mentally scarring where the world council’s effect on the whole society in Anthem was mentally scarring. The lack of freedom to think as an individual crippled people. The lack of freedom to think almost turned into just the lack of thinking, they don’t need to think anymore, their council does it for them.
    In Anthem, the past society is mentioned several times, but it is not mentioned in such graphic terms as to know what exactly that society was like. One thing you learn is about the downfall of that society and how a new one, the one in which Anthem takes place, rises. The council took advantage of the society’s weakness to make it fit into their views and beliefs, after a while, people forgot what it was like to think for themselves. They weren’t even individuals anymore, they were a group. The situation in Nazi Germany was very similar, after World War One, Germany was in a devastating state. It was in debt and suffering from many loses from the war. Hitler saw an opportunity and he took it. He was appointed Chancellor of Germany by the president at the time and started to pave the way for his big ideas about how Germany should be, including a Germany free of Jews. He took advantage of the people and manipulated them through the power of words and fear.(“Holocaust History” Germany: Establishment of…)
    Many books were burned in Nazi Germany, mostly ones which contradicted the new views and primary beliefs of Germany during World War Two. There were huge bonfires in the middle of cities burning thousands upon thousands of books. Just like in anthem, the old books from the previous society were burned to ashes so the citizens wouldn’t get any ideas about rebelling or even figuring out how things work. If they can control the rate at which they discover new inventions, they can ultimately control the whole society, because by doing that they are keeping track of their time used and resources. (“Holocaust History” Book Burning…..)
    In Anthem, it is clear that people did not object to the new society, but it might not have been that they didn’t object, they might not have had a chance to. When Hitler rose to power in Germany, no one was given the chance to say “no.” ("E.5. The Functioning of the Nazi.….) It is implied that Anthem is a Post-Apocalyptic Society, therefore, the nation as a whole would be severely weakened. Their resources would be drained, and their world would essentially be over. The people would almost be waiting for a leader to come along to raise them up, and when someone finally does, no matter who it is, they aren’t going to say no. As previously stated, Germany was incredibly weakened. People didn’t know where things were headed until it was too late, and by then-it didn’t seem wrong-it was just part of their everyday lives, just as the citizens in Anthem didn’t know that they could think as an individual. They let a selected group of people control their lives. Though the citizens lives were not taken away, something just as important was, their freedom. A person without their own personal freedom is hardly a person at all, they cannot act or speak for themselves, and cannot express their own opinion.Though it might have seemed that the public had a choice in Germany, and in Anthem, if you look at the situation, they really didn’t. (Cmarada, Jake. “The Nazification….)
    Though this piece of work is fiction, it could as well be nonfiction, as hard as that is to believe. Though it seems unrealistic that people nowadays could be manipulated as easily as they were in Anthem,  Nazi Germany is proof of this. It is not uncommon for this to happen either. The aspects of the situation is very similar to what was described in Anthem. But the fact of the matter is, when given a dire situation, and faced with hardships, people crack, and will reach out to anyone who will help them up.

Works Cited

Cmarada, Jake. "The Nazification of German Society." Www.ithaca.edu. Ithaca University, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ithaca.edu/history/journal/papers/fa03Nazification.htm>. Page 8-11

"E.5. The Functioning of the Nazi Regime: State and Society." E.5. The Functioning of the Nazi Regime: State and Society. Colby College, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.colby.edu/personal/r/rmscheck/GermanyE5.html>. Page 7

"Holocaust History." Book Burning. The United States Holocaust Museum, n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005852>. Page 4

"Holocaust History." Germany: Establishment of the Nazi Dictatorship.     United States Holocaust
Memorial Museum, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.ushmm.org/wlc/en/article.php?ModuleId=10005204>. Page 5-7

Creative Writing: Anthem

6. Rewrite the meeting between Equality and Liberty from her perspective.

    We, Liberty 5-3000, were working in the fields when we saw them for the first time. We pretended no to notice their staring, for not only is it against the law to pay more attention to one more than another, but it was also a bit disorienting. Just as we could not take it any longer someone called our name and we turned and walked away, our job finished.
    After that we wondered if we would ever see them again. We knew it was wrong, but we couldn’t stop thinking about them, we couldn’t help it. The next day, and all the days after, they came and watched us work in the fields.
    After a while, we got used to their staring and became almost comfortable with it. We tried to ignore it, but my curiosity got the best of me, it is one of my greatest sins. We worked our way over to the hedge where they waited, I lost track of where I was going and got closer than intended. My eyes widened as I realized how close we were, we spun around, but stopped in our tracks. They met our eyes with an expression we couldn’t quite place. Suddenly realizing what was happening, we swiftly turned and walked away.
    That night was one of the worst ones yet, the head of our house lectured us on the things about our society that we knew before. How and why it was founded, our greatest achievements, the strict laws. But while they were talking about the laws, we could not help but feel as if every eye was on us. Throughout their speech we noticed some holes in the story of our society, to speak of this would be a great sin of course, but it circled in our mind all night. Later, we realized that that was the start of losing our faith in our society.
    The next day, we were fulfilling our daily duties, we glanced over at the road, and sure enough, there he was standing there watching us. Before we could stop it we realized that we were smiling, we tried to stop, but we couldn’t. We tilted our head up to the sky and felt the sun on our face. The bell rang for us to go, we looked back once over our shoulder, a ghost of a smile still on our face.
    After that, we became less reserved, we looked them straight in the eyes everyday. Until one day, they raised their hand to their forehead and moved it slowly with their palm facing down, and everyday, we do it back.
    We were at the moat when they spoke to us. As if compelled by something, we started moving slowly towards them, we then stood for a moment when they said “You are beautiful Liberty 5-3000.”
    “What is your name?” We responded, surprising ourselves, but still going along with it.
    “Equality 7-2521,” he replied.
    “You are not one of our brothers, Equality7-2521, for we do not wish you to be.” we say.
    Though it couldn’t be described in words, we knew they understood what we were saying.
    “No, nor are you one of our sisters.” they said.
    “If you see us among scores of women, will you look upon us?” we ask, a pang of an emotion we couldn’t name running through us.
    “We shall look upon you, Liberty 5-3000, if we see you among all the women of the earth.” As soon as those words came out of their mouth, whatever we had been feeling vanished into thin air.
    Then we asked, “Are the street sweepers sent to different parts of the city or do they always work in the same places?”
    “They always work in the same places,” they answer “and no one will take this road away from us.”
    Their eyes twinkled with something undefinable, “Your eyes, are not like the eyes of any among men.”
    They did not respond to that, and instead asked, “How old are you?”
    “Seventeen.” we whispered for we knew what they were thinking about, a look of pain passed over their face, we smiled as if trying to be reassuring, but we believe it comes across as sadness.
    We look over our shoulder and see our sisters approaching us, we hastily grab our bag of seeds and spread them around the field, our hands trembling in the process.

Student Created Question: Anthem

Question 28: What is International 4-8818’s purpose? Why did Ayn Rand include him?

    In books, movies and T.V. shows, there are always the brave, strong heroes who save the day, over and over again. They are on the cover of books, and various posters, but the often overlooked person in the background is possibly just as important, if not a more important character. This person is often called the “best friend,” “partner” or, most of all, the “sidekick.”

    Though in real life, the sidekick switches. I know if my life was a book, there would be no clear sidekick, because it depends on the situation on who the clear “hero” is, but friendship is something that is easy to see no matter what. Most people that I know do not have a gaggle of followers drifting behind them every step of the way, which I believe is a good thing. Though the “hero” may change daily, they always have a friend to back them up. In Anthem, International is this friend.

    The sidekick is often times seen throughout standard book series, such as Ron in Harry Potter, Grover in Percy Jackson, and even Gale in the Hunger Games. One thing all these characters have in common is their ability to stand behind the “hero” of the story no matter what. For instance, when, in the Chamber of secrets, Ron stood by Harry even when coming face to face with his worst fear, spiders. These are the moments sidekicks are made for, to show their devout loyalty to the hero, and their friend. Loyalty is one of the main traits International expresses towards Equality.

    International is Equality’s sidekick, even though it is forbidden by the law, International favors Equality over others and vice versa. Though International does not go into the cave when Equality discovers it, he doesn't say anything to the council. Though that might seem easy to believe in our society, in the society in Anthem, it is unthinkable. International is initially Equality’s follower, he is important in the structure of the story, because even though this story is so different, it still has the hero, sidekick, love interest, and villain. And in order for a hero to be successful, they must have a sidekick.