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More oxford books @ www.OxfordeBook.comFore more urdu books visit www.4Urdu.com50THE EDUCATION OF AYN RAND, 1905–1943scarcely a hundred pages that she titled Anthem. Again Rand did nothesitate to borrow an idea that had worked well for another writer. Shebegan the project after reading a short science fiction story, “The Place ofthe Gods,” in the Saturday Evening Post. Many of Anthem’s basic elementsmirror those of the story and another famous science fiction work, EvgenyZamyatin’s We, a novel that circulated samizdat in Russia when Randlived there. 32 Unlike these other works, however, Rand’s fable emphasizedindividual creativity and the destructive power of state control.Although set in a generic dystopia, Anthem is Rand’s extrapolation ofCommunist Russia far into the future, to a time when even the word “I”has been lost. The novel opens with the first line of Equality 7–2521’s furtivediary, “We know it is a sin to write this,” and continues in the first-personplural, giving the novel a sonorous, almost biblical quality. Over the courseof the story Equality 7–2521 finds a hidden tunnel where he can escape hisoppressive collectivist society, finds love with Liberty 5–3000, and inventselectricity. Rather than welcoming Equality 7–2521’s lightbulb, the despoticCouncil of Elders tries to kill him and destroy his invention. The two loversflee into the forest, where Equality rediscovers the word “I.”Anthem was a significant departure from Rand’s earlier work becausethe story’s hero is a creative and productive individual rather than analienated misanthrope. Rand was moving from a reactive depiction ofindividualism to a more dynamic and positive celebration of individualcreativity and accomplishment. Much of this must have come from herresearch into Frank Lloyd Wright, whose architectural brilliance far outweighedthe crimes of William Hickman and Ivar Kreuger, her previousliterary inspirations. Integrating technology, discovery, and inventioninto her story broadened her reach and made the book a relevant commentaryon the potentially destructive nature of state control.Strange in style and provocative in substance, Anthem aroused littleinterest among American publishers but was recognized as a trenchantpolitical parable in Britain. It was released there in 1938 by Cassells, thesame firm that handled British distribution of We the Living. Despite thecool reception it initially received in the United States, Rand consideredAnthem one of her favorite pieces of writing. The brief novel was herhymn to individualism, “the theme song, the goal, the only aim of all mywriting.” 33 It had been a welcome break from the planning of her novelin-progress.