Anthem-Quote

B.) "We do not wonder at this new sin of ours. It is our second Transgression of Preference, for we do not think of all our brothers, as we must, but only of one, and their name is Liberty 5-3000. We do not know why we think of them. We do not know why, when we think of them, we feel of a sudden that the earth is good and that it is not a burden to live" (Rand 41).

I found this passage to be very effective for it related Equality's lack of regret for his sin of loving one above all others. It is evidence that love wins, no matter what, in the end and love will always exist where people do. Love is overpowering and makes Equality forget all else, forget the oppressive rules of society, and be apathetic toward the punishments he knows may entail from rule-breaking. It also shows that Equality is different from the other members of society, he doesn't wonder at his new sin because he is indifferent to sinning; even when he was young and in school he sinned by preferring one career over another. Although I fail to believe that anyone actually could not be secretly hoping to be a scientist over a street-sweeper, Equality is more open and bold in his approach to knowledge.

Equality blatantly does not fit into the society in which he is a part of. He is in search of "true" happiness and knows he can never have that in a society that lacks love (because all are to be seen as precisely equal) and lacks knowledge (for knowledge leads to superiority). Such a mediocre standard of living is not tolerable to Equality due to the fact that he thinks on his own. He loves the Golden One because she stands out as different to him and he ends up being right in the end for she is not the typical, obedient and conforming subject.

He does not feel guilt or even the slightest remorse for preferring the Golden One to all other women because love, although he doesn't know that this is what he is feeling, makes him carefree and happy with the world. He says he doesn't feel like it is a burden to live when he thinks of the Golden One; he would take the punishment of preference if he had too because he simply did not regret breaking the rules in the name of love.