"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.
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