First Place
Denise Orthner Hammonton HS, Hammonton, NJ
“It is a sin to write this”—so begins Anthem. What is the significance of this opening line to the story and to the meaning of the novel? What view of morality does it embody? What is Equality’s eventual assessment of his sin and why? Explain.
There is no “You”, there is no “I” there is only “We”. One must not work alone, one must not think alone, one must not act alone, and one must not exist alone. A man is a part of a whole and his purpose is to work for the whole. This is what society said was right, and this is what Equality thought was right. To work alone, to think alone, to act alone—these are all sins. It is this frame of mind that begins Anthem as Equality wrote, “It is a sin to write this.” He was writing alone, for no eyes but his own, and so it was a sin. Yet Equality wrote it anyway. It was his curse.
Equality was plagued his entire life by such curses. As a child, he was inquisitive and quickly excelled past the other students. He was taller than most, and so Equality was told there was evil in his bones. To be different was to stand out, to stand out was to be an individual. Equality had the misfortune to stand out in all ways. As he grew older, Equality secretly yearned to be chosen to go to the House of the Scholars. This was another sin since a man should be happy with whatever job he was assigned for it would be for the good of his brothers. Instead of going to the House of the Scholars, Equality went on to become a Street Sweeper. Equality was not upset he thought of it as his punishment for sinning, and by accepting this job he could atone. Equality believed what he had been taught since birth. He believed to be an individual was wrong, and to be part of a whole was good.
Still, Equality could not suppress his own nature. He continued to act out alone, and gradually began to break free of the chains that bound him to “We”. Equality discovered a place that was known by no others, and chose to keep it that way. When he knew no one would catch him, he would escape the dark confines of his brothers to that place. There, Equality was able to indulge his own curiosity and experiment as he pleased. He discovered energy that no other had discovered before, and created a box of light by himself. Equality added another sin to his long list of transgressions, and yet, for the first time, he felt it did not matter. He felt that what truly mattered was the box of light that he had created and his own self. His creation mattered. He mattered. Equality, for the first time, began to feel pride.
However, Equality could not yet truly rid himself of the way of thinking he had clung to for so long. He thought that his box of light should go to his brothers that it could be used for the good of the whole. He told himself that he would be forgiven for his gift to them was so great. This was not to be. When Equality presented his treasured light to the World Council of Scholars, it was rejected. He created it by himself, and that which is created by one was said to be the root of all evil; the box of light was to be destroyed. Equality, while still clinging to the ideals of his society, could not let this happen and so escaped to the unknown territory of the Uncharted Forests. Feeling sure he would be devoured by animals, but knowing no other choice, Equality ventured deep inside. He had no regrets except for one and that was, his love. As time went on, Equality soon discovered that he was not going to be devoured by wild beasts. Instead, he had found a world where he was his own. He could sleep when he wanted to, he could wake when he wanted to, he could laugh, sing, dance, or whatever all when he wanted to. Upon remembering that he was the Damned, Equality merely laughed. He was beginning to truly question the morality of his old society. If this, which felt so good, was sin, what was actually good or bad? His world would only continue to become better when joined him. As the two lay at night, they would light a fire around them to drive away the beasts of the night. With the light, they were safe. With his intelligence, Equality could drive away the darkness of ignorance.
Equality was now well on his way to forming the ideals of an individual. However, there was still one piece missing from the puzzle. Not knowing the word ‘I’, Equality and Liberty strived to convey their own individuality to each other but could not. When Equality discovered the texts in the house left from the Unmentionable Times, he also discovered ‘I’ and the rest of the pieces fell into place. With this word, Equality broke the powerful chains of “We”. It was a stifling and powerful force that dragged down those who excelled and rewarded the weak. However, the power of the individual was stronger than the oppression of “We”. Those like Equality could, even after a life of being taught such backward ideals, rise above it to realize their own potential. Equality gives himself a new name Prometheus. Prometheus was a Titan of Greek mythology who gave man fire. For this, Prometheus was punished. Equality’s own life paralleled that of Prometheus. He brought them the light of intelligence and was condemned by his brothers.
The Equality who opened Anthem regretfully admitting that he was committing a sin by writing was a very different person than the Prometheus he was at the end. Equality accepted the fate he was assigned, but Prometheus created his own. Equality would strive to atone for his sins, but Prometheus realized they were no sins. Equality worked for the good of his brothers, but Prometheus worked to fulfill his own potential. Once the gift of fire had been given, it could not be taken away. The Titan in Greek mythology had started mankind on the road to achieving greatness, such as Prometheus was ready to rebuild a society in which the light of knowledge burned brightly.
