"Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. I am not a bandage for their wounds, I am not a sacrifice on their alters"(95).
This is one of my favorite quotes from Ayn Rand's Anthem. I found it to be a very empowering part of Equality 7-2521 speech, and one with a very important message, not just for the characters in the book, but for readers as well. Just by learning the word 'I' Equality was able to realize that he is an individual, and can stand on his own two feet. He came to realize that he can make choices for himself and that he is his own person. I think that today, people forget that they are individuals who can make choices on their own. We constantly follow trends set before us and we let other people use us for their own needs. We should not give up ourselves and our individuality for the sake of others. We should live for ourselves, make our own path in life, and help others that need it along the way. We should not take advantage of others, or let others take advantage of us. People are not servants to one another, like they were in Anthem, people are servants to themselves. It is not your responsibility to help others climb the ladder of success, it is your responsibility to help yourself climb. Equality has realized that he should not sacrifice his hopes and dreams, who he is, and what he is capable of, just so he can be of use to others. People should not be the scabs that help others heal, people are completely capable of healing themselves. Equality's speech is one that everyone can learn from, and everyone should listen to. Individuality is extremely precious, and should not be taken advantage of.
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3 comments:
I agree. A lot of us take our individuality for granted. We get rid of the little quirks that make us who we are, because someone doesn't approve of them. I think if we spent more time focusing on what makes us happy, rather than how others perceive us, we would be able to preserve our individuality better. Maybe then, America wouldn't be a "melting pot," because when I think of the word melting, I think of people being striped away of their uniqueness and forming one type of person. I think that's unfortunate.
Hey Blogger #1! I really liked this quote and completely agree with your explanation. I like your comparison of people who spend all their time helping others as "scabs that help others heal" because there are way too many people around today that do just that. The fact that Equality was so easily struck by the simple discovery of the word 'I' was very motivating because that little word helped him to realize so much about himself. Many people today should take a leaf from Equality's book and stop concerning themselves solely with fitting in. People need to learn self-reliance if they don't want to end up alone and helpless one day.
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