anthem essay questions

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Study Help Essay Questions

1. Why does the Council of Vocations assign Equality 7-2521 to sweeping the streets?

2. Why do the collectivists prohibit knowledge of the word "I"?

3. What is referred to by the Unmentionable Times? What were conditions like in that period of history?

4. In what way does the love relationship between Equality 7-2521 and the Golden One violate the fundamental beliefs of this society?

5. Why do several of Equality 7-2521's fellow street sweepers cry suddenly and/or scream in the night? What does their unhappiness say about both human nature and conditions in this society?

6. Why do the Scholars condemn the electric light even though they recognize its effectiveness?

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Anthem Essay Contest

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Welcome to your student dashboard for this year’s contest!

Here you can start a new application for the contest, view any of your existing saved or submitted entries, and even request a free copy of Anthem if you don’t already have access to the book. Questions? Simply write to us at [email protected] . We’re here to help!

Our Grading Criteria

Essays are judged on whether the student is able to justify and argue for his or her view—not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. Our graders look for writing that is clear, articulate, and logically organized. Essays should stay on topic, address all parts of the selected prompt, and interrelate the ideas and events in the novel. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of Anthem .

Available Essay Topics

Ayn Rand once said that chapters XI and XII of  Anthem  contain the real anthem of the story. Consider several different definitions of the word “anthem” and then explain why you think Ayn Rand called the book “Anthem.” In what sense do you think chapters XI and XII (or the book as a whole) is an anthem? How does the book’s title relate to the themes and message of the story? Explain your answer.

For the following statement from  Anthem , explain its role in the story, its relation to the themes and message of the story, and its relevance to your own life: “Indeed you are happy,” they answered. “How else can men be when they live for their brothers?”

Equality 7-2521 has committed some of the worst crimes there are in his society. If those crimes are discovered, he faces the risk of terrible punishment. Yet in the face of this danger, and despite how much Equality has suffered at the hands of his society, he resolves to bring his invention (and admit his crimes) to the World Council of Scholars. What motivates him to come forward? What does he hope to achieve? If you were Equality’s friend (like International 4-8818) or the person who loves him (like Liberty 5-3000), what would you want him to do, and why? What do you think would be right for him to do, and why?

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Celebrating 25 Years of the Anthem Essay Contest

Today, ARI celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Anthem essay contest, which launched October 2, 1992. In its first year, ARI received 2,237 essay submissions from students. Fast forward twenty-five years and, to date, 257,708 essays have been submitted, and more than $300,000 in prize money has been awarded to students across the United States and around the world.

Click here to read the winning essay in the 2017 Anthem essay contest, submitted by Elisabeth Schlossel from The Spence School in New York, New York.

To highlight this milestone, we’d like to highlight comments from students and teachers who have read and been positively impacted by the novel’s thought-provoking themes.

 “As a student in today’s fast-paced society, Ayn Rand’s novels illustrate a set of morals that provide me with a clear-cut purpose and “why” in a life that can often become mindlessly rhythmic and meaningless.”

“A truly enlightening read; it completely changed my perspective on the ego.”

“ Anthem has been a huge success with my students, and has opened their eyes to many concepts they hadn’t considered before. I look forward to teaching it again and again.”

“Every time I teach one of Ayn Rand’s novels, I hear from a former student how it got them excited about her work or sent them off into a different direction of thought about the world.”

“I am so very excited about this. I only wish I had known of it sooner. These should all be required reading for all American students! These books will be used in my Social Studies classes as supplements to understanding about economics, government, socialism, and the Soviet Union. I will encourage other teachers in English and other courses to use these as a cross curriculum tool.”

Learn more about ARI’s annual essay contests for Ayn Rand’s Anthem , The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged , here .

Forging a Path to the Future: An Interview with ARI’s New CEO

Changing the World by Reaching the Right Mind at the Right Time

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The Anthem Essay Contest – 5 Strategies to Win the Competition

NY Weekly Staff

• February 2, 2024

Anthem is a speculative fictional novella written by Ayn Rand. According to Scholastic World, this novella was first written in 1937 and then published in 1938 in the UK . It has been long hailed as Ayan’s classic work. Every year countless participants participate in the Ayan Rand Anthem essay contest. They are asked to write 600 to 1200 words to present their viewpoints on a particular stance.

A general estimation of the number of entries of the students participating in the essay contest has been given by the College Confidential Forum. It says that almost 2500 entries are recorded every year in this competition. So, it is obvious that the competition for cash prices is high.

Good essay writing is not only based on consulting numerous sources for gathering reliable data. It is about writing, formatting, and most importantly time management to meet the deadlines. If you are unsure how to implement all those details effectively in addition to gathering data, the best essay writers are there to assist you. However, you can also do it independently by considering the key strategies below.

5 Techniques to Win Anthem Essay Contest

Writing essays on the anthem essay contest requires expertise in writing, research, and understanding the topic. To craft a polished document, consider the below-mentioned key techniques. It can grant specificity to your work. So, let’s know the details.

1. Understand The Topic

The topic of your Anthem essay contest defines the boundaries of your talk. It will clarify the viewpoint so that you can communicate with the reader with your stance. So, it’s important to understand the topic first. For this purpose, you can do some background research. Ultimately it will provide you a direction to continue your essay writing journey.

2. Develop a Strong Thesis Statement

A thesis statement of essays for the Anthem essay contest is usually written at the start of your introductory paragraphs. It’s a concise summary of your stance that you will argue in the context. So, make sure to outline a main point in this single statement. This will provide the reader with a roadmap to consider while reading.

3. Plan Your Essay

One of the best ways to plan your Anthem essay contest is by outlining. It will be helpful to provide you with a clear estimation of the structure. You can also think of how to use the relevant sources. Later on, you can craft them in an essay template.

4. Write Clearly and Concisely

Use clear and concise language when writing an essay for the Anthem essay contest. For this purpose, avoid using jargon or some technical terms that can confuse the reader. Also, avoid repetition of the words. However, it may also involve constructing your sentences carefully and using grammar concisely. All will contribute to making the finest comprehensive document for the reader.

5. Edit and Proofread Your Essay

That’s where most of the students fall apart. They have been struggling for a long time to see the final document of an Anthem essay contest. They have even gone through the process of making drafts. So, in the end, they just want to hold the final document. But no, you are making a big mistake. It may accompany several writing or grammatical flaws. Don’t think of submitting the final document without making revisions. Read it again and again so that you are not prone to rejection.

Anthem Essay Contest Topics For 2024

Here is a list of the best topics for the Anthem essay contest:

• What is the role of religion in objectivism? How does the life of Christ inform the story of equality?
• What is Ayan Rand’s stance on women? Does she know her self-worth?
• Highlight the importance of Rand’s use of contrasted pairs in her imagery.

If you find crafting an organized essay independently difficult, essay writing services can be helpful at this stage. Work done by a professional is more likely to beat the competition than done by an inexperienced student.

Final Remarks

The anthem essay contest is one of the most popular competitions in the UK. The participants participate in the competition to express gratitude for Ayan Rand’s novel work. However, the winners also win cash prizes. To win the competition, the writing process is equally important as the research process is.

To make your essay writing journey smooth, the above-mentioned highlights are important. Be mindful of these strategies and get ready to beat the competition. 

Published by: Martin De Juan

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The Cop and the Anthem Essay Questions

By o. henry, essay questions.

These notes were contributed by members of the GradeSaver community. We are thankful for their contributions and encourage you to make your own.

Written by Polly Barbour

Why does Soapy decide to commit a succession of petty crimes?

Soapy is cold, winter is approaching, and he has nowhere to live. He needs to find somewhere to stay immediately and so he plans to get arrested and taken to the city jail, where he will be warm and will be fed three square meals a day. He has become used to thinking of the jail as a hotel for homeless people and so logically assumes that if he commits enough petty crimes he will be able to stay at the jail for the entire winter. He decides to commit crimes that also benefit him in that he tries to eat dinner at both a posh restaurant and a run-of-the-mill diner so that he can eat a good meal before he is arrested.

How is this story similar to other O. Henry stories?

O. Henry was best known for short stories that featured lower class protagonists and an ironic twist at the end. This story has both of those features; Soapy is a lower-class, homeless man who has had many brushes with the law. He came to New York to seek his fortune but it never really panned out; although O. Henry writes about characters in all sorts of different settings and locations, he returns time and time again to New York City as the backdrop for his narrative.

Another aspect of this story that fits the O. Henry template so well is the fact that there is an ironic twist at the end of the story. This is definitely the case in this story. Soapy is desperate to get arrested through the majority of the story yet he does not manage to do so; once he decides that this is no way to live and that he needs to turn his life around, he is arrested. This is exactly the kind of ironic twist that O. Henry is known for.

Update this section!

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After you claim a section you’ll have 24 hours to send in a draft. An editor will review the submission and either publish your submission or provide feedback.

The Cop and the Anthem Questions and Answers

The Question and Answer section for The Cop and the Anthem is a great resource to ask questions, find answers, and discuss the novel.

Quotes that describes Soapys intelligence

It isn't my body that's sick. It's my soul. For the first time in my life I've viewed the horrible pit into which I've tumbled: the degraded days, unworthy desires, dead hopes, wrecked faculties, base motives, that have made up my useless...

What is the central theme of the story the cop and the anthem ?

B. Freedom can mean different things to different people.

The inciting incident of the story occurs when ?

a. Soapy sits on their park bench

Study Guide for The Cop and the Anthem

The Cop and the Anthem study guide contains a biography of O. Henry, literature essays, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis.

• About The Cop and the Anthem
• The Cop and the Anthem Summary
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If you've chosen a good online research and essay writing service, then you don't have to worry. The writers from the firm conduct their own exploratory research, add scientific facts and back it up with the personal knowledge. None of them copy information from the Internet or steal ready-made articles. Even if this is not enough for the client, he can personally go to the anti-plagiarism website and check the finished document. Of course, the staff of the sites themselves carry out such checks, but no one can forbid you to make sure of the uniqueness of the article for yourself.

Thanks to the privacy policy on web platforms, no one will disclose your personal data and transfer to third parties. You are completely safe from start to finish.

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‘Team USA Was Cheated’: Chinese Doping Case Roils Swimming

An American who won silver in Tokyo calls for an investigation. A British gold medalist demands bans. But the most bitter fight was between antidoping leaders.

By Jenny Vrentas ,  Tariq Panja and Michael S. Schmidt

The revelation that 23 Chinese swimmers tested positive for a banned drug seven months before the Tokyo Olympics but were secretly cleared and allowed to continue competing has exposed a bitter and at times deeply personal rift inside the fight to keep drugs out of international sports, and brought new criticism of the global authority that oversees drug-testing.

A New York Times investigation uncovered previously unreported details of the 2021 episode, in which a contingent of Chinese swimmers, including nearly half of the team that China sent to the Tokyo Games, tested positive for a banned prescription heart medicine that can help athletes increase stamina and reduce recovery times.

Within hours, the disclosure of an incident that had been a secret for more than three years was roiling swimming. An American Olympian who took home a silver medal from Tokyo said she felt her team had been “cheated” in a race won by China. A British gold medalist called for a lifetime ban for the swimmers involved on social media. And a simmering feud between global antidoping officials and their U.S. counterparts burst into the open with caustic statements and legal threats.

“Any time there’s a situation where positive tests aren’t clearly identified and gone through a proper process and protocol, it allows for doubt to creep into athletes’ minds who are competing clean,” said Greg Meehan, the Stanford University coach who led the U.S. women’s team at the Tokyo Games. “When they’re going into competitions, you can’t help but think, ‘Am I competing in a clean event?’”

The fallout comes less than 100 days before the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics. That has created uncomfortable headlines both for the sport but also for the Games themselves, which depend on global antidoping regulators to ensure fair play and the integrity of the medals awarded — which can validate years of training, define athletes’ careers and confer pride on a nation.

China’s antidoping agency, known as Chinada, acknowledged the positive tests in a response to questions last week but said the swimmers had ingested the banned substance unwittingly and in tiny amounts, and that no action against them was warranted. WADA, saying it had no “credible evidence” to challenge China’s version of events, said it had declined to impose suspensions, disqualifications or even make any public announcement that they had tested positive.

In many ways, the fight over the Chinese positives is one about process. In all but the rarest circumstances, any athlete who tests positive for a powerful banned drug like the one in question, trimetazidine, is subject to at least a provisional suspension while an investigation takes place. There is no evidence that happened in the case of the Chinese athletes.

WADA and Chinada strongly disputed any assertion they had covered up the positive tests, saying they had abided by all applicable rules in investigating them. The director of WADA’s intelligence and investigations unit, Günter Younger, said it had “diligently investigated every lead and line of inquiry in this matter.”

“The data held by us clearly showed that there had been no attempt to hide the positive tests as they had been reported in the usual way by the Chinese authorities,” he said.

For those personally affected, though, the revelation was far more personal.

The Times identified five events at the Tokyo Games in which Chinese swimmers who had tested positive for a banned substance won medals, including three golds.

Paige Madden, a member of the U.S. 4x200 freestyle relay team that finished second to China with a time that was faster than the previous world record, said in a text message to The New York Times she hoped that the handling of the doping case would be investigated and a reallocation of medals considered.

“We had to applaud China’s efforts that day,” she said of being beaten by a faster team. “Today however, I feel that Team USA was cheated. We didn’t get to celebrate our world record, and we didn’t get our team moment to be on the top of the podium to watch our flag and sing the national anthem.”

In posts on X, the British Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, a three-time gold medalist, criticized an uneven application of a system known as strict liability, a bedrock of international doping rules in which athletes are deemed responsible for any banned substance found in their body, irrespective how it got there, making the bar to avoid consequences extremely high. Peaty’s Olympic teammate James Guy, who won two golds from Tokyo, went further, writing: “ Ban them all and never compete again .”

The more ugly fight, though, was among the world’s leading antidoping officials.

Late Saturday, WADA threatened legal action against the chief executive of the United States Anti-Doping Agency, Travis T. Tygart, in an unusually personal news release that accused him of “undermining WADA’s work to protect clean sport around the world.”

Mr. Tygart, who had publicly criticized the handling of the China case, quickly fired back. “It is disappointing to see WADA stoop to threats and scare tactics when confronted with a blatant violation of the rules governing antidoping,” he said. “When you blow away their rhetoric, the facts remain as have been reported: WADA failed to provisionally suspend the athletes, disqualify results, and publicly disclose the positives. These are egregious failures.”

The back and forth brought a longstanding feud between world antidoping officials and their American counterparts into public view. In an interview in March, WADA’s director general, Olivier Niggli, had previously expressed annoyance with the U.S. antidoping agency, and Mr. Tygart.

“Everything we do they criticize,” Mr. Niggli said.

WADA said it had referred Mr. Tygart’s most recent comments to its legal department. But WADA and the Chinese antidoping agency also threatened legal action against news media outlets who reported information they characterized as “misleading.”

It is unclear, though, what can or will happen next. WADA is standing by its handling of the Chinese swimmers’ positive tests. World Aquatics, the organization that governs swimming internationally, told The Times that it believes the positive tests were handled “diligently and professionally, and in accordance with all applicable antidoping regulations.”

And on Sunday, China’s best swimmers contested the third day of the country’s Olympic trials. Some of the swimmers identified for testing positive in 2021 will again be front and center, including Zhang Yufei, who won four Olympic medals at the Tokyo Games, including two golds.

Jenny Vrentas is a Times reporter covering money, power and influence in sports. More about Jenny Vrentas

Tariq Panja is a global sports correspondent, focusing on stories where money, geopolitics and crime intersect with the sports world. More about Tariq Panja

Michael S. Schmidt is an investigative reporter for The Times covering Washington. His work focuses on tracking and explaining high-profile federal investigations. More about Michael S. Schmidt