In Ayn Rand’s novella, Anthem, mankind is a philanthropic machine. The brotherhood nobly works together to achieve a common goal. In doing so, each man is asked to disregard his own personal means and goals. For every decision must be a collective thought and every advancement, a joint action. However, one man in this machine malfunctions. Equality-72521. He is curious, he is creative, and although he does not yet accept it, he has desires. Every step Equality takes, is one away from the system. Another towards personal identity. Each step is an internal struggle, due to his mind having been programmed to work in accordance with the machine. But nature tells Equality that his DNA is nothing save himself. Nature tells Equality that individuality…show more content… His stature was grand, and his face, fascinating, with straight capable arms resting at his sides. He was “not like that of our brothers” (123). His distinctive features, were however, not just arbitrary. Equality’s looks were unlike those surrounding him, in an effort to symbolize his inner being. While the others were slow, Equality was quick. Where others failed, Equality excelled. His brain was just as different as his body was. Upon realizing this, teachers reprimanded him for being superior. Not wanting further beatings, “we fought against this curse. We tried to forget our lessons, but we always remembered. We tried not to understand what the teachers taught, but we always understood it before the Teachers had spoken” (19). Brilliance was Equality’s “curse”. Everyday was a struggle to dumb himself down, but he could not deny his thirst for knowledge. One day, upon working, he found the entrance to a metro station from the Unmentionable Times. Curiosity gripped Equality by the neck and dragged him inside. Here, Equality’s fight against collectivism…show more content… “We knelt by the stream and we bent down to drink. And then we stopped. […] we saw our own face for the first time. We sat still and we held our breath. For our face and our body were beautiful. Our face was not like the faces of our brothers, […] And we thought that we could trust this being who looked upon us from the stream” (123). The water in which Equality pondered his reflection symbolizes his baptism from altruism. Equality realized that it was right of him to take pride in himself, to love himself, to be egocentric. Through this acknowledgment, Equality was made anew. Purified of society’s collectivist religion. For this self conscious, this self love, was the true Great Rebirth of