The values ​​at risk in Anthem are not just those of the central luminary; they are the apparent values ​​of an entire civilization: ours. Our society is founded on the notion of individual rights; its existence, as Ayn Rand describes, cannot be conceived on any other terrain. Anthem, Rand's dystopian tale, is about us and what will happen if we don't follow Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000 in their discovery of the importance of individualism. Rand intends the name Equality to be a misnomer, since we know that he is far superior to his peers and later comes to reject the principle that his name characterizes. Liberty 5-3000 is a character meant to embody freedom, although it is quite paradoxical that his society calls him that, since freedom is exactly what his collectivist society destroys. Equality's decision to abandon his first name shows his obstacle within a society that worships the "We", unwilling to be kept among the masses. When Equality renames Freedom and itself, it ultimately declares war on collectivism, claiming itself as its own – as “Man, not men” (104). Equality decides that they must choose their own names to distinguish themselves from the remaining proletariat – just like names used in the Unnameable Times. Equality adopts the name “Prometheus,” imitative of the ancient Greek god who brought light to man from heaven and was punished for his kindness. For Gold, the name that Equality assigned to Freedom upon first meeting her, he chooses “Gea”: “[T]he mother of the earth and of all the gods” (99). Gaea was considered the primordial deity of the earth and the progenitor of life and reproduction: the Mother of All. It was on her that living things thrived. M...... middle of paper ......r that "freedom", because "[t]o be free a man must be free from his brothers" (101). Furthermore, by giving up the name that Equality creates for Freedom after seeing her for the first time, she demonstrates that it is not necessary to describe her individual characteristics to establish her overall individuality. Prometheus' indirect study of the past and present, through the library of books found in the house of the Unnameable Times, guides him in the decision that will not allow man's future to slip away as before. Similar to Prometheus the Titan, Rand's Prometheus brings light and knowledge to his people by ultimately writing a hymn to the ego, embracing his identity as the revolutionary of his time and the "god that men have sought since men were born. .. 'I'" (97). Works Cited Rand, Ayn. Atlas shrugged. New York: Penguin Group Inc., 1996. Print.