“To fully control a man, dictators must not only enslave his body, but also destroy his mind.” This quote outlooks the whole novel, Anthem. It begins at a point in time, where the people do not receive the ability by the society to be their own person. The society takes control of man by turning the word “I” into “We” and the word “Man” into “Men”. They must think of themselves as a whole, or punishment is assigned.
In the novel, the society is the highest rank of worship. They assign the work, and they are the teachers. The only problem with this is they teach the people so little and tell them so many lies to manipulate their ability to think for themselves. When you are taught a certain way as a child, it reflects how you make your decisions and how you live. By doing this, it enslaves their body, because it is the way they were taught, and it destroys their mind, because they were not taught to think differently. If they do not know the variety of ways to live, how can they change the way they live? It’s all based on what they are taught and how.
Also, the problem with the society is not only because they lie, but because they grasp the idea that what all men does not know, does not exist. The society is very confusing. They mention a law that states, (page 19 of Anthem) “We are one in all and all in one. There are not men but only the great WE, One, indivisible and forever.” This should mean if one crosses a discovery, they all have, but the society does not want to think that way. What the society says goes, because they believe they know what is right for the people, when all they really want is to be in charge. They stretch the laws, to minimize the actions of the people.
Another way the society seeks to take control of man is by taking this giant world and turning it into something very small and scary. They believe if they minimize the space and make the world seem like a scary place around them, it would trap the people into thinking where they live is a fantastic place. Like, in the novel, they mention the uncharted forest. The society has taught the people about the “beasts” that live upon it. That alone has trapped a very good percent of the people in this inhumanely place. The society knows this place hardly makes sense, but the people do not know otherwise. They are turning these people into slaves, even though the people do not know it.
One of the last ways the society seeks to control man is by doing all they can to keep the people from discovering the truth. If one finds they have been lying, it is all over. They might be the leaders, but if it is the society against the people, they cannot win. Like Equality 7-2521 and Liberty 5-3000, in the novel Anthem, the people could be free of the society and free to break all the laws. Eventually, they would know all the society’s secrets and know how big the world actually is. The society does not want this to happen, so they do what they can to prevent it.
Whether it is how the society manipulates, or how they lie, they only aim at controlling man. They seek to accomplish this throughout the novel, Anthem. They do this by changing how the world is seen through the eyes of the people, teaching the people in their own ways to manipulate their mind, and keeping them far away from the truth.