Wednesday, October 12, 2011
A "Highway" For "Anthem?"
Please thematically analyze Highway, a painting by George Tooker, and how it connects with the theme or themes in Anthem. What quotations from Anthem could you use to justify the aligning theme(s)? Please reference specifics within the painting, Highway, while writing clearly. This is a quiz due during class on 10-12-11.
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The Photo called Highway can really relate to the book called Anthem in many ways. The person holding the reflecting sign reminds me of Equality, and how he had to hide is individuality for his whole life. You can’t see any of the person’s skin in the photo, not even his face. The background is very organized, precise, and nothing out of the ordinary just like the society in Anthem. It looks like a maze of walls lit by boring street lamps, and arrows telling vehicles where to go, same as in the society in this book. The cars are the same, although the cars and the people in them remind me of the leaders of the society. They are aloud to show their faces, and it looks like Equality is rebelling against the leaders, telling them to stop their ways of "we".
This picture could symbolize how fast our society was making progress in the 1950s, and perhaps the person who is stopping the cars is wanting it to slow down and doesn’t like how things are progressing. The highway being our society, cars the ideas, going fast and reaching new places. Equality’s society would be like the person who is stopping the cars, they squashed all the progress we had made with the “Great Rebirth”. Going back to something more of a primitive society, they didn’t even have light bulbs. I can see both sides to the argument of the new technology and ideas being presented. We are relying more and more on technology instead of our own brains, which isn’t a good thing. But with the new technology, we are coming up with things like cures for diseases and inventions that really do help us instead of the frivolous one we don’t need.
Well in the painting, it does relate to the book, Anthem a bit because in the story, everybody had to follow the same path and everything, and this painting shows that those cars have to keep following the same road and cant go anywhere else. Also, the man in the painting reminds me of Equality 7-2521 because from all those other faces in the painting, his is not showing, it's like hes different from all the others and in the story, the Equality guy is doing his own thing, trying to find his own freedom and all.
The picture Highway has a lot of connections to the book Anthem. First of all they both show no individualism, the cars are the same, and the people in anthem aren't allowed to be unique. This picture also shows that they are trapped in a place where people tell them where to go, like Anthem where they just do what their told. There is a man telling them all to stop, this symbolizes Anthem by the council people telling them where to go and what to do. One more interesting similarity is the people in the cars, you can't really see their faces, in Anthem the people can really only talk to their employees, not knowing what everybody else looks like. In this picture all of the lines and designs are going the same way, as if they have no since of their own direction, in Anthem everybody is alike experiencing the same patterns. Lastly, I think it's interesting that this is all you see, the viewers of this picture don't really know what's outside of this room, just like Anthem where the people don't know what's outside of their little city. George Tooker and Ayn Rand expose many similar aspects and pieces through different ways. -MRome
This picture relates to Anthem in various ways. The picture illustrates a highway with the cars being trapped and prohibited to move forward. The people in Anthem are taught to be just like the others and they are forced to stay in one position in their life and cannot move forward to follow their dreams. Just like the people the cars are stopped and cannot travel down the road to get to their destination. All of the cars in the picture are the same and the people in the cars are all dressed the same too. This is like in Anthem how the people are striped of their individuality and must all be united as one. “We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but the great WE. One, indivisible and forever.” This quote from Anthem displays how no one can be their own person and must be within a group, just like in the picture the cars are grouped together in order to create “the great WE”.
The painting Highway and the book Anthem are similar in a few ways. One way that I saw them as being similar is how you can’t really see the peoples faces in the painting and they look kind of hidden in their cars. Also the person holding the sign is covering their entire face. That connects to Anthem because in Anthem no one really has a very clear identity and they don’t have real names, and they go by ‘we’ not ‘I’. Also, in the painting it seems like all of the cars have to go the same direction, and they’re really closed or walled in. It connects withe the book because in Anthem they have to follow all of the rules, and they have to do exactly what the council tells them to. For example, they council tells them their jobs, they can’t choose their jobs. In real life we can all choose what job we want to pursue, and what path we want to take in life, but in Anthem they can’t. In the painting the cars have to take the path that the street person tells them to. Another example of how the painting and the story connect are that they cars all look the same, and it seems like in anthem everyone has to be the same almost. In Anthem they don’t allow you to be smarter than your teacher, and they have to all be at the same level academically. A quote from the book that shows this is, “It was not that the learning was too hard. It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be born with a head that it too quick. It is not good to be different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to them. The teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked upon us.” (page 21). That quote shows that all of the boys had to be at the same learning level, and that it was bad to be different. And in the painting, the cars are all almost the same.
n Anthem they are all required to be alike, there not allowed to stand out from the crowd. In highway the man holding the sign is covering his face and all the men in the cars look the same. In the society they are not allowed to see each others faces or the faces of people outside there brotherhood. In highway all the strips and car go the same way. In Anthem equability says "we are not like our brother" in highway the man holding ht sign is much taller and doesn't look much like the men in the car.
The pictured named Highway and the book we read in class called Anthem can be compared and contrasted in several ways. The red sign blocking the figures face relates to how in the book, the people who tell the general population what to do are without an identity. They are always referred to as The Council of Vocations, not as a person or an individual with a name. Also, on a highway, people are supposed to move freely and drive at their desired speed; but in this highway shown, cars are being stopped against their will, held back from doing what they are supposed to be doing, what they are made for doing. In anthem, the human is not allowed to feel real emotions, not allowed to love or to be sad, to smile without reason or to be as a human is made to be. The idea is the same. The feeling of the picture is gray and somewhat depressing, as the city in anthem is as well. Arrows pointing down symbolize how humans in Anthem are not living up to their full potential; but stopping at what they are told to be and never asking themselves, "can 'we' do better?"
i believe that this picture goes along with Anthem because they both so people that look alike and most people have to hide who they are from other people. First they all look alike. People seem to have to be told what to do their cars look alike and they are going on a road that leads to places they have to go to. Also, they are hiding who they are. like in the book the girls cant see the guys and the guys cant see the girls. They also cant see themselves. in the front of a picture the guy holding the sign looks l. like he is hiding his face from the artist. In Anthem on pg. 38 it said, " For men are forbidden to take notice of women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men." Even though they were made years and years apart i feel that many people know they are connected in a way, shape, or form.
Toni Jones
Looking at the picture Highway by George Tooker, it shows a man controlling the highway with signs and force. This connects to Anthem by Ayn Rand. In Highway there is only one direction to go. Decision making and choice do not exist inside the painting. Anthem is relatively the same thing. No one has the decision to do what you want, or you would be breaking the law. Also, everyone basically lives the same life. You are born, grow up in the house of students, get a job, put into the home of the useless, and eventually die. Individualism does not exist in Anthem. Every morning in the home of the students everyone stands and says, “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the state. Amen.”(Pg.20) They only believe they exist because of their brothers and that they are just figures who have the right to walk upon Earth. Their own choices have been taken away. Also, the man controlling Highway is unidentified. His face does not show up and his figure is all black. The men in the three cars are all dressed alike. Their individuality has been stripped away from them. Anthem is the same where they are following the rules set up by their brothers. No one really knows that names of their brothers or who they really were. No one questions it because they are so honored to have them establish Anthem.
Addy Bateman
One of the main parts of the painting are the arrows that are pointed down. I think that they represent Anthem's society and where it is headed- towards the ground. There is also a man standing behind a red post, he has no face, and I think he is supposed to be The Council. This figure is stopping the progression of a red car- which could be a symbol for Equality 7-2521- and he isn't stopping the other two black cars, which could mean that those are the people who just accept everything that they are told, and don't question anything. On page 22, the narrator says "...and the Council is the voice of all justice, for they are the voices of all men," that shows how much power the Council of Vocations has in this time. If they wanted to, they could force people to stop questioning, and just start accepting.
-Shelby Henderson
This painting by George Tooker connects with the theme in Anthem because it shows that the cars are all the same and like in Anthem, they are all the same and they aren't allowed to show themselves creatively. Also, in the painting, it shows how the cars are all closed in to a “society” and it shows that they cant go beyond the community and explore the world in their own point of view like in Anthem, when they are told by the elders what they are going to do in their life’s. Like when it says “They called the students’ names, one after another, the Council said: “Carpenter” or “Doctor” or “Cook” of “Leader.”(Rand 25) This shows that they can’t choose their life paths because, the elders of the town choose what their life path will be until they are 40 then they will go into the Elders house until they die. Truthfully, I think this system wouldn't be good because what if the people who are telling you what you are gonna be mess up and say that you are a street sweeper. But really you deserve so much better then that. Like Equality 7-2521. Next, the person holding the reflecting sign, reminds me of equality 7-2521 because he has to hide his personality the whole book. The picture reminds me of the society in Anthem because of many reasons, with the arrows showing cars where to go, the “maze” that’s blocking people! Clearly, the society in Anthem and the one in the painting are remarkably the same.-BJones
In the novel Anthem the main idea is about a society that is being held back because of the leaders, as some might consider them, but they are also called The Council of Scholars. This so said council, doesn't really believe in change or advancing, and they believe that everyone should be the same. There is no room for individuality. In the picture, illustrated is an illusive man whom you cannot see his face, he is holding back a line of traffic and it seems as though everyone in the picture is trapped, and stopped at a halt. There is walls surrounding the cars and the people in them. Which is like the society in Anthem, you cannot escape it, its all the same drab routine and you cannot advance, because the Council is stopping you. As well as, each and every car in the picture is the same, just like how in Anthem, everyone is forced to conform, and be like everyone else. The ideas in the painting are very similar to the ideas and themes in Anthem, they are both places of uncertainty, and everyone is like everyone else, there's nothing new. They are 'trapped' just like the picture. "The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through." ( Rand 28) This shows how really bland and depressing the atmosphere is, its black and sad, dreary. Just like the painting, the sky is dark and unknowing, its an upsetting atmosphere. The setting in both Anthem and Tooker's painting are similar, they both illustrate agony and pain.
The painting “Highway” is connected to Anthem by Ayn Rand in many ways. If you look at this picture on a larger scale it just looks like an unidentified man stopping traffic. However, once you look at the details more closely there are many connections to be made. The man stopping traffic is like the world council. They try to control your fate, and pretty much map out your whole life. Then there are three cars, but only one of them is red, and the other two are black. Equality is like the red car because he stood out from his brothers, and reflected his own personality. He also stood up to the World Councils, and the red car is sort of standing up to the unidentified man. The dark background of this picture is sort of what I imagined when Equality 7-2521 told us about his society, and that his societys motto is “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the state. Amen.” This sounds very robotic, and a very dreary and sad place to live. Overall, this picture depicts the story of Anthem in a very clear and modern way.
When I look over “Highway” I see a painting with hidden messages, symbolism, and codes for us to uncover. The first piece that catches my eye in the painting is the sign that the man is holding in front of his face, blocking his identity from being known. In Anthem I see the same secluded nature in the citizens of their society. Everyone is forced to only work for the good of their brothers, only finding joy, happiness, and fulfillment in doing so. No one is free to branch out- they are only stripped of their individuality, which takes away their identity as well. Next, I find that all the lines and arrows in this picture are painted or pointing in the same direction. This conveys an idea of unity, or one strong direction being forced upon the people. In Anthem, the same conformity is taking place among their people. Everyone is working for the ideals of their government, modeling their whole lives after the desires of their brothers. All men lead the same life, waking up at the same time, going to work together, eating in unison, and going back to sleep as one: “In the Home of the Students we arose when the big bell rang in the tower and we went to our beds when it rang again... (Rand 21).” Although crafted in different times, the novel Anthem and the painting “Highway” have many similarities such as the ones I mentioned.
This Painting relates to the novel Anthem because throughout the book the theme seems to be a perfectly put together society and they raise the children to follow the rules set by the council. This painting helps relate to it because there are stop signs everywhere and that symbolizes that they can only go one way and they cant go forward nor can they go back. In Anthem the society that they live in is a secluded and they must follow the rules set by the council and must not disobey the rules. Although they may be intelligent like the the main character Equality 7-2521 they can not move past the technology already present to them. Also in the painting it shows a man carrying a stop sign over his face and that related to the story because the men that live in this society do not have an identity and a personalty and their own uniqueness. “ Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron bracelets which all men wear on their left wrist with their name upon it...” This quote states that you are just another person in this society and the only way for the council to know your name and who you are is by the iron bracelet. Another theme that the painting shows is the cars in the painting are all similar although they may have one or two things dfferent about it they are all still the same. In Anthem the everyone is the same no matter what, weather its where they sleep, the iron bracelets, or the rules that they follow. The only thing that comes close to making them a unique individual would be their jobs. “ We are on in all and all in one. There are no men but the great WE,One,divisible and forever.” This portrays that Ayn Rand set up their society to be one formed together union and not separate individuals. All in all, The painting and the novel Anthem have multiple similarities to each other.
"A Highway" for "Anthem" by George Tooker can connect with the theme and ideas in anthem in multiple ways. The striped lined walls are all faced one way, enclosing the cars. This can represent how society is forced in one way and is "enclosed" by the way they are meant to live for each other. The cars are also the same, representing no individuality, as in Anthem. Ayn Rand speaks of a society of men, and writing this novel in 1937 really made Ayn different form other authors, the men in the cars can also resemble the society she had been in. The man stopping traffic in black has is face covered by a red sign. Red is traditionally known as stop. This could resemble the Council of Scholars, in the way of blocking Equalities invention and path he wanted to take on his journey of life. "Many men in the Home of the Scholars have had strange new ideas in the past, but when the majority of their brother scholars voted against them, they abandoned their ideas, as all me must." This quote links ideas of denial and togetherness. A highway is meant to bring you fast and to your destination, and this is the complete opposite. I think this painting really represents Ayn Rand's ideas in her book Anthem, and the theme is similar in the ways of seclusion and constriction.
The painting “Highway” is connected to Anthem by Ayn Rand in many ways. If you look at this picture on a larger scale it just looks like an unidentified man stopping traffic. However, once you look at the details more closely there are many connections to be made. The man stopping traffic is like the world council. They try to control your fate, and pretty much map out your whole life. Then there are three cars, but only one of them is red, and the other two are black. Equality is like the red car because he stood out from his brothers, and reflected his own personality. He also stood up to the World Councils, and the red car is sort of standing up to the unidentified man. The dark background of this picture is sort of what I imagined when Equality 7-2521 told us about his society, and that his societys motto is “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers who are the state. Amen.” This sounds very robotic, and a very dreary and sad place to live. Overall, this picture depicts the story of Anthem in a very clear and modern way.
In this picture there are a lot of things going on that are in relation to anthem.For instance a man is covering his face with a stop sign. This relates to anthem because all men are suppose to look the same and maybe he looks different. also he doesn't know what he looks like and all the other men do. He is covering up how he looks from himself.There are no women in this picture and in anthem women are not suppose to be seen in a certain way by men." For men are forbidden to take notice of women and women are forbidden to take notice of men."(Anthem) There are now women and the men are the most important and dominate. They are caved in by all of the walls. They are being controlled and can not move or strive. In anthem people are put in a place and have to stay there. They are caved in. they can't do for them selves.They are obeying and in a sort of way being held captive in this new world.
Highway like Anthem both have people who are completely controlled by society, people who aren’t allowed to think of themselves as one or people who can not move without society’s approval. In the painting Highway you can not see the traffic directors face much like Equality can see his brother’s faces but not his own. Also in the painting Highway the lines all go the same way just as everyone in Anthem is to acts as one, and do the same things because it is evil to disobey. In Anthem Equality says, “... for men have never defied the councils so far as to escape from whatever place it was they were ordered to be.” (Rand 67) I think that the cars in the painting Highway are like the people in Anthem because people are too afraid to disobey, that’s what Equality’s society thrives on, people’s fear of consequences.
"We are one in all and all in one. There are no men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever." (Ayn Rand 19) I think the picture represents this quote because all the cars are the same, the men driving all look similar, and everyone is driving the same direction. The arrows pointing down in the picture I believe represent their personal opinions being shot down, even though no one is to be superior to any of their brothers, no one can know anything the "Scholars" don't know. As everyone is expected to stay within the boundaries of the city, there is so much going on that they would never know, like their underground tunnel, based on the world we live in today I could never imagine living like this.
Highway connects to Anthem in a few ways. first off all the cars in this are the same except one that is the same car but in red and this reminds me of equality 7-2521 because him and his brother are different from everyone else and want to be different even though everyone tells them they cant be. there is a quote on page 18 that really represents how the teachers and leaders don't like for people to be different and they said to them "there is evil in your bones equality 7-2521,for your body has grown beyond the bodies of your brothers". Also all the people in the painting are men. this is like the book because the society they live in is male dominated. also in the painting everyone is driving the same way just like the charters in the book have to do the same thing and follow in the footsteps of there brothers.
Anthem and Highway connect a lot with in their plots. first, in the picture Highway it shows a man stopping three cars from where they want to go, and in the book Anthem the society is stopping all the the people from being who they are, and instead they are telling them where to go. Also, the man who is stopping the cars isn't showing his face, that relates by the counsel and how they are very secretive about everything, for example "the unmentionable times" no one except for the counsel and some of the older people know about it and they are not allowing anyone to ever remember. Lastly, in Anthem most of the people you hear about are men not usually women they seam to always talk about men and in the photo Highway everyone in the picture is a man. The picture Highway and Anthem are a lot alike.
Multiple reasons could make a person believer there is a strong connection between this photo and the short story Anthem written by Ayn Rand. Although there several reasons for this connection I will tell you about the two strongest. For example, one way it connects relates to the faces. All the faces are very hidden, just like the one behind the sign. This relates to anthem because only the brothers know what each others face look like. It is a sin to show your face in public in the book anthem. They are supposed to be hidden and unknown. This is well represented in the picture because all the faces are hidden in the car under hats behind the steering wheel. But the figure with a sign covering its entire face exemplifies this the most. Another way this picture is related to anthem is how the guy with the sign is directing traffic and kind of stopping them. This relates to anthem because the guy with the sign isis forcing them to take a different path then they choose and not really allowing them to move forward. They are kind of trapped in the street. Although there many more ways you could explain how anthem relates tot this story, these are my connections.
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