Reflection - Anthem

I really enjoyed Anthem because for one, I like sci-fi stories, but also because I felt Ayn Rand remained faithful to the emotions of the characters. In Anthem Equality as well as his 'brothers' in society have never known emotion. They don't know what it's like to love or hate. However, the characters, although to some may seem not very dynamic, are actually reacting to their new experiences in a truthful way. Equality's reaction to his beautiful creation is a great scene, not because of the over abundance of mellifluous dialogue, but because one has this illusory image of a man coming to terms with who he is and what he can become. Equality's almost subdued excitement is one that is truthful to the man Equality is. He's never experienced this before, but he knows the intelligence, the difference, has been in him forever, separating him from everyone else.

This can also be seen in the Golden One's statement to Equality (see my favorite quote). In this scene she knows nothing of how to express love, she just knows she feels something unlike anything she's felt before. Rand's use of word choice in the dialogue adds to the development of both characters.

I also liked the story as a whole, one man's quest for knowledge, his release from the conventional bonds of society, and finally his realization of a purpose for his life. Taking philosophy this year makes me question the idea of existence, as an empty shell, and I liked this book mainly because it caused me to question my life and the society in which we exist.

To draw a slight parallel, I find this book similar to George Lucas' first film THX-1138. Although not extremely popular, the film shares a similar story to the book. Basically, THX-1138's (Robert Duvall) escape from the uniform, domineering society in which he lives, to a greater world, that he knows exists. I hope to post the end scene of the film as soon as I figure out how.