Anthem: The Monster of Egoism

Bluth T, Celyn

Professor Melissa Adams

Honors Language Arts 9

August 29, 2016

Anthem: The Monster of Egoism

Imagine not being able to have an opinion or individuality, and only work for the good of the society by following an oppressing leader.  Nothing in a collectivist society can ever be normal or considered relatable to regular social rules.  Collectivism is a concept that can tear people’s individuality apart and destroy a society’s progress.  In Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem, the main character, Prometheus, thinks that the word ego is sacred as he tries to escape the grasp of his oppressing collectivist society.  Without ego or individuality, a society can never progress or grow and diversify itself.  People normally associate ego as being a bad trait and means selfishness, but it doesn’t.  Ego is a person’s sense of self-esteem or self-importance.  This, however, does not mean he is an egoist.  A famous quote in the bible said moderation in all things, so ego must be in moderation.  Prometheus is not an egoist in Anthem.

Prometheus lives in a messed up society, so how can he be associated with traits in this society anyways?  The idea of an egoist is someone who is full of himself and selfish.  Prometheus just tries to break free of this society using the idea of ego.  This quote demonstrates his feeling towards the unspeakable word. “The sacred word… is ego.” (Rand, 1938, p. 47) This quote is trying to say that ego should be respected, not go all out and become an egoist.  He just wants to use I now.  “This god, this one word: ‘I’” (Rand, 1938, p. 44)  He calls it a monster because it has turned the whole society mindless and crazy.  The point is he has special circumstances, so we can’t really compare it to our normal social terms.

The word ego has become a hateful comment in today’s society, when really it should be respected because people need to have an importance in life for greater purpose.  Egoists are selfish, but Prometheus is not.  He needs to utilize ego to his advantage to escape.  They also take way too long to change stuff.  “It took fifty years to secure the approval of all the councils for the candle…” (Rand, 1938, p. 32)  If it takes fifty years to change the light source, then it’s pretty obvious that the main problem is in the society.  Would there be any other people on this earth if men didn’t think of women? “men may not think of women…” (Rand, 1938, p. 16)  That’s just a crime against humanity, love is another big driver in human emotions, so to block that is just wrong.  The word ego definitely is needed to help Prometheus overcome that society.