Anthem

Article written by Onyekachi Osuji

B.A. in Public Administration and certified in Creative Writing (Fiction and Non-Fiction)

Anthem depicts a dystopia of the complete elimination of individualism where the state controls the citizens in all aspects of their being and even the word “I” is eliminated from the language. In this dystopian city emerges a rebellious young man called Equality 7-2521 who rediscovers the inventions of the lost era and risks his life to escape from the city.

Key Facts about Anthem by Ayn Rand

• Title: Anthem
• Author: Ayn Rand
• Publication year: First Published 1938, Revised Edition Published 1946
• Number of Pages: 99 pages
• Genre: Science-Fiction; Dystopian Novella
• Point of View: First-person Narration
• Setting: A dystopian city in an unspecified future date when humanity has destroyed all innovations and reverted back to the dark ages in a totalitarian dictatorship.
• Climax: Equality 7-2521 escapes the city after the World Council of Scholars threatens to punish him for making a discovery.
• Protagonist: Equality 7-2521
• Antagonist: The totalitarian authorities of the City.

Ayn Rand and Anthem

Ayn Rand wrote Anthem in 1937 while taking a break from the research and writing of her next novel The Fountainhead. She had planned to release Anthem as a serial or magazine story but was advised by her agent to publish it as a book instead.

Rand simultaneously submitted the manuscripts of Anthem to two publishers who had worked on her first novel We the Living-– Macmillan Publishers in the USA, and Cassell Publishers in England. But while Cassell published the manuscript, Macmillan rejected it, saying that the novella showed that Rand did not have a true understanding of Socialism.

Rand had initially titled the novella “Ego” but later changed the title to Anthem because “Ego” easily gave away the central theme of the book.

In 1946, motivated by the success of her novel The Fountainhead, Rand revisited Anthem and published a revised edition targeted at American readers. The revised edition was published by Pamphleteers Inc, a small publishing house owned by her friends Leonard Read and William Mullendore. The difference between the first edition published by Cassell and the revised edition published by Pamphleteers is that the language of the revised edition was more simplified to make for a clearer understanding of the theme.

The general message in Anthem was personal to Ayn Rand. Being born in Russia, part of her childhood and teenage years were troubled by the tumultuous political conflicts in her home country Russia, and in World Politics. Her family had had to flee Russia to escape the perils of the 1917 Revolutions and had gone through hardship when her father’s business was confiscated by the Communist government of Russia. Ayn Rand in Anthem was trying to warn of a future doomed to retrogression and unhappiness if collectivism totally triumphs over individualism.

Books Related to Anthem by Ayn Rand

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand: Also by the same author, The Fountainhead is similar to Anthem in having strong, physically attractive, and assertive heroes who must overcome unproductive collectivism by the power of their individuality and ingenuity. The Fountainhead, published in the year 1943, tells of a hero Howard Roark who is a genius in architecture but faces challenges in bringing his innovative designs to fruition because of the traditionalistic society he lives in.

The Fountainhead is an extension of the philosophy of Ayn Rand which she expressed in Anthem. Rand’s goal to showcase her idea of an ideal man was achieved in Anthem but had a fuller epitomization in The Fountainhead.

Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell: This novel by George Orwell published in 1949 is often put in comparison with other dystopian novels. Like Anthem, it is a dystopian novel set in a totalitarian dictatorship that suppresses individuality and independent thinking. Nineteen Eighty-Four follows a male protagonist, Winston Smith who dutifully works at the Ministry of Truth and is a member of the outer party but secretly dreams of rebellion that puts him in danger of possible persecution by the Thought Police, an authority that controls people’s minds and punishes people for having independent thoughts. The totalitarian dictatorship is under the leadership of a character known as Big Brother who has an omnipotent surveillance on the citizens.

However, the two books differ in many respects, one of which is the ending. In Anthem, the protagonist triumphs over the State’s collectivism and finds his freedom and individuality while in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the state succeeds in defeating the protagonist.

We by Yevgeny Zamyatin: This novel written by Yevgeny Zamyatin is one of the foremost dystopian novels and is instrumental to the development of dystopia as a literary genre. Written in Russian between 1920-1921, it was first published in 1924, in the English version translated by Gregory Zilborg. In 1952, the original Russian manuscript was published.

We is set in a dystopian society referred to as One State where the entire nation is constructed with glass for mass surveillance and shielded from the rest of the world by The Green Wall which demarcates its advanced civilization from a primitive one beyond. Like in Anthem, citizens in We are identified by letters and figures instead of names and the state has absolute control over the people’s will. The citizens wear uniforms and march in sync with one another, scientific principles and logic has been so inculcated into the society so much that people’s actions and behavior are determined by equations and formulae controlled by the One State.

The main character D-503 meets a woman called I-330 who flirts with him and breaks many rules of the state. His continued relationship with her makes him learn that I-330 is a member of a rebellious organization called Mephi which is secretly planning a revolution against the government of One State and to reunite its citizens with the rest of the earth’s population beyond The Green Wall. D-503 undergoes a surgical procedure that eliminates emotions and imagination in his mind through X-rays in parts of his brain. This makes him inform the authorities of One State about the Mephi and I-330 is captured and tortured but refuses to betray the Mephi a strong will that leaves D-503 in consternation. The novel ends as the Memphi begin to execute their plans and breach part of The Green Wall while I-330 is still under captivity.

Anthem and We are similar in the theme that the state extreme cannot eliminate rebellion completely in powerful individual minds even with extreme regimentation. Critics suggest that We had an influence on Ayn Rand’s Anthem but it is uncertain whether this is true or not as Rand in her lifetime did not make any reference to it.

A Time of Changes by Robert Silverberg: Written by an American writer, Robert Silverberg, and published in 1971, this novel is about a hero Kinnall Darival who begins an uprising against a repressive dynasty through the use of a telepathic drug he discovers while in exile.

Although Robert Silverberg claimed he did not know of Ayn Rand’s Anthem until after the publication of his novel, the two works of fiction are similar in having a dictatorial setting where the word “I” is forbidden.

The Lasting Impact of Anthem by Ayn Rand