To Whom it May Concern:

I am writing this letter to you because Anthem,written by Ayn Rand sends out a very important message.

In our society today, teens and adults both live off of peer pressure and gossip. Rarely anyone speaks out on their own. Students laugh collectively at their peers and teachers. Adults gossip about what they saw on the news. Rarely anyone, sadly speaks out.

In the introduction of Anthem, Ayn Rand introduced us to Equality 7-2521. In a society much like ours today,Equality 7-2521 “was the only one who dared to think, seek, and love,” and he did this on his own.

In our society,adolescents are introduced to drugs and violence at a young age. Teens choose to “hang” with the wrong crowd and get themselves into trouble, and all because they don’t want to be different.

The story of Equality 7-2521 fully opened my eyes to the concept of individuality. This story helps its readers realize the importance of being unique and being able to stand out and make the right decisions.

For example, one way that Anthem illustrates the concept of individuality is that on page 52, at the beginning of chapter three, Equality 7-2521 begins the chapter by stating, ” We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And we have discovered it alone, and we are alone to know it.” At the beginning of this chapter, Equality 7-2521 illustrates individuality because he defies the rules of his society because he is keeping secrets from his brothers.

Earlier in this letter, I mentioned how Anthem sends out an important message. That message, as the rest of this letter will point out, is that individuality is very important in a society like ours. I also mentioned that teens and adolescents in our generation are introduced to drugs and violence at a young age, and that many of them get into trouble because they don’t want to be different. Many adolescents and teenagers don’t realize the importance of being a unique individual, and frankly, many adults don’t, either.

Anthem sheds a light on this subject. In this book, Equality 7-2521, as I mentioned, ”was the only one who dared to think, seek, and love.” On page 56, another character, Liberty 5-3000, gives Equality 7-2521 a different name: “The Unconquered.” This fact supports my conclusion-that Anthem benefits its teen readers- because Equality 7-2521 refuses to be conquered by the rules of his society.

This book benefits its teen readers because of the fact that they(we) don’t like to stand out, but Equality 7-2521 will. In the last chapter of Anthem, Equality 7-2521 says, “I understood the blessed thing which I had called my curse. I understood why the best in me had been my sins and my transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins.”

Equality 7-2521 had never been cursed because standing out isn’t a curse, and the best in Equality 7-2521 had been his sins and transgressions because he had never been sinning. Doing what he pleased, when he pleased, and choosing what he wanted had never been a sin. Equality never felt guilt in these sins for these reasons.

The reason I wrote this letter was because I want teens all over the USA; all over the world to know that standing out and being unique is not a curse; it is not a sin, and I want them to know that it is okay to stand out.

Sincerely,
EssenceC.