Anthem

Part A

One of the most important symbols in Anthem by Ayn Rand is light. Often, light represents purity and truth. When in the forest, the main characters find a house that has windows to allow light in. The light, in that instance, represents a bit of freedom. The light they see has given them freedom in the woods from their normal lives. Light is also used to contrast the forest and the city. The forest is reliant on light while the city relies on candles. Light is not present in the dark, sickly feeling city. The light the characters experience has a negative; while it exposes the good things in life it also sheds light onto the bad. This, however, only detracts minimally from the happiness they feel when they are able to be alone in the forest. Their flaws do not outweigh the good they see.

Part B

"I am. I think. I will." (Chapter XI, page 94).

After realizing the impact of the word "I", Equality 7-2521 starts off Chapter XI a new man. I like this quote because it is simple. Too often we are caught up in intense, profound language with color and texture when we should be looking at the simple things in life, as they are often the most beautiful. This quote kicks off the main character's new thought process. Now that he can think for himself, he begins to now plan his new life with "The Golden One". This is an important quote because it is the start of a new life for him; he realizes now what it means to say "I".

Part C

Despite the relatively short length of the novel, I still found Anthem to be a rather slow read. To me, it seemed as though the book was moving in half time. All the events seemed to move at half speed and their communication in the beginning was limited. For a while I was confused as to the use of "we". The characters would always refer to "we" and it was sometimes difficult to grasp what they meant without rereading a paragraph several times. I did not like the depiction of "The Golden One" either. She seemed to just be a woman there only for her man. He controlled her to an extent and it was not appealing to read about.