ANTHEM (Wisehouse Classics Edition) - Softcover

Rand, Ayn

Softcover

ISBN 10: 9176372197 ISBN 13: 9789176372197

Publisher: Wisehouse Classics, 2016

Synopsis

ANTHEM is a dystopian fiction novella by Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in England. It takes place at some unspecified future date when mankind has entered another dark age. Technological advancement is now carefully planned and the concept of individuality has been eliminated.

Equality 7-2521, writing by candlelight in a tunnel under the earth, tells the story of his life up to that point. He exclusively uses plural pronoun(s) ("we", "our", "they") to refer to himself and others. He was raised like all children in his society, away from his parents in collective homes. Later, he realized that he was born with a "curse", that makes him learn quickly and ask many questions. He excelled at the Science of Things and dreamed of becoming a Scholar. However, a Council of Vocations assigns all people to their Life Mandate, and he was assigned to be a Street Sweeper.

He accepts his street sweeping assignment as penance for his "Transgression of Preference" in secretly desiring to be a Scholar. He finds an entrance to a tunnel in their assigned work area. Despite his friend's protests that any exploration unauthorized by a Council is forbidden, Equality enters the tunnel and finds that it contains metal tracks. He realizes that the tunnel is from the Unmentionable Times of the distant past . . . (more at www.wisehouse-classics.com)

About this title

From the Back Cover:

In this classic novel that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand examines a frightening future in which individuals have no name, no independence, and no values.

Equality 7-2521 lives in the Dark Ages of the future, where all decisions are made by committee, all people live in collectives, all traces of individualism have been wiped out. But the spark of individual thought and freedom still burns in Equality 7-2521, a passion which he has been taught to call sinful. In a purely egalitarian world, he dares to stand forth from the herd -- to think and choose for himself, to discover electricity, and to love the woman of his choice. Now he has been marked for death for committing the ultimate sin: in a world where the great "we" reign supreme, he has rediscovered the lost and holy word "I".

This provocative book is an anthem sung in praise of man's ego.

About the Author:

Ayn Rand
(1905-1982)
Born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaum, she was best known for her philosophy of Objectivism and her novels We the Living, Anthem, The Fountainhead, and Atlas Shrugged.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wisehouse Classics
• Publication date: 2016
• ISBN 10: 9176372197
• ISBN 13: 9789176372197
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 46
• Editor: Vaseghi Sam