Anthem
Ayn Rands novelette Anthem (1938) tells the story of one mans rebellion against a totalitarian society. When the novels hero, Equality 7-2521, commits the unpardonable crimeindependent thoughthe sets himself in conflict with the moral strictures of his worlda world in which all expressions of individualism have been suppressed, where the very word I has been banished from the languagea world of joyless, selfless men permitted to exist only for the sake of serving the group.
Written in 1937, as a kind of a rest from work on her novel The Fountainhead, Anthem anticipates some of that novels themes. Anthems theme is meaning and glory of mans ego. Its style is unique among Ayn Rands works in that it is written in the form of a prose poeman anthem to the ego.
Initially refused publication in America (one publisher rejected it on the grounds that the author does not understand socialism), Anthem was first published in England. An American edition appeared in 1946 and the novel remains in print to this day, widely used in classrooms across the U.S.