Dystopian Society In Ayn Rand's Anthem

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The fictional society represented in the dystopian book, Anthem, written by Ayn Rand has many parallels and similarities to the country of North Korea. Ayn Rand was known for sponsoring her philosophy of Objectivism through courses, lectures and literature. Rand soon refined her philosophy of what she termed "Objectivism": a belief in an existing reality, from which individuals can distinguish existing truths, and the ultimate moral value of the pursuit of self-interest. Although she battered criticism for her perceived literary defects and philosophical arguments, Rand undeniably left her mark on the Western culture she encompassed. In the book, the setting takes place in a dystopian society while North Korea has a communist society. These …show more content…
The book Anthem written by Ayn Rand is very comparable to the construction of North Korea due to how the leaders dictate what they have control of and the freedom of their people. The parallel in Anthem is that the people of the community or society are to never question the council, or you are called a transgressor. A transgressor is someone who violates a law, command, moral code, etc. Therefore, the government in both of these societies tell the citizens what to do and what to believe in, having full control of the people. Both people being part of Anthem or North Korea are in a society to where they all live in a “black hole” and that is because they are all so locked down and watched so cautiously. Not only are they watched very closely but both societies are propagandized into believing every little thing their leaders do must be the right way because that is all they know. In the Anthem society, the people believe that individuality is not the way to live. The people can’t even live for themselves, and are prohibited to use the word 'I'. In North Korea the people are also not their own person. They can't even walk down the street without having to bow down to a statue or a picture of their General Leader, Kim Jong