Anthem is a dystopian novella by author and philosopher Ayn Rand that was first published in Great Britain in 1938 and in the United States in 1946. It is Rand’s political manifesto for her theory of Objectivism, or egoism—the idea that an individual’s worth comes from himself or herself and not from what he or she contributes to society. Anthem takes the form of an allegory in which Rand describes a dystopia (in which the pronoun “I” has been outlawed) through which she speculates on the eventual result of society’s negative aspects.

Summary

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Characters

See a complete list of the characters in Anthem and in-depth analyses of Equality 7-2521 and The Golden One.

Literary Devices

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Quotes

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Quick Quizzes

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Deeper Study

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Anthem (SparkNotes Literature Guide Series)

 
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