Anderson, 8th ELAR, LDMS
Anthem Class Discussion/Spiral Notes:
Questions
Chapter I.
I. What is the main character’s name?
II. Name two sins (great transgressions) committed by the main character?
III. How long did he live in the Home of the Infants?
IV. How long did he live in the Home of the Students?
V. What does he discover one day?
VI. Who keeps his discovery a secret? Describe this character.
VII. What does he do each night after the discovery?
Ch. II.
I. What is the name of the new character? Describe her.
II. What does Equality 7-2521 rename this character? Why?
III. Name any sin Equality has committed in this chapter.
IV. How often are children born? Do they know their parents?
V. Describe the Unchartered Forest and what happens to men there.
VI. What do you think the “Unspeakable Word” is?
VII. What happens if you speak this word?
VIII. Foreshadow! Can you identify it in this chapter?
IX. What does Equality call the Transgressor in the last sentence of this chapter?
Chapter III
I. What does Equality discover?
Chapter IV
I. What does Equality tell Liberty?
II. What does she tell Equality?
III. What phrase do men never speak to women?
IV. What does this phrase mean for Equality and Liberty?
Chapter V
I. What does Equality decide to do with his discovery?
II. When does the Council of Scholars arrive?
Chapter VI
I. The story stops and goes back in time filling us in on events that happened prior in the novel. What
literary element is this?
II. Why was Equality questioned by the Council on page 63?
III. What was his consequence?
IV. Why was escape easy?
V. How does this chapter connect with Saint of pyre (reference pg. 64-65)?
Chapter VII
I. Outline four of the Council’s reasons for rejecting Equality’s invention.
II. What are the real reasons behind the Council’s rejection and fear of the gift?
III. What does Equality mean, at the beginning of the chapter, when he says “We are old now, but we
were young this morning”?
Chapter VIII
I. What is Equality experiencing for the first time in this chapter, and what does he feel as a result?
II. Explain why Equality laughs when he remembers that he is “the Damned”.
III. What does the Unchartered Forest symbolize in Anthem?
Chapter IX
I. Liberty contrasts Equality to his fellow men. Paraphrase this passage.
II. Equality questions the morality of his former society. Contrast what he was previously taught about
solityde, good, evil and joy to have what he now believes.
Chapter X
I. Describe the house and its contents in your own words, and explain why Liberty and Equality find it so
strange and unique.
Chapter XI
I. What great discovery does Equality make in this chapter?
II. Explain the following quotes in your own words, and apply each of them to your life:
“Whatever road I take, the guiding star is within me.”
“For the word ‘We’ must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and as a second thought.”
III. What does Equality now realize is the proper goal and purpose of his life?
IV. In what ways is “I” like a god?
V. Reread the incident with the Saint of Pyre. What was he trying to communicate to Equality?
Chapter XII
I. Why do the main characters rename themselves? Why weren’t they allowed to choose names in their
old society?
II. What does Prometheus plan to do in the future?
III. Prometheus reaches the important realization that “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.”
Cite several examples from the novel that illustrate the truth in this statement.
If you have not finished reading the novel, make that a priority! Please make sure the following is in your
spiral.
Literary elements in the concluding chapters:
*theme (the moral or lesson to the story).
Possible themes include:
*Individual voice is important in a society.
*You cannot control a person through fear or hate.
*You cannot control a person’s feelings.
*flashback (going back in time giving the reader information about previous events)
Make connections between our mythological research and the end of the novel (Prometheus and
Gaea).
*symbolism (something concrete that represent something abstract)
Symbols – what do they mean?
*candles – the past, ignorance
*electricity – the future, progress
*light - knowledge
*the forest – Eden, paradise
*Equality 7-2521 – ironic symbol for inequality
*Liberty 5-3000 – ironic symbol for captivity
*scholars – the ignorant
*Prometheus – the bringer of light
*Gaea – the earth mother who will bring forth a new race
Vocabulary:
abyss – n - a bottomless hole, a vast expanse or depth
approbation – v – official approval, praise or commendation
baseness – n - the quality of lacking higher values
discern – v - to differentiate between two or more things
furrow – n - to make wrinkles or grooves
portal – n - a doorway (especially a large one)
sieve – n – a utensil for sifting or straining
tarry – v - to delay in coming or going, to linger
virtuous – adj - having excellent morals; righteous
whim – n - a sudden and impulsive action
Responses
Chapter I
1. Equality 7-2521
2. Sins: he spends time alone; he has a friend; he is smart; he has a secret (discovers a tunnel); he steals;
he writes.
3. 5 years (V years)
4. 10 years (X years)
5. He discovers an underground space where he now hides. We know that it is a subway station leftover
from the Unmentionable Times.
6. International 4-8818 keeps his secret. This character is his best friend. International 4-8818 laughs a
lot and likes to draw, both which are crimes.
7. Each night he sneaks away from the group to his secret place and performs experiments with the items
he has collected/stolen.
Ch. II
1. Liberty 5-3000; She is beautiful, according to the main character. She has blonde hair and dark eyes.
She’s 17 and she is tall and “thin as a blade”.
2. The Golden One because she has blonde hair.
3. Sins: He renames Liberty 5-3000 as Golden One; He speaks to the Golden One; He looks for her
each day and waves at her; He prefers her over other people; He sings.
4. Each winter children are born and they do not know their parents.
5. The forest is a natural forest that people do not enter. Men are said to starve or get eaten by animals if
they go out there. Also in the Unchartered Forest are ruins from the Unmentionable Times.
6. “I”
7. Their tongue is cut out and they are brought to the center of the community and burned to death.
8. It is foreshadowing that Equality 7-2521 may find out the Unspeakable Word.
9. He calls the Transgressor the “Saint of pyre”. Saint – n. a person recognized through the canonization
process as being holy; Pyre – n. a (Greek means “fire”) a heap for burning a dead body as a funeral rite,
or a pile of material to be burned.
Ch. III
1. He’s discovered electricity!
Ch. IV
1. He tells Liberty that he’s named her the “Golden One”.
2. She tells him that she’s named him the “Unconquered”, meaning ___________.
3. Never have men said “our dearest one” to women because it shows preference.
4. This phrase confirms that they have deep feelings toward one another.
Ch. V
1. Equality decides to tell the Council of Scholars.
2. They are arriving within 30 days.
Ch. VI
1. You should know this! It’s FLASHBACK!
2. He was questioned because he was not with his group and not back in time. You are never supposed to
be alone!
3. Taken to the Palace of Corrective Detention for about a month. He is whipped, beaten, etc. while he’s
there. He does not disclose where he was….. “The light…the light…the light…” is his only response.
4. There were no guards and the door locks were old. He was able bust through them with ease and ran
back to his tunnel.
5. IMAGERY IN CHAPTER VI! This chapter relates to chapter II because of the reference to fire “A
flaming grill kept dancing before our eyes, and we thought of nothing save that grill, a grill, a grill of red
squares, and then we knew that we were looking at the squares of the iron grill in the door….”
The Transgressor in Ch. 2 was tied to a stake and burned. Equality is also tied to a stake and sees
“flames” which is actually his blood. Both of these characters are unashamed of their crimes.
Ch. VII
1. a) Equality worked on the new power ALONE. Solitude or doing anything without other members of
the community is forbidden.
b) The Department of Candles would be ruined if they use the new power. The candles could “not be
destroyed by the whim of one.”
c) The introduction and development of the new power would “wreck the plans of the World
Council.” Free thought would be encouraged, and for the community, this would NOT be a good idea.
d) The new power would “lighten the toil of men.” That would destroy the current community for
“men have no cause to exist save in toiling for other men.”
2. The real reason behind the Council’s rejection and fear of the gift is that people would be allowed more
freedoms and decision making process.
3. Going in to the Council of Scholars, Equality’s excitement and hopefulness to share the discovery of
the new power is like that of a young child discovering something on his own. It is an innocent type of
joy that he feels, one in which he gains a sense of pride – and that is something the council frowns upon.
After his meeting with the council, he becomes soured and no longer looks at the council with the same
respect. Equality’s introduction of the new power was met not with the joy he anticipated, but with fear
and discouragement. The council’s arguments for NOT utilizing the power were centered in how the new
power would destroy the current community, not improving its productivity.
Ch. VIII
1. Equality experiences the dark forest and feels freedom and happiness.
2. Equality laughs at the depiction of others of him as “The Damned” because damned means to be
shunned, alone, lonely and the ironic thing is he never felt as free as when he was free of the community.
Ch. IX
1. Refer to bottom of page 82, top of page 83. Liberty points out the differences between Equality and she
wants to stay with Equality.
2. Solitude – it’s now OK to be alone; he can CHOOSE what he wants. Evil – in the community, so many
things are evil (individual thought, new ideas). Joy – it is very acceptable for one to feel joy.
Ch. X
1. At the house, Equality discovers living quarters for just a few people, as opposed to the ward-like
environment that the community had, paper, lots of windows, mirrors, books, clothes different from their
uniform toga, electric lights, copper pots for cooking. The reason these things are considered strange and
unique to Equality and Liberty is because they have been denied any knowledge of these items, let alone
utilizing them in everday life. To use these things would make life easier, and one would not have to toil
(or work) as much. But the community wants people to toil as they equate toiling with a successful
community. We must remember that in their community, it is all about WE, there is no I.
Ch. XI
1. He discovers the word ”I”.
2. Answers will vary, as each person has individual ideas/experiences.
3. The proper goal & purpose of Equality’s life now becomes seeking his own happiness. He no longer
wants to be slave to the “Monsters of “We”, the word of serfdom, of plunder, of misery, falsehood, and
shame.”
4. “I” am now the center of my life. “I” am now important. “I” can do what I want with my free will. “I”
can put myself first.
5. The Saint of the Pyre was trying to communicate the forbidden word “I” to Equality. He wanted
Equality to continue the quest for the unspeakable word, as the Saint wasn’t successful in fulfilling his
quest.
Ch. XII
1. The main characters rename themselves because they become aware of their individuality and wish to
express that. “There was a time when each man had a name of his own to distinguish him for all other
men.” They were not allowed to choose names in their old society because that would require and
individual decision; that was unacceptable in the old society for “all men must be alike” (Ch. I) Equality
chose Prometheus because he brought light to the community, Gaea was chosen because of her “mother
of the new earth” status.
2. He plans to raise a family, one in which the word “I” is accepted and encouraged. He will learn much
from the books that he has around him and put that knowledge to use in improving everday life. He will
go back and get his friends from the community so that they may be allowed to flourish and be
themselves, not prescribing to the undisputed rules of the community.
3. A man must be true to himself and believe in himself. Examples include: when he sneaks out, when he
entertains and then does proceed to present his new power to the council, EGO = self awareness. I =
individuality. EGO is the sacred word, I is the unspeakable word.