Anthem Study Guide Questions (answer on separate paper include citations with each quote to receive credit)

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1 Anthem Study Guide Questions (answer on separate paper include citations with each quote to receive credit) 1. Motifs (recurring subjects, themes, or ideas) found in Anthem (quote 2 examples of each) A. Eyes B. Fear C. Light/fire 2. Two Quotes relating to theme (importance of the individual/collectivism is doomed to fail) 3. Characters and descriptions (be thorough) 4. Examples of the following (quote 2 examples of each): A. Similes B. Metaphors 5. What are 2 symbols found in Anthem? (use textual evidence and state what it is symbolizing) 6. Examples of the following (quote 2 examples of each): A. Personification B. Hyperbole Clearly, Ayn Rand intended Equality to stand out from his brothers. Explain how she accomplishes this by contrasting Equality s physical qualities and character traits to those of his fellow men. 8. Why does the Council of Vocations assign Equality the job of street sweeper? 9. Is it due to error, incompetence, or a more sinister motivation? Explain. 10. List several examples of the ways in which this society tries to obliterate each individual s mind (and self) by quashing personal choices, desires, and values. 11. What does Equality discover in this chapter? Explain the importance. 12. List at least four ways in which it would help society, and make life easier and more enjoyable. 13. Discuss the appropriateness of Equality s new name, Unconquered. 14. In your opinion, why is Equality so interested in seeing his own image at this point? 15. What emotion is he feeling? 16. The old locks and lack of guards in the Palace of Corrective Detention indicate that prisoners never tried to escape. Why not? 17. What are the stated reasons for the Council s rejection of Equality s invention? 18. What are the real reasons behind the Council s rejection and fear of the gift? 19. What does the Uncharted Forest symbolize in the novel? Explain. 20. In this chapter, Equality questions the morality of his former society. Contrast what he was previously taught about solitude, good, evil, and joy to what he now believes. 21. Describe the house and some of its contents. 22. Why do you think they find it so strange? 23. What great discovery does he make? 24. What does Equality now realize is the purpose of his life? Reread the incident with the Saint of the Pyre (50) Why do the main characters take the names Prometheus and Gaea? Look up these mythological characters and explain why you think these are appropriate. Page1

2 Anthem Background Notes Anti-Utopian Fiction: This means that the world presented in the novel is the world as it should NOT exist. Other examples include: 1984 (George Orwell); Brave New World (Aldous Huxley) These present collectivism as the worst possible society. Individualism v/s Collectivism: Collectivism, Ayn Rand wrote, means the subjugation of the individual to the group whether to a race, class or state does not matter. Individualism, she wrote, regards man every man as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being. Theme Subjects Involve: Triumph of the individual s independent spirit and the triumph of those who reject the ethics of collectivism. The importance of the individual Rand believes losing sight of this will lead to the destruction of all progress and all forward movement. Collectivism is evil and doomed to fail. Notice Motifs: Eyes Fear Naming Shapelessness Light/fire Happiness = Lack of Fear = Freedom = Creativity = Progress = Pride = Happiness Page2

3 Sentence Variation Models Syntax refers to the way words are arranged within sentences. Syntax encompasses word order, sentence length, sentence focus, and punctuation. Begin with a present participial phrase. Coming down in buckets, the rain soon saturated the ground. Begin with a past participial phrase. Soaked with water, John sloshed through the mud. Begin with an absolute phrase (or more than one). His long journey ended, his weary feet aching, his bones icy with the cold, John entered the warm, cozy house. Begin with an infinitive as the subject. To relax with a cup of hot tea was Mary s only desire. Begin with a gerund or gerund phrase as the subject. Reading a good book is the best thing to do on a cold, rainy day. Begin with an adverbial clause. While the roast is cooking, my mother slices the tomatoes for the salad. Begin with a noun clause. That his rocket would never get off the ground was an unbearable thought for the young scientist. Begin with a conjunction. But how could this be? Begin with the object of the verb. That job, no one wanted. Begin with a predicate adjective. Fierce was the storm that night. Begin with two or more prepositional phrases. In the castle of the monster with the hideous face, a beautiful princess languished. Create a balanced sentence in which the phrases or clauses balance each other by virtue of their likeness of structure. The monster lurked within the stony citadel; the monster screeched behind the castle walls. Write a periodic sentence in which the sentence base (independent clause) comes last. Surrounded by angry villagers, poked and prodded with sharp pitchforks, frightened by the sharp orders of the guards, weakened by hunger and thirst, the terrified monster cowered in the town square. Write an antithetical sentence that contains two statements which are balanced, but opposite. Great works of art show humankind at its greatest, not at its happiest; they illuminate moments of decision, not moments of ease. Page3

4 Write a sentence ending with three parallel elements: words, phrases, or clauses that have the same structure. He loved swimming, dancing, and running. (gerunds) He loved to swim, to dance, and to run. (infinitives) He loved the stentorian roar of the crowd, the tangy smell of the hot dogs, the sharp crack of the bat. (noun phrases) He loved baseball because it was slow, because it was rhythmic, because it was played on sunny summer days and misty rainy days and cold, wintery spring mornings. (adverb clauses and an adverb phrase with compound objects of the preposition) Write a sentence in which repetition plays a role. The slow summer days, the silent summer days, the secret summer days slipped by one by one. Begin with anaphora, the repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses. We will pursue him into the mountains; we will pursue him into the desert; we will pursue him down valleys and into canyons; we will pursue him to the ends of the earth. Sentence Imitation Practice Original Sentence: He had been prepared to lie, to bluster, to remain sullenly unresponsive; but, reassured by the goodhumored intelligence of the Controller s face, he decided to tell the truth, straightforwardly. - Aldous Huxley, Brave New World **The emphasis on this sentence is sentence length and punctuation.** 1. What effect does the repetition of the infinitives (to lie, to bluster, to remain) in the first clause have on the meaning of the sentence? 2. What is the function of the semi-colon in Huxley s sentence? 3. Using Huxley s sentence as a guide, imitate the sentence (fill in the blanks creatively, but still keeping original syntactical structure). This time, have the sentence be from Equality s perspective when he presents the light to the heads of the council. Use pages to help you stay true to the text. He had been prepared to, to, to ; but,, he decided to,. Page4

5 Literary Analysis Elements Introduction Just as painters express ideas and feelings by arranging colors and images on a canvas, literary artists convey emotions and ideas through the skillful arrangement of words. One of the most important concepts for students to understand is that writers make conscious choices about how to use words, phrases, and sentences to communicate meaning and effect. Literary Terms Alliteration - beginning several consecutive or neighboring words with the same sound Beth has been as busy as a bee. Antithesis - direct juxtaposition of structurally parallel words, phrases, or clauses for the purpose of contrast Sink or swim. Apostrophe - form of personification in which the absent or dead are spoken to as if present and the inanimate, as if animate. Milton! Thou shoulds t be living at this hour. (Milton is dead) Assonance - repetition of accented vowel sounds in a series of words Men sell the wedding bells. Consonance - repetition of a consonant sound within a series of words to produce a harmonious effect hot foot Hyperbole - deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration I ve been waiting here for ages. It may be used for either serious or comic effect. Imagery - words or phrases a writer uses to represent persons, objects, actions, feelings, and ideas descriptively by appealing to the senses. Onomatopoeia - use of words that mimic the sounds they describe hiss buzz bang Oxymoron - form of paradox that combines a pair of opposite terms into a single unusual expression: sweet sorrow or cold fire Personification - gives inanimate objects or abstract ideas human characteristics The wind cried in the dark. Repetition - deliberate use of any element of language more than once sound, word, phrase, sentence, grammatical pattern, or rhythmical pattern. Sarcasm - use of verbal irony in which a person appears to be praising something but is actually insulting it As I fell down the stairs headfirst, I heard her say, Look at that coordination. Page5

6 SIFT Method of Literary Analysis Explore how a writer uses literary elements and stylistic techniques to convey meaning or theme. This method allows students to sift through in order to comprehend the whole. SIFT Method Symbol: Images: examine the title and the text for symbolism identify images and sensory details Figures of Speech: analyze figurative language (especially personification here) Tone and Theme: discuss how all devices reveal tone and theme Directions: Read the passage from Anthem, and then practice your literary analysis using the SIFT Method below. 1. SYMBOL: What is the definition of the word anthem? Explain how this is used symbolically in the story. What part of the book best reflects an anthem? What other symbols do you see in the passage? 2. IMAGES: This passage has many images, mostly visual. List some of them below. List any images that apply to your senses. 3. FIGURES OF SPEECH: This passage is rich in personification. Which section is this most apparent? These actions produce an effect on Equality and the reader. What is this effect? How does it make you feel? 4. TONE and THEME: The symbols, the images, and the personified actions all help set the tone for the passage. What is this tone? What is the Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word trying to say to Equality and to you, the reader? How does this express a main theme in the novel? Page6

7 Reading Passage from Ayn Rand s Anthem As the chains were wound over their body at the stake, and a flame set to the pyre, the Transgressor looked upon the City. There was a thin thread of blood running from the corner of their mouth, but the lips were smiling. And a monstrous thought came to us then, which has never left us. We had heard of Saints. There are the Saints of Labor, and the Saints of the Councils, and the Saints of the Great Rebirth. But we had never seen a Saint nor what the likeness of a Saint should be. And we thought then, standing in the square, that the likeliness of a Saint was the face we saw before us in the flames, the face of the Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word. (50) As the flames rose, a thing happened which no eyes saw but ours, else we would not be living today. Perhaps it had only seemed to us. But it seemed to us that the eyes of the Transgressor had chosen us from the crowd and were looking straight upon us. There was no pain in their eyes and no knowledge of the agony of their body. There was only joy in them, and pride, a pride holier than it is fit for human pride to be. And it seemed as if these eyes were trying to tell us something through the flames, to send into our eyes some word without sound. And it seemed as if these eyes were begging us to gather that word and not to let go from us and from the earth. But the flames rose and we could not guess the word What even if we have to burn for it like the Saint of the pyre what is the Unspeakable Word? (51) Page7

8 ANTHEM by Ayn Rand LITERARY DEVICE APPLICATION Review the definitions of personification, simile, and metaphor and then identify the figurative language in the following sentences. Label the underlined words: Entries with two blanks have two uses of figurative language to identify. p = personification s = simile m = metaphor 1. And we looked straight into the eyes of the Council, but their eyes were as cold blue glass buttons. 2. The sky is like a black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst through. 3. Only the iron tracks glowed through it, straight and white, calling us to follow. 4. But we could not follow, for we were losing the puddle of light behind us. 5. The fire flickers in the oven and blue shadows dance upon the walls, and there is no sound of men to disturb us. 6. And it seems to us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes save those of the sun. 7. Women work in the fields, and their white tunics in the wind are like the wings of seagulls beating over the black soil. 8. Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. 9. And the drops of water falling from their hands, as they raised the water to their lips, were like sparks of fire in the sun. 10. Men never enter the Uncharted Forest, for there is no power to explore it and no path to lead among its ancient trees which stand as guards of fearful secrets. ***Underline the figurative language used in the sentence below and then use the coding to identify the type. 11. Fear walks through the City, fear without name, without shape. 12. They had hair of gold and eyes of blue as morning. 13. And slowly, slowly as a flush of blood, a red flame trembled in the wire. 14. And the road seemed not to be flat before us, but as if it were leaping up to meet us, and we waited for the earth to rise and strike us in the face. 15. The forest seemed to welcome us. Page8

9 POETIC DEVICES Review the definitions of the following terms and then label the poetic devices in the following sentences. Use the underlining to assist you in identifying the devices. a. assonance b. consonance c. alliteration d. repetition e. rhyme 16. The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads without sound, black and glistening as blood. 17. We had broken a law, for we had not paid heed to the words of our Teachers. 18. The shadow on the sundial marks off a half-hour while we dress and eat our breakfast in the dining hall, where there are five long tables with twenty clay plates and twenty clay cups on each table. 19. They sit in the sun in summer and they sit by the fire in winter. 20. It is empty save for trees and weeds. 21. We alone, of the thousands who walk this earth, we alone in this hour are doing a work which has no purpose save that we wish to do it. 22. And we stood still that we might not spill this pain more precious than pleasure. 23. They stood still as a stone, and they looked straight upon us, straight into our eyes. 24. But here, in our tunnel, we feel it no longer. 25. Then we knew what we must do. ***Match the sentence with the poetic device used within it. Each will be used once. a. Assonance b. Consonance c. Alliteration d. Repetition e. Rhyme 26. But ever do our eyes return to that black patch upon the sky. 27. We wondered who was sprinkling burning coal dust upon the floor, for we saw drops of red twinkling on the stones around us. 28. It is true that our tunic was torn and stained with brown stains which had been blood. 29. How dared you, gutter cleaner, spoke Fraternity , to hold yourself as one alone and with the thoughts of the one and not of the many? 30. This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before! Page9

10 LITERARY ANALYSIS SELECTED PASSAGE #1 **Read the passage: annotating figurative language, sensory imagery, poetic devices, and any other patterns of diction and rhetoric, then answer the questions below. 1 The women who have been assigned to work the soil live in the Home of the Peasants beyond the City. 2 Where the City ends there is a great road winding off to the north, and we Street Sweepers must keep this road clean 3 to the first mile-post. There is a hedge along the road, and beyond the hedge lie the fields. The fields are black 4 and ploughed, and they lie like a great fan before us, with their furrows gathered in some hand beyond the sky, 5 spreading forth from that hand, opening wide apart as they come toward us, like black pleats that sparkle with 6 thin, green spangles. Women work in the fields, and their white tunics in the wind are like the wings of sea-gulls 7 beating over the black soil. 8 And there it was that we saw Liberty walking along the furrows. Their body was straight and thin as 9 a blade of iron. Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, no kindness and no guilt. 10 Their hair was golden as the sun; their hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to restrain it. 11 They threw seeds from their hand as if they deigned to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was as a beggar under 12 their feet. 13 We stood still; for the first time did we know fear, and then pain. And we stood still that we might not spill 14 this pain more precious than pleasure. 15 Then we heard a voice from the others call their name: Liberty , and they turned and walked back. 16 Thus we learned their name, and we stood watching them go, till their white tunic was lost in the blue mist. Referring to Selected Passage #1 answer the following: 31. All of the following comparisons are described in the passage EXCEPT... a. the fields are like large fans b. the sky is like a hand c. the furrows are like pleats d. the sprouting crops are like spangles 32. The underlined words in Line 2 are examples of... a. assonance b. consonance c. alliteration d. rhyme 33. The underlined words in Lines 6 and 14 are examples of... a. assonance b. consonance c. alliteration d. rhyme 34. The author characterizes Liberty as being all of the following EXCEPT... a. seductive b. fearless c. strong d. superior Page10

11 35. All of the following are examples of consonance EXCEPT... a. hand, beyond (Line 4) b. thin, green (Line 6) c. wind, wings (Line 6) d. lost, mist (Line 16) 36. List two examples of similes found in the above passage: 37. The earth was as a beggar under their feet (Line 11-12) is an example of a. simile b. methaphor c. personification d. both a and c 38. Lines 3-6 describing the fields are an example of a. personification b. imagery c. sarcasm d. alliteration 39. Which lines help provide or explain character motivation for actions that follow later in the novella? a. lines 1-3 b. lines 8-9 c. lines d. lines Page11

12 LITERARY ANALYSIS SELECTED PASSAGE 2 **Read the passage: annotating figurative language, sensory imagery, poetic devices, and any other patterns of diction and rhetoric, then answer the questions below. 1 The lash whistled like a singing wind. We tried to count the blows, but we lost count. We knew that the 2 blows were falling upon our back. Only we felt nothing upon our back any longer. A flaming grill kept dancing 3 before our eyes, and we thought of nothing save that grill, a grill, a grill of red squares, and then we knew 4 that we were looking at the squares of the iron grill in the door, and there were also the squares of stone on the 5 walls, and the squares which the lash was cutting upon our back, crossing and re-crossing itself in our flesh. 6 Then we saw a fist before us. It knocked our chin up, and we saw the red froth of our mouth on the withered 7 fingers, and the Judge asked: 8 Where have you been? 9 But we jerked our head away, hid our face upon our tied hands, and bit our lips. 10 The lash whistled again. We wondered who was sprinkling burning coal dust upon the floor, for we saw 11 drops of red twinkling on the stones around us. 12 Then we knew nothing, save two voices snarling steadily, one after the other, even though we knew they 13 were speaking many minutes apart: 14 Where have you been where have you been where have you been where have you been? And our lips moved, but the sound trickled back into our throat, and the sound was only: 16 The light... The light... The light Then we knew nothing. Using Selected Passage #2, answer the following questions. 40. The passage contains examples of all of the following sensory imagery EXCEPT... a. sight and sound b. sound and touch c. taste and smell 41. All of the following descriptions are parallel in meaning EXCEPT... a. A flaming grill (Line 2) b. the red froth of our mouth (Line 6) c. burning coal dust upon the floor (Line 10) d. drops of red twinkling on the stones (Line 10-11) 42. All of the following descriptions are examples of personification EXCEPT... a. The lash whistled (Line 1) b. A flaming grill kept dancing (Line 2) c. the sound trickled back into our throat (Line 15) Page12

13 43. The author uses all of the following examples of repetition to heighten the intensity of the torture EXCEPT... a. that grill, a grill, a grill (Line 3) b. red squares, the squares, the squares, the squares (Lines 3-5) c. Where have you been where have you been where have you been where have you been?... (Line 14) d. The light... The light... The light.... (Line 16) 44. Line 9 contains all of the following poetic devices EXCEPT... a. assonance b. consonance c. alliteration d. rhyme 45. The underlined sentences in lines 1-2 are used to highlight a. imagery b.antithesis c.hyberole d.sarcasm LITERARY ANALYSIS SELECTED PASSAGE 3 1 It is dark here in the forest. The leaves rustle over our head, black against the last gold of the sky. The moss 2 is soft and warm. We shall sleep on this moss for many nights, till the beasts of the forest come to tear our 3 body. We have no bed now, save the moss, and no future, save the beasts. 4 We are old now, yet we were young this morning, when we carried our glass box through the streets of the 5 City to the Home of the Scholars. No men stopped us, for there were none about from the Palace of Corrective 6 Detention, and the others knew nothing. No men stopped us at the gate. We walked through empty passages 7 and into the great hall where the World Council of Scholars sat in solemn meeting. 8 We saw nothing as we entered, save the sky in the great windows, blue and glowing. Then we saw the 9 Scholars who sat around a long table; they were as shapeless clouds huddled at the rise of the great sky. They were 10 men whose famous names we knew, and others from distant lands whose names we had not heard. We saw a great 11 painting on the wall over their heads, of the twenty illustrious men who had invented the candle. 12 All the heads of the Council turned to us as we entered. These great and wise of the earth did not know 13 what to think of us, and they looked upon us with wonder and curiosity, as if we were a miracle. It is true that our 14 tunic was torn and stained with brown stains which had been blood. We raised our right arm and we said: 15 Our greeting to you, our honored brothers of the World Council of Scholars! 16 The Collective , the oldest and wisest of the Council, spoke and asked: 17 Who are you, our brother? For you do not look like a Scholar. 18 Our name is Equality , we answered, and we are a Street Sweeper of this City. 19 Then it was as if a great wind had stricken the hall, for all the Scholars spoke at once, and they were angry 20 and frightened. Page13

14 46. The flashback beginning in Line 4 is signaled by all of the following devices EXCEPT... a. a change in setting b. a change in character c. a change in time of day d. a change in tense 47. The underlined words in Line 9 are an example of... a. simile b. metaphor c. personification 48. All of the following word pairs are examples of assonance EXCEPT... a. over, our (Line 1) b. moss, soft (Line 1-2) c. famous, names (Line 10) d. true, tunic (Line 13-14) 49. In Lines 13-14, It is true that our tunic was torn contains all of the following poetic devices EXCEPT... a. assonance b. consonance c. alliteration d. rhyme 50. We have no bed now, save the moss, and no future, save the beasts. (line3) The underlined section is an example of a.repetition b.hyperbole c. neither a nor b d. both a and b Page14