This one was short... I started last night, and I finished today, so there wasn't much time for a halfway point post. Let me start my discussion of the book by saying that this is the second text I've read by Ayn Rand, and I loved it. I read The Fountainhead over the summer, and it is definitely on my top 5 favorite books. Though Anthem isn't so high on the list as The Fountainhead, its still... well... just awesome.
I think that Rand's roots (she was born and raised in Soviet Russia, moving to the U.S. at the age of 21) have a lot to do with her subject matter. From the start I couldn't help but compare the narrator to the ideals of a communist government, where everyone lives for the 'we' and no one for the 'I.' I was also reminded of Howard Roark and Dominique Francon from The Fountainhead. Those characters are individualists to a T. they live for themselves, and only when they are content with themselves can they begin their lives together. It seems that one of Rand's general themes is that if we are to share our lives with others, we should choose to do so, and do so while being ourselves entirely, and still living for ourselves. Of course, its impossible for me to go too deep into Ayn Rand's philosophy here, for I know little of it save what I've learned through The Fountainhead and Anthem. What I do know of her philosophy, I really like, excluding the atheism.
So Prometheus' journey throughout Anthem is very interesting. Everyone in the novel, with the exception of Gaea and International 4-8818, acts as a foil to both Prometheus and the idea of the 'I' in general. His is essentially a journey of self discovery, in its truest sense. He discovers individuality, and the personal freedom comes that comes with living for one's self.
My only qualm was the difficulty I had in understanding who the main character was talking about when he would us 'we' and 'they,' but I suppose that is the point. It was a qualm at first, but turned into something that I think worked really well for the text. When I came to realize who was being discussed, I was blown away. I really loved this book and the content that it put forth.
Hmmm. Quite a post Tim. I'll need to add her to my list of folks to read. My hesitation with Rand is personal--she's served as a philosophical touchstone for the neoconservative movement. And, if that's where you are politically, no insult intended. But, for me, there's an individualism present that excludes any possibility of a "we" that's good, or fair, or needed. There are other layers of it, of course, but I can admit that I haven't given her texts a fair reading because of that connection. Is Rand an effective writer in your mind? Does she handle prose well, or is her strength in the situations she sets up, the text worlds she creates?
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