Prometheus In Ayn Rand's Anthem

"I am Ego," Equality-72521, now Prometheus, declares as he looks over his new world and life outside of what he used to know. Proud of his accomplishments of achieving freedom and independence from a "dystopic utopia," Prometheus announces his growth by using the forbidden "I" and shamed "ego" in Ayn Rand's "Anthem." His old life consisted of repetition of skills, more specifically, street sweeping for him, because of the society he lived in before. Everyone saw themselves as one large entity, refering to themselves as "we", doing nothing but what they have mastered. Instead of living a life of pure collectivism, Equality-72521 escapes this world so he could grow. He learns more about what he hasn't mastered, and by doing so, he grew in character. …show more content…
"Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow," as stated by writer and author Ralph Waldo Emerson. Us humans can only experience growth, the ability to do or learn something that is capable of expanding our knowledge, character or skill set, once we step away from what we have mastered, the ability to do an activity or know information that is correct every single time. Some may argue that mastery is growth because it is a stage in learning. However, if someone is the master in something, there isn't anything to learn in their mastery. Growth only occurs with something new, not something old. When it boils down to this one word, it cannot be achieved by acting with your mastery because one grows through failure, mastery does not create anything new, and, by definition, mastery cannot award growth. When one tries to do something for the first time, isn't it near definite that they will mess up at one point? What does one do with a single screwup? Do they quit and never try again? Perhaps. What happens if they don't? They get back up on their feet, take that mistake, and turn it into a lesson that shows them what not

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