’s Anthem Essay, Research Paper
Julie Gibson English 2 – Pre-AP
QUOTATION COMMENTARY
1. (p. 18) “The walls are cracked and water Water represents the mystery of creation, the
runs upon them in thin threads without cycle of death, and rebirth. The color black
sound, black and glistening as blood.” is a color of mystery and the unknown. The
Home of the Street Sweepers is a mystery to
Equality. He doesn’t understand why things
happen. The water and the color black
symbolize his felling towards this home.
2. (p. 18) “It matters only that the light is As a source of light, the candle represents
precious and we should not waste it to creative energy and spiritual enlightenment.
write when we need it for that work Equality’s life is, indeed, precious. His
which is our crime.” courage to write a journal took more power
than anyone one at that time had. Equality
was a source of light or knowledge for the
world. His creative energy gave him the power.
3. (p. 20) “The sleeping halls were white This exact quote is mentioned three times in
and clean and bare of all things save the book, on page 20, 21, and 28. The color
one hundred beds.” white represents the purity and cleanliness
of the room. On page 90, the author states,
“We found the sleeping hall and we stood in
awe upon its threshold. For it was a small
room and there were only two beds in it.”
When Liberty and Equality find this house in
the forest, it is an amazing discovery. When
Ayn Rand states this exact quote three times,
she is expressing that we need to realize the
incredible amount of sharing that these men
did. Sharing a room with one hundred other
men is a difficult task, but when they find a room with only two beds, they are shocked.
The room is also very dirty and dusty, unlike
his old sleeping hall.
4. (p. 21) “We looked upon Union 5-3992, Pale can be interpreted as white. White means
who were a pale boy with only half a bran, purity and innocence. Union was innocent.
and we tried to say and do as they did…” Union was not as smart as all the other boys.
He kept to himself and didn’t talk much.
5. (p. 23) “We think that there are Water represents the mystery of creation,
mysteries in the sky and under the the cycle of death, and rebirth. The
water and in the plants which grow.” plants are a symbol of the life principal-
growth, fertility, creativity, and
regeneration. The water is a specific
example of Equality’s feelings toward
life and earth. It is a mystery to him. His
growth from adolescence has been a
difficult task. It’s been hard growing up
and not knowing who he is or what his
purpose was.
6. (p. 24) “Scholars must study the earth Rivers embody the transitional phases
and learn from the rivers, from the sands, of life and the flowing of time into
from the winds, and from the rocks.” eternity. The Scholars learn from the
river, hence they learn the ways during
the flow through time. The Scholars are
through the river.
7. (p.30) “Beyond the ravine there is a The forest represents the unconscious,
plain, and beyond the plain there is a mystery, and darkness. No one has ever
Uncharted Forest, about which men dared to enter the Unchartered Forest
must not think.” and live to tell the story. To all, the
forest is a mystery. To some, it is
unknown. They blocked it out of their
mind. They believed that the forest was
evil and demonic, thus, they stayed away
from it.
8. (p. 31) “Of a sudden the earth fell in When Equality and International found
before us, and we saw an old iron grill this black hole, it was an open door to
over a black hole.” solve the unknown. The color black
represents mystery and the unknown.
This hole was like nothing that they had
ever seen. It was unknown and it was a
mystery.
9. (p. 32) ” But we could not follow, for Once Equality entered the hole, it was very
we were losing the puddle of light difficult for him to see because it was so
behind us.” dark. Light represents the conscious and
the known. When Equality was losing the
the light behind him, he was entering a new
world. A world of the unknown and full of
mysteries. Once he began to lose sight of
the light, he had to turn around and go
back to the light, the world of the known.
10. (p. 38) “Women work in the fields, and When Equality first lays sight on Liberty,
their white tunics in the wind are like the he is breathless. She was like nothing that
wings of seagulls beating over the black he has ever seen. She was of pure beauty
soil.” and innocence. This is demonstrated with
with the usage of the word white. White
represents innocence and purity.
11. (p. 42) “And the drops of water falling Water represents the mystery of creation,
from their hands, as they raised the water the cycle of death, and rebirth. When
to their lips, were like sparks of fire in Equality meets Liberty, she started a new
the sun.” life for him. It was a rebirth. He found a
new reason for life. He found Liberty.
12. (p. 47) “And beyond the city there lies This forest must be very mysterious. Not
a plain, and beyond the plain, black upon only is it referred to as black, which
the black sky, there lies the Uncharted represents mystery, it is also a forest, which
Forest.” represents the unconscious. To everyone, this forest is a mystery to all and it is unknown, hence causing more wonder. The
The people believed that whoever dared to enter it was sure to die.
13. (p. 58) “He blew out the candle. Darkness Darkness represents mystery, the unknown,
swallowed us.” chaos, and evil. When Equality burned out
this candle, he blew out his knowledge of
what he knew. The darkness represents this.
He was know in a world of chaos and evil.
Unable and not knowing how or why anything happens.
14. (p. 61) “… and they would destroy us Light represents the known. By taking
and our light.” away Equality’s knowledge, he is
destroyed and has nothing else to live
for. Equality’s light is an archetype which
which symbolizes his knowledge.
15. (p. 66) “‘The light… The light… The Again we see another reference to light.
light…’” Light is a very important prospect of this
novelette because the characters in this book had nothing. Their only possession
was knowledge, what little they had of
it. Without their knowledge, their existence had no purpose. They were just
there to be slaves for the council.
16. (p. 68) “It is dark here in the forest.” This is the first time Equality and Liberty
have ever been to the forest. It is dark and mysterious. It is unknown to them.
This is demonstrated by the usage of the
word dark. Once again, we see the
author expressing the mysterious forest.
She does this to enhance our thoughts
and pictures of the forest. When we picture a forest, she doesn’t want us to
merely see trees, she wants us to see the
negative features of the forest, the
darkness and isolation.
17. (p. 71) “Let us bring a new light to Equality is conscious of the evils of the
men!” city. He understands that others are not so fortunate. By using “new light,” he is
showing that he wants open the world’s
eyes and show them what it has to offer.
18. (p. 75) “Trees taller than we ever The tree is a symbol of the life principal-
seen before stood over us in great growth, fertility, creativity, and
silence.” regeneration. The usage of tree symbolizes Equality’s life with Liberty.
After meeting her, he unlocked the door
to himself and he became free. He has
transformed and become a new man or
rebirth.
19. (p. 79) “… as an arrow at a bird…” A bird symbolizes imagination and
because birds are associated with air,
they represent spiritual transcendence.
When Liberty and Equality escape from
the city, they enter a new world, a world
they know nothing about. It’s become
a imaginary place, hence the usage of a
bird.
20. (p. 82) “Their white tunic was torn…” White is a color of purity and innocence.
When Liberty was back at the city, she
always did what she was told to do, but,
of course, she wasn’t taught differently.
After she left to go to the woods with
Equality and never return, she lost her
innocence and she became a new
woman. This is shown by the usage of
“torn, white tunic.”
21. (p. 88) “…crossing a chain of mountains.” Mountains are a point of contact
between the earth and the sky. Their
journey to the mountain top corresponds
to the struggle for spiritual elevation and
intellectual achievement.
22. (p. 88) “We climbed paths…” The path is a passageway between the
real world and the inner self. Since this
symbolic passageway usually requires
sacrifice and risk, it often occurs as a
mountain path. Liberty’s and Equality’s
quest is coming to an end because they
are almost to the end of the path. This
journey was actually a search for freedom and knowledge.
23. (p. 92) “We brought water from the A stream represents the flowing time
stream.” into eternity. This is used to show that
Equality and Liberty loved each other
very much and that they would, most
likely, be together forever.
24. (p. 94) “I stand here on the summit of The mountain represents the point of
the mountain…” contact between the earth and the sky.
Equality has discovered the one most
powerful word, I. This is a revelation
to him, a new discovery. He can do
anything now. He knows the forbidden
word. That single, yet powerful, word,
“I”.
25. (p. 104) “Through all the darkness…” Darkness symbolizes mystery and the
unknown. He realizes that all the struggles that he went through, it was worth it. He was finally free to be himself. He now new who he was and he felt that he could conquer anything, even the world.