Anthem
Uploaded by SkYgReEnChIcK on Sep 17, 2005
Throughout weeks of forbidden loneliness in the underground tunnel, Prometheus slowly reinvented the light. His discovery was so gargantuan, that he knew that he had to present it to the Council of Scholars. Once he told his story to the Scholars, Prometheus started realizing his fatal mistake: The World Council rejected his gift of light and now he had to face the consequences.
The Council’s rejection consisted of a few steps. Harmony 9-2642 asserted that it would have brought ruin to the Department of Candles. Unanimity 2-9923 reported that it took fifty years to secure the approval of all the Council for the Candle, and to decide upon the number needed, and to re-fit the Plans so as to make candles instead of torches. Last, but not least, what was not done collectively could not be good. Besides the fact the light bulb was evidently going to be demolished, Prometheus, himself, was to be hanged, murdered, executed, neutralized, or in other words, he was dead.
Finally, when the idea behind their social life uncovered itself, he realized that the light that was suppose to take him to the top and make him a big-time hero, instead uncovered something bigger- the truth. Suddenly, the light extinguished forever and everything turned dusky inside Prometheus’ heart. Now he understood that their society was nothing but a lie . . . a lie about everything: about evils of individualism, friendship, and love. All of the concepts that they followed and their atmosphere in general was counterfactual. At once he realized the great importance and necessity of new discoveries and observations.
Ayn Rand’s philosophy is coherent. Rand’s St. Petersburg family was wealthy. Her father owned a pharmacy. When the Bolshevik Revolution erupted, their pharmacy was confiscated and she was left with nothing. Once she cast an anchor in America, her hatred for Russia grew even stronger and because of that her philosophical concept was born- “Objectivism”. In Anthem, Prometheus, in order to free himself from the collectivist society, had to make crucial mistakes that led to the understand the meaning of man’s ego. The Council’s rejection was the first step to freedom. As a result, he understood that not only was he fooled, but everybody else was, as well.
If anybody wants to fully understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy, then they have to know a tad about socialism. Socialistic years were similar to those that Rand describes...