Conflict in Anthem by Ayn Rand

In Anthem by Ayn Rand, the conflict with Equality 7-2521 is that he does not want to realize that conformity is not part of his own true personality. He does not like to be mundane. Instead of being ordinary he wants to be marked as an individual with more talent than a street sweeper. To begin the book Equality 7-2521 states that, “IT IS A SIN TO WRITE THIS. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It is base and evil.” (17) This quote is quite rebellious because the author reveals to the reader that writing this journal, so to say is malignant and therefore the average person who in this society “fears to speak,” (47). When Equality 7-2521 gets his chance to be a part of the House of Scholars, by producing a box of light, he becomes unstoppable. Through his determination he is lashed and whipped until he collapses under the pain. “The first blow of the lash felt as if our spine had been cut in two…But we did not cry out.” (64) As Equality 7-2521 is a street sweeper, he is not welcome with the Scholars and so he is rejected and goes out of his way to make sure the Scholars understand that they are dense and half-witted. “You fools! You fools! You thrice-damned fools!” (75).

The conflict of Anthem by Ayn Rand is man vs. self. Equality 7-2521 is trying to figure out if standing together with a society where everyone wears the same clothes, is not allowed to speak freely and is punished harshly is more important than finding himself.