(no subject)
Selfless Defense of Selfishness
“Greater love hath no man than this; that a man lay down his life for his friend’s”-an unlikely quote supporting martyrdom to begin a treatise on a piece of writing aimed to demonstrate objectivism. But there is relation between the two in how Ayn Rand, in her novella Anthem, chooses to advocate a personal revolution of withdrawal from a collectivist society. This revolution is promoted by a simple message: a person’s ideal must be viewed as more important than the person, otherwise the person may outlive the ideal.
Equality makes the importance of his ideal obvious when, after discovering electricity, he says, “We, Equality, have discovered a new power of nature…It is said. Now let us be lashed for it, if we must.” When reflecting on his discovery, he realizes that the act of believing he discovered the electricity himself is punishable. But he also says that he is willing to continue with research. In light of these consequences, Equality demonstrates a selfless defense of his ideal.
We see another character that is ready to protect with his life what he believes in. when Equality discovers the tunnel, he wants to go in, but International wants to report their findings to the City Council. But Equality refuses, and asks International if he will report Equality to the authorities where he will be lashed. But International says, “Rather would we die.” International will never have to die for this situation, but someone else has.
When Equality was ten years old, he, like the other children, was forced to witness the execution of a man. This man’s transgression had been speaking the Unmentionable Word. The punishment was harsh; first they cut out his tongue so he could not say the Word again. Then they led him through the square to a pyre, where they chained him up and set fire to it. But the impressive part of this comes from his response to being burned alive; instead of screaming and writhing in pain, the man smiles. If the man feels happiness, rather than pain while burning alive, than this shows the very great value he holds in what he believes as opposed to the preservation of his body.
Equality responds to this occurrence by saying, “And it seemed as if these eyes were trying to tell us something through the flames, to send into our eyes some word without a sound. And it seemed as if these eyes were begging us to gather that word….[but] we could not guess the word.” The man tries to tell Equality the Unmentionable Word, but dies before Equality could guess the word. But Equality still grasped the idea, and the torch was passed.
When this matter is presented to Equality, he responds to this calling by saying, “What-even if we have to burn for it like the saint of the pyre-what is the Unspeakable Word?” Being singled out in the crowd by the man’s eyes, struck Equality’s curiosity, and moved him so much, that he had decided to find out the Word, even if he is to be punished for it.
And he does not go without punishment. Equality is caught, because he had spent too much time in his tunnel. On his return from the tunnel to the Home of the Street Sweepers, he is stopped by the Council of the Home. The Council asks Equality where he has been. Equality thinks of his light bulb, and decides to not tell the Council of the Home. Then the oldest of the Council turned to the two youngest, and ordered that Equality be taken to the Palace of Corrective Detention to be tortured until he spoke. But that is not the end of his stay at the Palace of Corrective Detention.
At the Palace, Equality is stripped of his clothes, and whipped. The first few lashes caused him great pain. But he ceased feeling the strikes on his back. They stop whipping him, and punch him in the face once. They ask him again, “Where have you been?” But Equality stayed silent. We see here, that Equality will not give up his secret for anything. It is imagined that if the process went on, that Equality may be put to death for not speaking. But this doesn’t go on, and Equality escapes to write of this later.
Back in the setting of Equality’s home after he escapes from the Palace of Corrective Detention, Ayn Rand speaks through Equality saying “For that which they died to save can never perish.” What some people of the Unmentionable Times believed in and died for will never pass away. Equality shows this by saying “And they, these few…perished with their banners smeared by their own blood… Theirs is the banner in my hand.” These few died for their beliefs, and he still holds on to their belief. We see how the belief is passed on through generations. If the belief continues when the person holding the belief does not, then the death was not in vain.
Ending her story of a selfless defense of selfishness, Ayn’s puppet Equality says “The word which will not die, should we all perish in battle.” The word she speaks of is ego. The word ego will never pass away from the thoughts of men, even if they die for it. If they died for the word ego, then what ego represents was not as important as the word ego.
This demonstration of the importance of the ideal over the self leaves some thinking about the ideal Equality so selflessly defended. But that is not as important as how he defended his ideal. Equality took action, stood up for what he believed in, and fought the Man. This book is a calling to anyone who has a belief they feel should be materialized. This book broadcasts to those people this simple message: actively promote what you believe, through actions and sacrifice, and what you believe in will never perish.