Collectivism
Ayn Rand: Maybe she’s not so crazy
Who was Ayn
Rand?
https://www.yo
utube.com/watch
?v=pjaHeALTPgE
Objectivism
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Follow reason, not whims or faith.
Work hard to achieve a life of purpose and productiveness.
Earn genuine self-esteem.
Pursue your own happiness as your highest moral aim.
Prosper by treating others as individuals, trading value for
value.
 At the dawn of our lives, writes Rand, we “seek a noble
vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential.”
Altruism
 Loving others as oneself.
 Self-sacrifice for the benefit of others
 Altruists choose to align their well-being with others - so
they are happy when others thrive, sad when others are
suffering. Essential in establishing strong relationships,
most societies acknowledge the importance of altruism
within the family. By motivating cooperation rather than
conflict, it promotes harmony within communities of any
size.
www.altruists.org
Altruism – Ayn Rand
 What is the moral code of altruism? The basic principle of
altruism is that man has no right to exist for his own sake,
that service to others is the only justification of his existence,
and that self-sacrifice is his highest moral duty, virtue and
value.
 Do not confuse altruism with kindness, good will or respect
for the rights of others. The complex principal of altruism,
the basic absolute, is self-sacrifice--which means: the self as a
standard of evil, the selfless as a standard of the good.
www.aynrndlexicon.com
In 3-5 sentences, explain what this quote means,
without using the phrase “this quote means that…”
"My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of
man as a heroic being, with his own
happiness as the moral purpose of his life,
with productive achievement as his noblest
activity, and reason as his only absolute.”
--Ayn Rand
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT_Rpz
YohdI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nT_Rpz
What is dystopia?
 An imagined place in which everything is unpleasant or
bad, typically a TOTALITARIAN or environmentally
degraded one. Usually in the future.
 A TOTALITARIAN society is of or relating to a
centralized government that does not tolerate parties of
differing opinion and that exercises dictatorial control
over many aspects of life.
 exercising control over the freedom, will, or thought of
others; authoritarian; autocratic.
What does Totalitarian
mean?
 A TOTALITARIAN society is of or relating to a
centralized government that does not tolerate
parties of differing opinion and that exercises
dictatorial control over many aspects of life.
 Exercising control over the freedom
 Can you think of examples?
Collectivism
 The practice or principle of giving a group
priority over each individual in it.
 The theory and practice of the ownership of land
and the means of production by the people or the
state.
 Society first, individual second.
 ALTRUISTIC – belief in acting for others; the
greater good
What are some examples?
Individualism
 The habit or principle of being independent and self-reliant.
 Self-centered feeling or conduct; egoism.
 A social theory favoring freedom of choice or action for
individuals over society control.
 Me first, you second
Name an example of this.
Which is right or better?
 Create 3 pros and 3 cons for both
societies.
 Which society would be better in
which to live: COLLECTIVE or
INDIVIDUAL
What is a theme?
Life lesson, meaning, moral,
or message we learn from the story
Theme Statement
The theme statement can help you interpret and
write about literature in two main ways:
(1) it forces you to decide on a clear, simple
interpretation before you begin writing.
(2) it provides your reader with a summary of your
interpretation.
A successful theme statement must be general
enough to capture the overall meaning of the work,
but specific enough so that it conveys your unique
interpretation.
Every literary work makes a
statement or has a point.
 Simplify the meaning somewhat to get it into a single sentence.
 Your theme statement itself should make a point.
 The theme statement should be a complete sentence.
 The theme statement should describe the general meaning of
the work, not the specific events, actions, or characters.
 The theme statement should reflect the values of the entire
work. In particular, look at the end of the work to make sure
that the story's outcome matches what you think its general
meaning is.
Theme of Anthem
 With your small groups, write
down three sentences that
explain the theme of Anthem.
The Theme Statement of Anthem
Two themes:
 When the individual ("I") is absorbed into the collective
("we"), men degenerate into mindless, uncreative, and
uninspired automatons who do nothing but live to work
and die young and exhausted.
 The spirit of freedom and individuality lives on even in
such a world, and a rare man will survive the oppression
of the collective to create, think, dream, and love.
Say / Mean / Matter
Say/Mean/Matter*–*Theme*–*Levine**
*
Objective: to decode figurative language to better understand the theme of
the story and then visually represent it with pictorial metaphors.
*
Along with the following Say/Mean/Matter chart, find 5 images that
represent the THEME of the story.
*
Theme%
statement:%
Say
What does the text
say?
Quote used from the
story. If it is from
dialogue, write down
who said it. Don’t
forget the page
number!
Find 3 quotes from
the story.
Mean
What does the text
mean?
Read between the
lines. Explain what
the author is
REALLY saying.
(subtext) Identify
any figurative
language devices
(simile, metaphor,
personification,
imagery, etc.) used
and explain how it is
used. Do NOT use
the phrase “this
quote means”.
4 – ALL CRITERIA MET
3 – MOST CRITERIA MET
2 – SOME CRITERIA MET
1 – HARDLY ANY CRITERIA MET
Matter
What does this
matter?
What does this quote
matter to the theme
of the story? How
does the quote relate
to the theme of the
story?
st
1
ESSAY –
draft due
Wednesday
 How does Anthem’s theme connect
to collectivism vs. individualism?
Altruism vs. Objectivism?