ANTHEM ESSAY

                                                            In the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand who was an atheist, she writes about finding a greater power than ourselves. I found the story to be very different in a way, and I thought that was cool. Well, the society was meant to be a utopia, but it ended up being a dystopia because every one was is on a schedule, There are so many rules and laws. But the worst thing has to be is they can’t think for themselves, They can only think of their brothers, also they can’t pick their life profession, Yes you read that right, LIFE PROFESSION. In this “utopia”, they pick your life profession, and when you turn forty, you are considered useless. But now that I’ve read the novel and wrote this essay, I understand his actions, and I probably would have been too scared to do anything other than I was told. I mean you are being told if you break a law you are killed or sent to the department of corrections. You would think that would stop him from trying to get into the House of Scholars, but no, he keeps trying, and I think that is why right now, this is my favorite book, I wish there was more novels like this, I would read them all.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Well, I think Ayn Rand named her main characters Equality and Liberty after “Prometheus” and “Gaia” because they are a lot like them. In this essay, I will tell you how. Ayn Rand named Equality probably for all these reasons. The first reason being because “Prometheus” was known among his peers as being intelligent. He stole fire from Zeus and gave it to the mortals so that they may use it, and in the novel Anthem equality stole a few supplies from the house of scholars and made a version of a battery, and then it made a sort of a spark, that is how he invented the “Light Bulb”, and he made it not for his own sake but for his “brothers.” Well, Zeus punished “Prometheus” by binding him to a rock while everyday an eagle would eat his liver, and every day a new one would grow back so the punishment never ended. Equality’s punishment was they wanted to send him to the department of corrections. They taunted him by saying that a creation made by oneself was evil and prohibited and made fun of his life profession as a street sweeper, but Equality did not want this profession, He wanted to be a scholar, but he felt joy when they told him “Street Sweeper” because he wished all day and night to be punished because to think for your self was forbidden. After they told him this, he was angry and ran away into the uncharted forest, which I think it stands for freedom and exploration, and in this society they don’t have that.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             Now I am going to tell you why I think Rand ended up calling Liberty “Gaia” Well earlier in the book Anthem she arranged Equality to name Liberty the Golden One. well, for starters I think she named her that because “Gaia” was the foundation of the gods in Olympus, and in the book Equality is madly in love with her but is not allowed to show emotion what so ever because it shows thoughts for oneself not others. “Gaia” was the great mother of all air, sea, and sky. In the myth, “Gaia” appears as the prime opponent of the heavenly gods. First, she rebelled against her husband Ouranos (sky) who had imprisoned her sons in her womb, except that last part does not happen in this novel but she becomes pregnant.                                                                                                                                                                                                So that is my theory of why Rand named them “Prometheus” and “Gaia” and I think Rand did that so it can tap into the readers mind or just teach them something new. Honestly I think these names suite them and I feel the book should have gone on longer so we could see what the baby’s name is. Also to see if it is a boy because Equality keeps saying my son. So it goes to show there is a light hidden in the dark in which you might lie. So what I am trying to say is their kid, no matter girl or boy, it will bring light to a whole new world.