Anthem
by Ayn Rand
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Read in February, 2008
recommended to Jason by:
Sean Fransonrecommends it for: Everyone
I have recently become interested in the writings of Ayn Rand. Following my completion of “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie, I read “Anthem” since it was free on the internet and I would not have to wait to check it out from the library.
My first impression of the story was one of horror. The world that Rand describes where humanity exists as a collective without individuals is from my nightmares, and close to the ideas I had after reading “The Naked Communist” by W. C...more
My first impression of the story was one of horror. The world that Rand describes where humanity exists as a collective without individuals is from my nightmares, and close to the ideas I had after reading “The Naked Communist” by W. C...more
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Read in January, 1990
This book really helped me get my self esteem back together. This was my mantra going into college.... I think it got me through a lot of BS. It is not bad to remind yourself of the following things every once in a while.....
"I am. I think. I will.
My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. ...more
"I am. I think. I will.
My hands . . . My spirit . . . My sky . . . My forest . . . This earth of mine. . . . What must I say besides? These are the words. This is the answer.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. ...more
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Read in November, 2007
The book is about human identity and freedom, and how one can degrade under the chains of collectivism.
A lot of reviews on this book, which are posted on this site, use the word “futuristic” events. I intentionally put the quotes around this word as I tend to totally disagree with the choice of this word. I used to live under socialist regime, a collectivistic society. So I can relate and completely understand the events described in the book, where the word “I” doesn’t exist, when...more
A lot of reviews on this book, which are posted on this site, use the word “futuristic” events. I intentionally put the quotes around this word as I tend to totally disagree with the choice of this word. I used to live under socialist regime, a collectivistic society. So I can relate and completely understand the events described in the book, where the word “I” doesn’t exist, when...more
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Read in June, 2008
Another Librivox recording.
This is my first taste, so to speak, of Rand's work. And it was interesting, unnerving and better than I thought.
Official summary:
Anthem is a dystopic science fiction story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individu...more
This is my first taste, so to speak, of Rand's work. And it was interesting, unnerving and better than I thought.
Official summary:
Anthem is a dystopic science fiction story taking place at some unspecified future date. Mankind has entered another dark age as a result of what Rand saw as the weaknesses of socialistic thinking and economics. Technological advancement is now carefully planned (when it is allowed to occur, if at all) and the concept of individu...more
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My colleagues seem to like this book. It would be politically correct for me to smile and nod in agreement, but I gather from their reviews of this novel, the dystopic assertions made by Ms. Rand through her numerically-monikered protagonist gives me the shelter I need to speak curtly my opinion of this effort. Therefore, I will risk the possibility of an ironic shunning for saying that this book did not do a dang thing for me.
It's not that the themes that Rand so blatantly and starkly conv...more
It's not that the themes that Rand so blatantly and starkly conv...more
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Read in February, 2007
recommends it for:
young adult lit fans, teachers,
I would recommend this book to teachers and 7th – 10th graders (There is an essay contest for 9th & 10th graders)
Quotation:
-- It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking along to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.
The Concept:
The novella Anthem starts with Equality 7-252...more
Quotation:
-- It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking along to no ears but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.
The Concept:
The novella Anthem starts with Equality 7-252...more
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Read in March, 2008
Ayn Rand wrote this in the author's forward in the United States release of Anthem. I find it amazing how potent these words are not only when she wrote them, but also today.
The greatest guilt of today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empty assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one's eyes shut. They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: "But I didn't mean this!" ...more
The greatest guilt of today is that of people who accept collectivism by moral default; the people who seek protection from the necessity of taking a stand, by refusing to admit to themselves the nature of that which they are accepting; the people who support plans specifically designed to achieve serfdom, but hide behind the empty assertion that they are lovers of freedom, with no concrete meaning attached to the word; the people who believe that the content of ideas need not be examined, that principles need not be defined, and that facts can be eliminated by keeping one's eyes shut. They expect, when they find themselves in a world of bloody ruins and concentration camps, to escape moral responsibility by wailing: "But I didn't mean this!" ...more
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Read in February, 2000
recommends it for:
all
Sorry I tell the ending:
Ayn Rand’s Anthem takes place in the undated future – where individuality is non-existent. The word “I” does not exist, people talk only as the collective "we" and are identified by numbers. The short novel is about one man who is able to escape this society. It starts with a recounting of his childhood and how he was the smartest and quickest of his peers. Although he wanted to be a part of the scholars – he is sent to be a street sweeper - he views...more
Ayn Rand’s Anthem takes place in the undated future – where individuality is non-existent. The word “I” does not exist, people talk only as the collective "we" and are identified by numbers. The short novel is about one man who is able to escape this society. It starts with a recounting of his childhood and how he was the smartest and quickest of his peers. Although he wanted to be a part of the scholars – he is sent to be a street sweeper - he views...more
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recommends it for:
pretentious Ron Paul fans
Congrats, Aynnie! You've received my first single star rating! I read this in high school when I was reading a lot of dystopian future literature and thought it was by far the worst of the lot. Granted, if I'd read it when I was younger I might have liked it more, but saying that the even younger, less mature, more pretentious version of my teenage self would have liked something is hardly a glowing endorsement.
As such I've steered /way/ clear of her door-stoppers. I don't think you real...more
As such I've steered /way/ clear of her door-stoppers. I don't think you real...more
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The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through.
There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and the air of the streets. Fear walks through the city, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare speak.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of all things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a ...more
There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and the air of the streets. Fear walks through the city, fear without name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare speak.
I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the quest. I wished to know the meaning of all things. I am the meaning. I wished to find a ...more
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Read in June, 2005
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Neither a science-fiction masterpiece, nor a futuristic predicament, ANTHEM is a personal reaction to the collectivist system, dominant in Soviet Union and its modernized colonies for more than seven decades. Assumed too much reactionary by leftist intellectuals for rather a long time, it depicts the apocalyptic chaos in a world ruled by collectivist thoughts in the same way that Orwell’s 1984 builds it (for instance, you can think of a world after a nuclear crisis and then come to the meaning...more
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Reading this novella was like reading "dystopian-lite" literature, if there were such a thing. Having read plenty of dystopian lit in my life, I was disappointed at how stark and on-the-nose was Ayn Rand's treatment of the horrors of collectivism. Frankly, I think Orwell, Atwood, and even Lowry have done a better job discussing the impact of these "futuristic" societies on their characters, and perhaps that's why I enjoyed them more. Equality-whatever the numer was did not...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
recommended to Krystal by:
Sam Ankenbauerrecommends it for: anyone
Anthem is the perfect introduction to Ayn Rand and her wonderful, almost lyrical way of writing. Throughout the (very short) novel, nuggets of insight and quotables pop up frequently out of the blue, and the last 30 pages are some of the best I've ever read. The novel concerns Equality 7-2521, who, in step with Ayn Rand's philosophical system of Objectivism, has no purpose, other than to street-sweep, and has no sense of being an individual. As the novel goes on, Equality 7-2521 does unthinkable...more
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Read in January, 2006
recommends it for:
people who believe in uniqueness
I loved this book because it showed the importance of being an individual. In a world where the word "I" is non-existant, the Golden One and Equality 7-2521 strive to find a way to seperate themselves from the monotonous world around them. It showed how are society could become if we all continue to try to be "normal." In discovering the tunnel he discovers education and this leads him to the ever important trait of individuality. This shows the importance of education and ho...more
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Read in June, 2008
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Read in January, 1981
Okay, I'm not really an Ayn Rand fan. Frankly her other novels kind of creep me out a little bit with their Socratic neo-con dialogue. The narrator in Atlas Shrugged just couldn't be more selfish in a passive aggressive manner. But I digress.
I read Anthem when I was in 8th grade and was thrilled by the plot of these two numbered humans escaping their predetermined life to gain freedom. The language was concise and thoughtful, but the ideas of freedom and the symbols of in...more
I read Anthem when I was in 8th grade and was thrilled by the plot of these two numbered humans escaping their predetermined life to gain freedom. The language was concise and thoughtful, but the ideas of freedom and the symbols of in...more
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I forced this one down the throats of my ninth graders during the last week of school (when they though they weren't going to be doing anything). But, in my defense, I had to do my best to, at least, try to combat/offest/try to provide an alternative train of thought to the constant barage of liberalism they will continue to recieve through their public education experience - hurrah for me!
I like the book. A quick read, and a quick introduction to Rand's thought. Rand champions the individua...more
I like the book. A quick read, and a quick introduction to Rand's thought. Rand champions the individua...more
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Read in March, 2008
So I don't agree with Ayn Rand's philosophy (Objectivism). I'm not big on selfishness or anything like that. I have recently taken an interest in Satanism however and there is no doubt (especially since Anton LaVey himself admitted this) that the LaVeyan Satanism has been heavily influenced by Ayn Rand. "Anthem" was published before her two big books ("Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged") in 1938. It is a novella that is brilliantly written and quite intriguing. It i...more
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Read in August, 2007
Anthem by Ayn Rand. I read this book many years ago when I was a teenager and I didn't think much of it. Rereading it as an adult I'm not quite sure what to think. I'm still processing it. Ayn Rand is known for her passionate views on individualism. She despises collectivism of any sort.. even the religious sort. I almost think she borders on the extreme of individualism. Which, in my opinion, is just as dangerous as the extremes of collectivism. But then I also have to keep in mind where Ayn Ra...more
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