Anthemby Ayn Rand

                                          

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Anthemby Ayn Rand

Rand’s writing reflects her strong philosophical and political opinions.

This is a politically motivated novel. It reflects the opinion Ayn developed after her experience with the Russian Revolution.

Like the majority of Europe, Russia was a monarchy.

The Romanov Family ruled Russia from the early 1600s to the early 1900s.

The majority of Russians disliked the class system in their country.

Most were serfs, working for the few elite landowners in the fields.

Serfs were like property that could be bought and sold.

In 1861 Alexander Romanov II freed the Russian people from serfdom.

Twenty years later, despite being free, nothing really changed for the majority of the Russia people.

Revolutionary groups began to form. Several assassinations were used as a tool to provoke change; eventually killing Alexander Romanov II, the man who had freed them, in 1861.

The only change the assassinations brought was tougher punishment and crackdowns on revolutionaries.

The industrial revolution had occurred which created more jobs. However, it did not bring better pay or living/working conditions.

The country had also suffered major crop failure which led to nation wide famine.

By 1881, Nicolas Romanov was the Czar, but his reign was doomed from the start. After over 50 years of mistreatment, the people’s distrust of the monarchy was well established.

Author information She was born Alyssa

Rosenbaum (1905)

Middle Class (rare)

At age 9 she decided to become a writer.

She later changed her given name to her pen name Ayn Rand.

Ayn Rand lived in the town of St. Petersburg.(Photograph of St. Petersburg before the revolution)

1905 - 1910 People began to protest again.

The Czar allowed the people to form a Duma (parliament), but then spent the next few years undermining their power.

The Duma was composed of middle and upper class, so it was not representative of the needs of the majority of Russian people.

Demonstrators in 1917 demanding that the government give power to the Socialist and imprison the Czar.

Russia was losing in World War I, so the Czar dismissed the military leaders and took control of the army; This resulted in his loss of military support.

By 1917, Romanov lost all power. History documents that Nicolas Romanov was a very poor leader.

The Duma was destroyed.

Revolutionaries had collected a great force, and The Bolsheviks develop the world’s first communist country.

The government effectively lost control . The Communist Party took over police functions.

Due to force by communist rebels, in 1917, Czar Nicolas Romanov surrendered his position and power to the communist revolutionaries. (Romanovs are pictured below)

Author Information The communist

government began to take over when Ayn Rand was 12. Her family had to leave Russia for a few years. When they returned Ayn graduated from the University

COMMUNISM A form of government where

a society works toward the benefit of the community.

Everyone is seen as equal.

Wealth is distributed equally among the people.

The state owns and controls all business and property.

The state is run by one leading elite.

Even though the Tsar had surrendered, he still had supporters. He was imprisoned in the palace, and then eventually the family was moved to a new location. They remained imprisoned at the new location for some months. The communists finally determined that it was not safe to keep the Romanov family alive. The entire family was executed in the basement of the home in July, 1917.

“New Economic Policy“ allowed a limited restoration of private trade. The photo above shows people gathering in

a square to sell goods in the cold of January 1922.

Author Information Rand left Russia

because she hated the communist government.

She settle in Hollywood, California.

She began writing plays. She also wrote essays, speeches, short stories and novels.

The novel has two competing philosophies.

Objectivism Collectivism

Man is a hero.

His own happiness is his reason for living.

Man must be a productive worker.

Man must only trust himself and his own beliefs

What form of government is based on objectivism?

Democracy

Man’s rights are set by the government.

The government decides what job is best for each man.

The government decides how man should look, act, and think.

Man does what is best for the group.

What form of government is collectivism?

Communism

Theme Angered by the conformity

encouraged by her homeland of Russia, Ayn Rand authored this rather short novel to display one crucial theme –

Protect yourself (beliefs and ideals) no matter the cost.

Author Information

Ayn Rand died March 6, 1982.