full title Anthem
author Ayn Rand
type of work Novella
genre Dystopia; manifesto
language English
time and place written The United States, 1937
date of first publication British edition, 1938; American
edition, 1946
publisher Signet
narrator Equality 7-2521 writes the journal
of the events as they transpire over the course of several months.
point of view Equality 7-2521 speaks in the
first person, writing in his journal as the events transpire. He
relates some of the conversations verbatim, and other events he
describes only from his own perspective. He occasionally remarks
on what other characters are thinking.
tone Equality 7-2521 records his
thoughts and actions in a straightforward manner, with no trace
of irony.
tense Present, with some past-tense narration
setting (time) In the future, after the collapse of the social order
because of the common acceptance of collectivist values
setting (place) An unidentified city; much of the first half of Anthem is
narrated from a tunnel underground where Equality 7-2521 is
hiding, and the second half is narrated from a forest where he has
taken refuge from a society that hates him.
protagonist Equality 7-2521
major conflict Equality 7-2521 struggles for
self-identification in a society that has rejected individualism
in favor of collectivism.
rising action Equality 7-2521 discovers a
tunnel in which he begins hiding regularly to conduct scientific
experiments; he invents the lightbulb; he decides to share his invention
with the World Council of Scholars, even though he knows the way
he came to discover electricity is illegal and sinful.
climax Equality 7-2521’s presentation
of the lightbulb to the World Council permanently severs him from
society and forces him out onto his own.
falling action Equality 7-2521 and the Golden
One pursue their own lives together in the forest; they discover
the meaning of individualism and the word “I.”
themes The primacy of the individual; the value of martyrdom;
the impotence of the collective; original creation as a component
of identity
motifs Fear; naming; shapelessness
symbols Light; the forest; manuscripts
foreshadowing The death of the Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word foreshadows
the torture and exile of Equality 7-2521 and
his ultimate epiphany upon discovering the word “I”;Equality 7-2521’s
growing obsession with the Uncharted Forest foreshadows his exile
there; Equality 7-2521’s torture at the hands
of the Home Council foreshadows his exile by the World Council;
The Golden One’s attempts to say “I love you” foreshadow the epiphany
of her discovery of the word “I.”
