Literary Analysis- Round 5- Mari Hopp

Anthem by Ayn Rand
Literary Analysis
Parts 9 & 10

How does the protagonist change from the beginning to the end of the novel?  What does this character learn about himself (or herself) and about how the world works?

Equality 7-2521, the protagonist, has changed a lot since the beginning of the book, and so has his view on how the world works. In the beginning, he did already have the curse that made him this of the forbidden, and to have the pulse to do things that are against the law. The thing is, that at that time he was innocent. Yes, he had broken some laws, but those were sort of minor laws, and no one would ever know about it. "It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears but our own... We have broken the laws. The laws say that men may not write unless the council of Vocations bid them so. May we be forgiven!"(Rand, Part One). This passage is at the first paragraph of the book, and we can already see how and that he has broken the laws. At the end of this passage, Equality 7-2521 even asks to be forgiven just to have written something when he wasn't supposed to, which this seems to be just a minor law for the people not to express their own thoughts.

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At the point in the book where I've read until, Equality 7-2521 is much changed from what he was before. He has fallen in love with the Golden One, Liberty 5-3000, and she has also fell in love with him. They currently live in a little house/cottage in the Uncharted Forest. "Today, the Golden One stopped suddenly and said: 'We love you'"(Rand, Part Nine). They live there because when Equality reveled his discovery and new knowledge, the World Council of Scholars rejected it and were to make horrible things to him. He decided to run away to the Uncharted Forest, and some days later the Golden One decided to go after him.
All this lead to a new way of them viewing the world. That is because he, as well as the Golden One, have more knowledge to actually create a perspective to which they see the world. All the others in their community think of the world the same way that the Scholars or the people that are in charge tell them to. Especially now that they are in the forest, they will come by even more knowledge and more curiosity towards the world they now live in. In the following quote, we can see how they seek knowledge i0n order to survive better: "May knowledge come to us! What is the secret our hearts has understood and yet will not reveal to us, although it seems to beat as if it were endeavoring to tell it?"(Rand, Part Ten).