Is Anthem a realistic portrayal of
life in a totalitarian society? Compare the fictionalized society in Anthem to
a real dictatorship, past or present. Some options are Nazi Germany, Soviet
Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia, etc.
In Ayn Rand’s Anthem,
Equality 7-2521 lives in a corrupt oppressive society where every single aspect
of life is controlled by the government—otherwise known as the Council—through
a structured, organized, and slowly-progressing, selfless society. Each person
is not a person, but a brother to one another, and there is no individual,
there is only a body representing a whole. Everything is done selflessly for
the good of the brothers to unite and create a perfect utopia.
This
is an idea derived directly from real-life circumstances through which the
author lived. She was born in 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia—directly into one
of the country’s most tumultuous periods. She endured the overthrow of power,
the Bolsheviks, and the Russian Revolution which caused much distress to her family;
they were lowered to poverty in order to be equal with all others who were in
unfortunate financial circumstances. Finally, when Josef Stalin came into
power, she had had enough and escaped the country completely (Life of Ayn Rand,
1).
The
life of Ayn Rand and the life of Equality 7-2521 mirror the long stretched and
current political situations in North Korea, or the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea. North Korea is one of the most secluded countries in the
world—only because it wants to be. In 1972, the country, under rule of Kim Il
Sung, adopted the idea of Marxism-Leninism—an extreme nationalism committed to
the pursuit of economic and cultural self-sufficiency (Credo Reference, 2). To
achieve this, most everyone must be relatively equal to one another and must
work together in their collective society.
The
native North Koreans have grown up to be essentially brainwashed, and their
lives are almost parallel to that of Equality and his brothers. They consider
their leaders immortal “gods”, and treat them accordingly, calling them “Great
Leader” and “Dear Leader” (Credo Reference, 1-2), and never considering
disobedience or rebellion. The children are taught songs and anthems to sing in
school that reflect a positive outlook on their country. Only very important
people are allowed to live in the country’s capitol, and everyone else resides
in small, poverty-stricken, rural villages scattered about. A Korean citizen
retires at age 60, no matter the physical condition. And the country has a
closely monitored closed-system of information exchange; Internet, television,
and any other information based media is limited only to what the government
feels is appropriate for its citizens to see. These are just some examples, and
because North Korea is the most secretive country in the world, there are
probably many more things that we do not know (NK Notes, 1).
North
Korea is stubborn in the sense that it tries to function on its own and refuses
help from other countries; it wants to survive independently as if the rest of
the world didn't even exist (Credo Reference, 1-2) . This shows the same kind
of society Equality lived in, in which it took care of itself and no one knew
anything of what lay outside its confines. These societies are strict, orderly,
and introverted and frankly don’t care at all what goes on in the rest of the
world so long as it doesn't affect their society. Anthem is a very realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarianism society
today. These are undesirable circumstances and hopefully one day they can be
eliminated altogether in order to allow for the freedom and individual purpose
that every human being was born with the right to have.
Works Cited
"The
Life Of Ayn Rand." The
Life of Ayn Rand. The Atlas Society, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.atlassociety.org/life-biography-of-ayn-rand>.
"Topic
Page:." North Korea.
Credo Reference, n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012. <http://www.credoreference.com/topic/north_korea>.
“North
Korea Video Notes.” Civics and Economics.
Sept. 2012
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