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Lily Sundaramoorthy - Compare Contrast Final Essay - 16946087
Lily Sundaramoorthy - Compare Contrast Final Essay - 16946087
Lily Sundaramoorthy - Compare Contrast Final Essay - 16946087
Lily Sundaramoorthy
Szwajkowski
1 November 2022
Interesting Title
Most people try to fit within a general mold and are too afraid to question it. Whether it
be as little as buying the newest phone to look cool or something as big as not speaking up when
one sees injustice out of fear of being ostracized, humans instinctively do what everyone else
does. This hesitation is because people, especially with the rise of social media, constantly have a
nagging fear that they need to be up to par with others’ standards. Although, there are some
people who decide to place their happiness over society's opinion. One of the main topics of Ayn
Rand’s Anthem is the pressure society puts on people to be the same. “The Joy of Less'' by Pico
Iyer is similar. In the blog, Iyer writes about how society places too much importance in social
status and his journey on how he found his own happiness. Both of these texts are about how
society has corrupted people to think that differences are not acceptable, and how to live for
oneself.
Equality 7-2521, the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s Anthem, and Pico Iyer, the author of “The
Joy of Less,” make significant changes to their lifestyles and environments to find more depth
and meaning in their lives, though they make contrasting choices of going about it.
For example, Equality 7-2521 in Anthem and Pico Iyer both feel unsure of what they are
achieving by living the way they currently do. To specify, Equality 7-2521, thinks that
there is more meaning to living than just mindlessly working for his community without
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the right to choice and opinion. In the book, Equality speaks of having been “…born with
a curse. For [they] are not like [their] brothers.”(Anthem, Rand), or in other words,
questioning why things are a certain way, and having a preference for some things rather
than functioning in a manner comparable to a worker bee. Likewise, Pico Iyer is unsure
due to the amount of unneeded complexity in his current lifestyle of viewing happiness as
one’s social status and the amount of money they make. Pico Iyer has the dream job he
has always wanted since high school, writing the world affairs page in the newspaper, and
lives a very comfortable life. Though, he has “noticed that the people …[in Third World
countries he visited for work], mired in difficulty and often warfare, seemed to have more
energy and even optimism than the friends [he’d] grown up with in privileged, peaceful
Santa Barbara, [California].” Although Iyer lives the life that a middle class American
dreamed of, he starts doubting his way of life. He “knew that poverty certainly didn’t buy
happiness, [he] wasn’t convinced that money did either.”(The Joy of Less, Iyer) Since
Iyer and Equality are both starting to question if they are truly content, doubt is starting to
build in their heads about if there are other choices out there, rather than the one that is
the most often chosen. Equality sees his quick mind and growth mindset as a curse, due
to living in a community that praises a mindset in which one never grows, and accepts all
popular speculation and rules, without questioning. Likewise, Iyer expresses that his
goals were to make money, and live a comfortable life, to feel like everybody else, and
care about whatever everyone else is thinking. Both Equality and Iyer are starting to
wonder, “why am I not satisfied with how I am living?” This doubt leads them to start
Although Equality 7-2521 and Pico Iyer are both unsure about the meaning of
their lives, their ways of adding more are completely different. For example, Equality
7-2521 leaves his socialist community to bring complexity and choice into his life. Near
the end of Anthem, Equality states,“I have my mind.” This means that he now will live
for himself, make choices that benefit him he wants, and choose his friends, hobbies, and
lovers. In short, he lives as an individual, rather than as a member of the human race. In
contrast, Pico Iyer leaves his old life of living in New York City in favor of living a
minimalist life in Kyoto, Japan, because of his opinion that happiness comes from
appreciating what one already has. Or, to simplify, to add depth and happiness to his life,
Iyer decides to take away unnecessary choice and clutter from his lifestyle. In his blog
Iyer writes that he has “no bicycle, no car, no television [he] can understand, no media —
and [his] days seem to stretch into eternity, and [that he] can’t think of a single thing [that
freed of want and has more appreciation for what he already has. This proves that,
without a doubt, happiness and meaning in life is brought about in change that suits the
individual person. This is because each person and their circumstances are very different,
so it makes sense that the change required would differ too. It has been proved again and
again that no human is created equally. People all look different, are born in different
situations, and are exposed to different things growing up. So, why is it so bad for people
In modern day society, there is a lot more open-mindedness than there was 30 or 40 years
ago, but still not enough. Equality, and Iyer both are great examples of the ‘average person’ of
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today, somebody who just doesn’t know their purpose in life. Both needed to go through a
journey of self discovery, although those journeys were very different, to find meaning in their
lives. ADHD is a great analogy to this. ADHD is one disorder that has a spectrum. This means
that one can range from being so hyperactive and impulsive they can’t function in a society built
for neurotypical people, to somebody who just really struggles with attention issues and
organization that most people wouldn’t notice they have ADHD. Both types have to take
medicine to help with living in a neurotypical society, but they have to take different types of
medication. One slows down the brain’s responses to help the impulsive type think through
choices, and the other speeds up the brain’s reaction time, to make it easier for the latter to focus
on one thing at a time faster. Both of the people with the ADHD types have the same goal, to
focus. But at the end of the day, they will need to find what is right for each of them as
individuals.