Anthem Chpt 1

CHAPTER 1 NOTES
The narrator says that no one can write unless they're asked to by the Council of Vocation. Writing and thinking for yourself is not allowed. Setting: dark tunnel lit by candlelight. The narrator's all alone there The narrator stole the candle he's using but he doesn't care. All that matters is his "work." Narrator's name: Equality 7-2521. Equality 7-2521 is 21, and six feet tall. Taller than most other people, which is a sign of evil. Equality 7-2521 has been thinking forbidden thoughts for most of his life. And he doesn't resist them. This is a curse he was born with. This is bad here because World Council says all men must strive to be completely alike. No one remembers what the world was like before the Great Rebirth. The Great Truth: "that all men are one and that there is no will save the will of all men together". Equality 7-2521 is not like everyone else. He never has been. And that makes him evil. When Equality 7-2521 was a kid, he fought with the other kids in the Home of the Infants. This makes him evil according to the state. When Equality 7-2521 was living and studying in the House of the Students from five to fifteen, he was not happy, because what everyone else was learning was too easy for him. This also makes him evil. Equality 7-2521 was also considered evil for thinking of what he wanted to be when he grew up. Everyone is given a job from the Council of Vocations that they have to keep for life. They also call this a "Mandate". This supposedly determines the best way for each person to serve the community. According to the Teachers, there's no reason to "burden the earth with your bodies" besides serving "brother men". Equality 7-2521 wanted to be a Scholar (scientists or inventors) because he loved the "Science of Things." Equality 7-2521 was given the job of Street Sweeper. But Equality 7-2521 was happy because he thought of it as a way to make up for all his sins. Equality 7-2521 worked as a street sweeper every day for four...