Ha Marron
Line Illuminator
Anthem
By Ayn Rand
Rotation #2
Part 3 & 4
“We put a piece of copper and a piece of zinc into a jar of brine, we touched a wire to them, and there, under our fingers, was a miracle which had never occurred before, a new miracle and a new power. This discovery haunted us” (Page 65). In this passage of the book Anthem our main character Equality 7-2521 discovers for the first time electricity. Of course he doesn't know what he just saw, or the name of it, though he sees it as a miracle. One must think that this is an important situation in throughout the novel, not only because something that further more will help this character to build a setting of the story and its conflict, but also because is a vivid example of how this society was limited to the knowledge of few people. The new and unfamiliar stuff was prohibited and no human being would talk about it.
“[…] we looked into their eyes and we could not lie.‘ ‘Yes,‘ we whispered and they smiled, and then we said: ‘Our dearest one does not obey us.‘ They stepped back, and their eyes were wide and still. ‘Speak this words again,‘ they whispered. ‘Which words?‘ we asked. But they did not answer, and we knew it. ‘Our dearest one,“ we whispered. Never have men said this to women“ (Page 69). This romantic quote of Anthem talks about forbidden love between our main character and this lovely girl called Liberty 5-3000. This two lovers can not be together because their community thinks you should not love any other human being more than another. This golden line from chapter 4 contributes to Anthem in showing the readers the main conflict (I suppose) of this story. Although this quote also tells us about how Equality 7-2521 sees Liberty 5-3000 so beautiful and flawless that he sees her as if he owns her.
Ha,
ReplyDeleteGreat post! I completely agree with you. Both examples are a small preview of what the city is really like and how it limits the citizens to be themselves. I think that this system really slows down the society, because if someone like our main character would have the freedom of speech he would be able to share his knowledge and make the city prosper. For sure, there's a reason why they don't want their citizens to be individuals although nobody really knows. It does leave me thinking about the rest of the people who live there, maybe they think they are smarter, just like Equality 7-2521 but just don't tell anybody. Also, some might have discoveries that would help the society develop but since their word was silenced, they can't mention it to them. The city could be filled with over-achievers but they will never know because they don't have the freedom of speech or decision.
Thanks,
Martu