Biting the Apple

In the introduction to Anthem, Leonard Peikoff states, "She was claiming for man and his ego the sacred respect that is actually due not to Heaven, but ot life on earth. An anthem to the ego is blasphemy to the pious, because it implies that reverence pertains not to God, but to man, and above all, to that fundamental and inherently selfish thing within him that enables him to deal with reality and survive." This …

…I." Despite some obvious differences, these two stories share many similarities. In Ayn Rand's Anthem, Prometheus and Gaea's expulsion from society mirrors the banishment of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden. The story of Adam and Eve teached the drawbacks of disobeying God. Anthem teaches the value of going against authority and becoming an individual. By studying both of these stories, Ayn Rand wants us to see individualism as greater than obeying God.