Anthem by Ayn Rand

Title: Anthem

Author: Ayn Rand

Grade: A

Number of Pages: 105

Edition: Paperback

Year: 1938

 

 

Contains: Drama, Romance, Coming-of-age.

Analysis of Book (1-10 on each aspect):

Characters: 10

Plot: 10

Writing: 9

Wow Factor: 9

 

Summary (from noblesoul.com): Anthem is written as the diary of Equality 7-2521, a young man living in a future in which people have lost all knowledge of individualism, to the point of not even knowing words like ‘I’ or ‘mine.’ Everyone lives and works in collective groups, with all aspects of daily life dictated by councils — the Council of Vocations, the Council of Scholars, etc. When he is assigned to a menial job cleaning the streets, Equality 7-2521 rebels against collectivism by conducting secret scientific research, which eventually leads him to re-create electric light. When he presents his discovery to the Council of Scholars, they condemn him for daring to act as an individual and threaten to destroy his creation. He is joined there by his love, a girl called Liberty 5-3000. They come across an ancient house, a relic of the Unmentionable Times before collectivism. There they rediscover the lost language of the self. 

My Review : Go out and read it now! I loved this book very much. In the beginning it is hard to get used to because as you learned in the summary the main character says “we” when he means “I”, and “ours” when he means “mine”. Just replace those and you will understand what Equality is trying to say. I really adored this book because it was a tale of adventure, romance, and being your own person. I think I liked this book this much because Equality is so different from the other people in this society. I can relate to him because of this. He likes to think and he doesn’t like being told how things are. I also liked how he didn’t feel guilty of what he was doing because it made him feel peaceful. Equality has emotions and loves Liberty very much and that always made me happy throughout the story. I learned to never let people tell me what to do because it would be really sad to have this happen to society. Please, please read this book. It will teach you and it surely was enjoyable.

I’d love to hear your comments/thoughts if you have or haven’t read this book. 🙂