This week, I want you to think/write about the following question: How did the characters and events in Anthem come to be? I mean, how and why did they form their society apart from the rest of the world? Who are they? Where did they come from? Why did they leave their "world" and form a new one? As always, it would be awesome if you choose to comment with each other. Your entry will be due by midnight Friday, November 20th.
I think they broke away from their previous society because either it was too complicated, the laws and beliefs weren't working for the people, or too much violence and freedom to do whatever the people wanted. I think they are human..... extremely messed up humans. They are many generations from the first people who broke away from the other society. They came from a galaxy far far away.... The original people left because they didn't agree with the politics and they didn't think people were being treated equally. That is why they have everything equal and they have others pick their jobs for them.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the government had a vision of a "better life" for these people. A life without discrimination, violence, adultery, etc. They hard-wired beliefs into everyone, and anyone different from their new culture got punished. I do think they were once people just like us, and passed down their beliefs generation after generation so they may build upon this secret society. Eventually they just broke off into oblivion and made everyone think that they are no longer individuals, and this is the way life must be.
ReplyDelete-Tori Bohney 2nd Period
I think that there was another world war or a big disaster of some kind. After it was all over, the survivors came together to figure out what they should do. They probably thought that a Utopian society would be the best way to prevent another war. Those people became the leaders of the new society and they created rules to eliminate individuality, so that there wouldn't be any more problems with the human race.
ReplyDelete-Aspen Bentley
I believe that there was a huge war and only a few groups of survivors lived but they were separated around the world. This group thought that in order to keep the human species alive they had to do the opposite of what everyone did before the war. So, they built a new world that lives off of basic needs and then organized into how they think and act which limits how every one thinks. They don't want their people to stray away from the directed way of thinking because if they do they are going to start to change their new set way of society. The "leaders" do not want people to go into the "uncharted areas" because they are afraid the people will find ruins of the past or another society from those who ran away or those who survived the war and built a different society.
ReplyDeleteGabby
I think that they came to be because the government wanted to have a united people, and they believed that if they engraved "we" into their minds then they would think as one and be united. They knew that outside influences would not allow that, so they moved into the forest, and prohibited thoughts and interactions outside of their community. It also caused that they forgot electricity, because it creates outside communication so therefore it would have been banned. Throughout time they developed a society on their own, based on we. They forgot through generations that there was another place outside of where they were, and became truly isolated.
ReplyDeleteKevan Williams 2nd Period
Based on how there were uncharted forests in the story, I picture them in Seattle, Washington. Not only are there many forests in this area, but their motto is "The City of Goodwill" which I think ties into the story. Also, I think that this society formed because the previous society wanted to be "perfect". I believe that this society wanted to have zero violence, zero unemployment, and zero crimes. However, we all know from our silent discussion earlier this week, that perfection is unattainable; the society in the book's fatal flaw. Perfection was probably this society's goal because of some major conflict (major terrorist attack, war, etc.). Based on how people learn from the problems listed above, they create laws to make sure it won't happen again (sort of like how our airport security increased after 9/11) My guess is is that they formed this society out of fear, making extreme laws. This caused the birth of "we" and making every act for the sake of others. Violation against these "laws" had a severe punishment, in effort to create peace. In my opinion, this society's thinking is wrong, and seeing how it doesn't work on everyone in the book, Equality has a right to rebel.
ReplyDelete-Tess Blair, 2nd period
I think that the world before weren't too happy with what they or the world had become, so they took as many as were willing to come from all over the world, and created a new society that was simpler and focused on helping others. I'm pretty sure they are people who were upset with the wars and bad things the old society made. I like Tess' comment, because it's true. Nothing is ever perfect, there will always be a flaw in any society even if everyone collaborated together. Oh and if I had to pick a location, It would be in Northern Canada because there's a lot of undeveloped, uncharted, wild forests up there, so it would be the perfect place of isolation.
ReplyDeleteThis book Anthem demonstrates that something huge and dangerous must have happened before this "we" society. To get a big enough group of people to come together, it's true that there must have been at least one isolated people and a band a others willing to pull and change the city around. I think it came to be because people were convinced that the world before crumbled to pieces because it wasn't like the now "we" society. The founders of the society believed that being as one would cause no problems, therefore no war. War is ultimately what destroys our world and they sought out a way to prevent it from happening and only have each person know the good for everyone. I think they came from somewhere in Canada, just like a lot of other people in the class do. The place they're at can't be that cold and has to have a bunch of forest, so Canada is the ideal place.
ReplyDeleteJosie Larsen, 2nd Period
I think that they became the world that they are because the government forced them to. I believe that their government wanted a society that was united. Therefore, the government made harsh laws about becoming "we" not "I'. Also, because it was a hard task, the government had to move away from other societies that did not agree with them. That is why they are an isolated society.
ReplyDeleteJason Bruner, 2nd Period
I think the Anthem society is a cult. I think that a few leaders broke away from what they believed was a dysfunctional society. The belief that they are the last people in the world is a lie, I think, a deception to control their members. I think they are fanatical extremists, and their religion is based on this communist idea of equality and shared responsibility. The idea of "we." I think if Equality hadn't of stopped at the house in the forest, he would've kept going, and found a functioning human society, and not the pathetic excuse he came from. For this scenario, I think that they are somewhere in the middle of a Hawaiian island, and centered in a lush forest. I think that they had to cut away a lot of trees but if it's big enough, no one would get to far.
ReplyDeleteA second realization that the more figurative and poetic side of me sees, is that this is a different reality. It's how this character that refers to himself indirectly as Equality sees the functioning world around him. It's all symbolic of how he experiences life. The opression of the great 'Them' can represent his need for direciton or leading. How he sees his current job, or it may represent a parental figure in his life that dictates how they want him to live. Meeting the Golden One can symbolize actually finding a girl he falls in love with, or a new passion/hobbie in his life. The wire in the glass box can be a strategy that he is developing to find a way to tell this overprotective parental figure that he wants to leave and move on with his life. And when they find out, they are furious and he runs away. He hits rock bottom and is at the last little bit of his life. Then the Golden One finds him and he rediscovers his motivation for life and he realizes that he doesn't need his parents to dictate his life. He has a breakthrough and understands what life is really supposed to be like and how to live to the fullest.
I strongly believe it was because of the government wanting everyone to be the same, for violence. They thought that if everyone is the same, there would not be any problems and it would just be easy to control overall. They left their world to create another one because it wasn't exciting to live that "everyone's the same" life. You couldn't do something that not everyone enjoyed or did. This type of society was very boring and not unique. The government wanted everyone to be as "we" and not your own self as in "I," but Equality wanted to be himself and live as an individual person.
ReplyDeleteMaggie McCord Period 2
From what I understand, the society of "We" came to be after a war. After all, wasn't it written around the time of WWII? I think that what happened was that instead of this present, there was a situation in which the theology that exists is one of "equality" . Personally, when I read "Anthem" I got the feeling that only this nation of "We" existed. That there was no other people. Therefore, this is a society with virtually no oppressors (because technically Equality, and the guy who was executed where rebels/oppressors), so they keep going as they were taught.
ReplyDeleteEverybody always connects this nation of "We" with communism. Imagine a mix of communism and Amish people. People who get the same things, with no rights or freedoms, mixed in with a little bit of craziness and little modern technology. Sorry if this offends anybody who is Amish, or doesn't feel like Amish people are weird, but this sounds a lot like the society Equality has grown to hate. If they are not anti-technology because of a similarity to Amish people, then they just want to cut all ties to the "Forbidden Times", and they (being the founders of "We") decided to forget everything about their history.
The main problem with my communism theory is that they do not have constant control, and they do not exercise extreme power like some current leaders do. This may be because for once, a dictator realized they are not invincible, and they need some form of finding successors. Because having children be the next leaders has so many problems, a government in which a committee chooses your profession at pretty much random seems to help, even if they just find someone who would follow the rules instead of make them. On a somewhat unrelated note, why do the people only live to be around 40 years old? Has the air changed, causing a shorter lifespan, are they being accidently deprived of nutrients, or is there something more sinister happening?
This is Michael Milakovic
ReplyDeleteI believe the events in anthem are due to something similar to PTSD, or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. I am not saying that that is what it is, but instead, something similar. There is an even in the book referred to as the "Great Rebirth", from this we can glean that this was caused abruptly by an event, not gradually.
I believe that there was some kind of apocalyptic event that occurred, causing mass deaths and hysteria. The survivors of said event would most likely be in a sort of shock, and numbness in realizing that their world has just fallen apart, and loved ones are dead.
People are comfortable in numbers. When we see a large group of people doing something we want to know what is going on, and even if it is not that interesting we stick around because it must be important to have so many people there right? This sort of mentality leads to a comfort in being with others, a comfort that the survivors of a world-ending event would need to have.
So then a large group of survivors gather together, to be with other people and learn, and focus themselves on survival to push away the heart wrenching events that took place. One of the biggest "perks" of being in a group is being able to place blame on the group, instead of yourself individually. As years progress and these average people begin to regard each other as brothers or sisters, they would begin to do more and more things together, as a group, so when talking to others, or to themselves saying "We".
Now, try as they might, they could not forget what happened, so they start calling the immediate aftermath the "Great Rebirth", and the age previous the "Unmentionable Times". This serves to stop them from having reminders of the before, and remember finding their "Brothers". Over time, the group begins to consider themselves a whole. A machine that has no missing parts, the "We". They begin to settle down, and restart, eschewing the luxuries of their past lives and embracing the hard toil of forgetfulness.
Being in a settlement, the group would need statutes, and laws. First and foremost, the law of washing off responsibility, being absorbed into the group. When they kill someone, they can just say "WE" did it, not me, I am guiltless. As the group begins to exult in their new found power of having no guilt, they share it with others, and proselyte.
PART 2 BELOW MY POST WAS TOO BIG
With a society in place, and rules setup (along with ruling "councils") the group falls in to the monotone of routine, mercilessly beating down those who would disregard their beliefs, all the while feeling like it was RIGHT because everyone else, did it. The gender segregation I believe is due to the fact that, as nature intended, a man and a woman would get in a relation ship, thinking of a more personal "We" and not thinking of the broader inclusion of the group. This would lead to families breaking off, looking out for only each other instead of everyone. The fear of the founders is that this would result in a return of the age they so desperately want to forget. As for living only to 40 years old, I am not sure I have an adequate explanation, but I will try.
ReplyDeleteMy thought is that (as was common in the Dark ages and more ancient times) many people would die of natural deaths, being it disease, famine, or some other cause. With out medications and the other sophistications of our modern age, the group would be ill-equipped to deal with those situations, relying on the "We" and hoping to survive. One more thing, with the no technology, it is obvious that this society has been going on for quite some time, with the equivalent of censored education, the people would be taught that the greatest invention known to man is the candle. So even if someone stumbled across an old relic, they would not understand what is was beyond It's origin in the unmentionable times, leading them to cast of such a tainted relic.
These have been my thoughts on the origins of this strange society and the reasons for how far behind they are in the world.
-Michael Milakovic P. 2
so I agree with Jacob, that this kinda revolves around a war I would say. People want to make the world a better place. There needs to be a safe place and I think that people are getting tired of war and contention. So there were people who set out to fulfill the plan by creating a society were every one could be trusted and as one... a "We". But as we all know you can't stop a natural humans curiosity or their will and want to do something they put their mind to and that's how Equality came to be. He wanted what others didn't understand and he was finding and experiencing things that others will never know of. These are people who don't know the harsh, unknown, darkness of the natural world. Its kind of weird though to think about what Equality will go through next. He was taken care of and had shelter in the society, he has also only discovered many good things, what will happen to him when he really does meet the hard ships of the world to come and will the society survive if there is another world growing beyond its boundaries. If there's not already one there. If this did start because of war is the war still going or has the world died off. there is still so much to learn and discover from one person. Not just Equality has the hardships though. When another person like Equality comes along. So it may not matter as much to where they came from or if the society has been her longer than they thought but what definatly matters is where they are going and what is going to happen to the future generations of these people and the society/
ReplyDelete