Reflections on The Anthem by Ayn Rand

"Man—every man—is an end in himself, not the means to the ends of others. He must exist for his own sake, neither sacrificing himself to others nor sacrificing others to himself. The pursuit of his own rational self-interest and of his own  happiness is the highest moral purpose of his life."

 

This is a brief taste of Rand's philosophy of Objectivism, which is primarily self-focused. Equality 7-2521 begins to live on the edge, that is, for himself right from the beginning, in his desperate keening to be sent to the Home of the Scholars. This was his first recorded self-centered thought in the novel, and despite his desires he is not sent there, but to the Home of the Sweepers. He begins to take more and more selfish actions after he gets there, by venturing down the tunnel although it is forbidden and beginning to work on his lightbulb for his own purposes and thoughts of fame. Eventually, he leaves his town with his forbidden partner and discovers the word "I", after which he begins to live life for himself rather than for his borthers.

 When a character acts selfishly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself?

 

Equality 7-2521 acted selfishly against the entire social norm of his people; he begin to live for himself. And while characteristics such as independence, knowledge, and male/female love emerge and are exhibited as a cause of this, are they really virtues compared to what emerges when one acts selflessly? In The Pearl, virtues like loyalty and determination emerge from selflessness, but I'm not sure what has emerged from selfishness could really be considered virtues, albeit beneficial and for the greater good. 

Reflections of The Pearl

It was thought that the magnificent pearl would bring Kino and Juana great prosperity; a new home, clothes, education for their son, and a proper marriage. However, the editor of the book outlines a paradox that makes that assumption unrealistic: evil comes out of good.


The discovery of the pearl was crucial to the survival of Kino and Juana's son, Coyotito, after he was stung by a scorpion and needed medication. And eureka, a pearl like no other was discovered, and it was rumored to be worth unimaginable riches. A find that was undoubtedly good; however soon the reality of the earth swept in and brought forth evil.

 Many tried to steal the pearl, Kino and Juana watched their house burn before them and their canoe be broken, Kino was forced to kill a man and their son Coyotito was murdered in direct result of the pearl. Something that was seemingly beautiful brought not brightness but darkness to their world, and the evil that Juana sensed from the beginning emerged from the pearl.

When Kino and Juana return to the village, Kino peers into the pearl and sees all the evil that had been brought to him because of it. He had once described it as "the great pearl, perfect as the moon" (pg 30), but he now said "The pearl was ugly; it was gray, like a malignant growth" (pg 121).

When a character acts selflessly against the prevailing vice(s) of the dominant social order, true virtue exhibits itself.

Prevailing vices of the dominant social order:

• Poverty and discrimination that was among Kino's people
• The scorpion that attacked Coyotito
• Selfishness and jealousy of the townspeople, the doctor, and the pearl buyers
• The loss of much because of the pearl (home, canoe)

Virtues exhibited:

• Kino's loyalty to his family and Juana's loyalty to her husband, even though he made decisions she did not agree with.
• Kino's determination to achieve success and settle for nothing but what he deserved for the pearl.
• A sense of family above all else 

Throughout the novel, we watch Kino's family struggle and suffer because of the pearl, and yet he is completely selflessly driven to ensure that Coyotito will have a bright future. As a result, we see loyalty, determination and a family priority emerge and drive the characters through the troubles they encounter.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

NOTE: The following blog post was originally posted in December 2011 (however due to the recent revamping of bookittothebookstore.blogspot.com, I am re-posting it), and since then the sequel, The Evolution of Mara Dyer, has been released (and devoured by myself). Perhaps a review shall grace the face of this blog in the future, however I highly recommend you sprint down to the nearest bookstore and own the beautiful thing for yourself.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin is quite honestly one of THE best books I have ever read. I devoured this book in 2 days, and immediately Google searched to see if there was a sequel (to my dismay, it won't be released until Fall 2012).

This is a captivating story of Mara Dyer, who wakes up in a hospital bed and was told she was in an accident. An accident she can't remember. An accident that killed her three closest friends, but let her seemingly unharmed. Her family moves her across the country, and enrolls her in psychiatric therapy immediately. Mara is haunted by hallucinations and nightmares of the night of the accident, and she slowly begins to remember the horrifying events of the night. They are being hidden from her by her family, but Mara begins to unravel the secrets of what truly happened the night that everything changed.

The following is the book description found on the inside cover of the book:

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital bed with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she has been through, she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

This book is amazing, and I highly recommend it.

The Host

The Host by Stephanie Meyer is a science-fiction/ romance novel that takes place in what seems to be the future, but could easily fit into a present-day setting.

In the universe that houses The Host, an alien race called Souls are transported to new planets and implanted into the habitants there, commonly known as their Hosts. At this time, Earth has become almost completely populated with souls, and very few humans remain in their own mindset.

The novel follows the human life of Wanderer, the soul that has lived on many more planets than is common. When she arrives on earth, she is placed inside Melanie, a Host who still lives within her, and has not been erased from her body. Wanderer can feel her emotions, hear her thoughts, and see what Melanie chooses to show her. She begins to fall in love with the people Melanie loves.Wanderer is scared, and feels like an abnormality. She considers requesting a new Host, but with Melanie living inside of her, Wanderer begins to see the human perspective of the invasion, and her view of Souls themselves begin to change... 

But what will become of the humans, and, in possesion of a secret only Wanderer knows, what will become of the Souls?

"I held you in my hands, Wanderer, and you were so beautiful." 

-Ian, The Host