A review by jenbsbooks
Anthem by Ayn Rand
3.0
My 9th grader was reading this for school, so I thought I'd read it too, so we could discuss it some. Very quick read. I found it interesting. I've read a lot of dystopian, and it's always interesting when one was written quite a few years ago, seeing what an author may have envisioned for a future.
Here though, it seems an antiquated society. Very strict structure. The elimination of the individual. It was odd as the narration referred to himself as "we" and "our" and "their" ... which was the point. The society here was a little reminiscent of The Giver (I realize this ^ was written first, but I read The Giver first), with the babies not raised by those who gave birth to them. Having certain ages mean levels of development, the assignment of occupations, the "old" being "done" ...
Unfortunately my son hasn't been very open to discussions, or sharing his study notes or quizzes ... it always interests me to know how the school/teacher is approaching the story, what they are questioning and emphasizing.
Here though, it seems an antiquated society. Very strict structure. The elimination of the individual. It was odd as the narration referred to himself as "we" and "our" and "their" ... which was the point. The society here was a little reminiscent of The Giver (I realize this ^ was written first, but I read The Giver first), with the babies not raised by those who gave birth to them. Having certain ages mean levels of development, the assignment of occupations, the "old" being "done" ...
Unfortunately my son hasn't been very open to discussions, or sharing his study notes or quizzes ... it always interests me to know how the school/teacher is approaching the story, what they are questioning and emphasizing.