Here in America, we enjoy many freedoms. Everything from what we wear to what we say and do, we have the freedom to choose. Ayn Rand's book Anthem is an anti-utopian novel in which the people in society have basically no freedom. Every single day they eat, sleep, work and watch a play about work. There are long lists of laws restricting them. They can't say what they want to say, they can't excel and do better than other and they can't go where they want to go. They can't even think what they want to think or prefer things without breaking the law! The book takes place in a very primitive, future America. They have no electricity, their tallest building is only about two stories tall and their two greatest inventions are the wax candle and glass. Our times- times of cars, skyscrapers and electricity, are the Unmentionable Times. Most people in this society have no clue about what things were like before the "Great Rebirth". The society is so collectivist they don't even know the word "I". If they do somehow discover the word, they are killed. The book is written in the form of a journal by Equality 7-2521. Equality is different. He's much smarter than everyone and yearns to learn new things. Unfortunately he was assigned to be a street sweeper instead of working and developing new technology in the Home of the Scholars. I won't tell you what happens in the rest of the book because I really, really want everybody to go and read this amazing book (along with The Giver by Lois Lowry and the short story "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut) and I don't want to spoil it for you! I love how this book helps show how much we take freedom, learning and excelling for granted.
"Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut also takes place in future America- the year 2081 to be exact (movie got its name). In this story total equality is enforced. People who are more athletic than others are required to wear weights to make it harder to move. They also have to wear bulky earphones that play loud annoying, sounds every 20 seconds to keep smart people from getting too far with a thought. Harrison Bergeron is a 14 year old fugitive who was taken from his home because he is the smartest and the strongest. He escapes and tries to show the world that total equality is not a good thing. Once again I won't tell you what happens next but it too also gets you thinking.
Finally, The Giver by Lois Lowry. I'm sure most people have already read the book. To be completely honest I haven't because my teacher in elementary moved me to a different group when we were only like a chapter into it and I just never got around to reading it, but now I totally am! I watched the movie last night and it was AMAZING! I loved it! It was soooo... good! When we first started reading Anthem in English, my teacher said that she thinks it was greatly influenced by The Giver. After watching the movie and seeing some of the resemblances I can totally see why she said that. The societies are quite similar except for The Giver is much less primitive, the people have a bit more freedom than in Anthem and overall, their society seems more normal-ish even though it isn't really normal. Just go read them and you'll see what I mean. ;) The Giver really makes me appreciate all the good and the bad in the world so much more than I did. I am a pretty thankful person, but some of the scenes such as the war scene really help me to be more thankful especially for some of the bad because it shows how amazing love really is. Sorry if that doesn't make too much sense but it's really hard at the moment to put my thoughts into words... there just aren't good enough words to describe what it makes me feel but I'm pretty sure if you read/watch it you'll understand and feel it too.Anyhow, I really liked these three books because they are just such eye openers and it makes you realize how blessed we really are. I am so thankful for the freedoms we do have and that we are able to learn and excel and do what we want! So, please, please go read/watch these things!!!
By the way, I found the entire book Anthem online so just click on the title and it'll take ya there. It's actually a pretty quick and easy read so if you feel you don't have lots of time, I'm pretty sure you could fit it in. I also found the 30 minute movie 2081 on Youtube so you can click here and it'll take ya there. I apologize it has Spanish subtitles which get slightly annoying if you're like me and don't know how to read it but the sound and stuff is all in English. Let me know what you guys thought afterwards! And I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! :)
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