Morality In Ayn Rand's Anthem

The definition of morality is a particular system of values and principles of conduct , especially one held by a specific person or society(Webster). As humans, the development of morality is an important aspect into which creates each person’s individuality. Morality is constructed by the values augmented in the adolescent years by parents and superiors. For several years , the set of values taught during childhood is the only known way of living. An exemplary example is Equality 7-2521 from the eye-opening book Anthem by Ayn Rand. Equality lives in the so called ‘dark ages’ of the future. At a very young age Equality is shown that not one person is greater than another. The officials of Equality’s society try to curtain the idea of one’s self from its civilians. The word ‘I’ is completely eliminated from the vocabulary and is construed to be the ultimate source of evil. If anything sets one person apart from the rest, such as height or intelligence, it is …show more content…
He finally put himself first and found being your own individual is not wrong. Putting yourself first and having your own thoughts is more important than pleasing others. It may sound like selfishness but Ayn Rand explains the situation perfectly from her passage ,For the New Intellectual, “Men have been taught that the ego is the synonym of evil, and selflessness the ideal of virtue. But the creator is the egoist in the absolute sense, and the selfless man is the one who does not think, feel, judge or act. These are functions of the self.” Rand is initially saying in order to be a happy, functional person, you need to sometimes put yourself first. Differences don’t set us apart, they bring us together as our own individual persons. This concept that Equality learned is contradictory to everything his society taught him. He went against the flow and disagreed with his brothers and ended up finding true happiness and love; the two greatest emotions known to

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