Biblical and Mythological Overtones
Anthem has this mythic and ancient feel about it, and at times it even reads as if it were a work of scripture. A large part of that is because of the style in which it's written. (See "Writing Sty...
Light and Water
There's a lot of light symbolism in Anthem, which helps to add to the mythic/religious feel of the story. The most important instance of it centers around Equality 7-2521's invention of a light bul...
The Uncharted Forest
Can you think of a more perfect name for the place where our hero goes to leave his society behind and find himself?The Uncharted Forest is in part a symbol of the unknown. It embodies all those my...
Images of Self-Reliance
Self-reliance was a big deal for Ayn Rand, and Anthem is chock full of classic images of self-reliance. Equality 7-2521's scientific researches are individual, and he discovers electricity all by h...