Advanced Research Topic for Anthem

Katie Hines

11/13/2012

Block 4

Advanced Research Topic for Anthem

3. Is Anthem a realistic portrayal of life in a totalitarian society? Compare the fictionalized society in Anthem to a real dictatorship, past or present. Some options are Nazi Germany, Soviet Russia, Cuba, China, Cambodia, etc.

The futuristic novel of Anthem relates to many totalitarian countries, today and many years ago. From iron grip on Europe during World War II to the communistic North Korea today, there are many parallels to be drawn. Almost three million citizens of North Korea have starved to death because of the failing government. In China, suffering children must work sixteen hours a day in unclean, sweaty labor shops and mothers are not allowed to have more than one child. In the socialistic society of Russia, millions are enslaved by the cruel laws binding them to their declining country. Too many countries have suffered through Anthem-like societies, and many still are.

Going by the name of “Juche”, North Korea’s communistic government, like in Anthem, sets individual needs aside for the “greater whole”.(Communism: North Korea) Everything is shared; everything is equal. But if everything is equal, why does their tyrannical leader, Kim Jong II, receive lavish meals in his beautiful mansion and millions are starving and homeless? No country is there to save the dying children, because of North Korea’s possession of nuclear weapons. (Communism: North Korea) No citizen ever even thinks about standing up, because with the radios constantly hearing every word they utter, they’d be immediately and mercilessly slaughtered, along with their family. No man, or “men”, in Anthem ever considered breaking out or doing anything the Council said not to, because not only would they be met with severe consequences, but they did not even know any other way existed. In North Korea, children and adults are constantly brain washed to believe they live in the best country on earth, and that Americans are the root of all things evil, forcing students to shoot pictures of the American flag during school. In Ayn Rand’s world of Anthem, the Unmentionable Times are forbidden to be spoken of, to be thought of. Citizens of North Korea are not allowed to speak of the United States unless they are words of hatred and cruelty. Each citizen is assigned an occupation, rather than choosing one, such as in Anthem. Each family is given an equal amount of food each week, however, because of the declining economy and unfair treatment of “more important” people, that is not much.

Families in China are allowed to speak their mind and express themselves, as long as that expression does not offend or criticize China’s “perfect” government. Citizens of Anthem cannot laugh or smile or skip without reason. They cannot critic or question or stand up to the government. Children are immediately ripped from their mothers to be enrolled in the House of Students, never even having a family. In order to reduce the population, China does not allow parents to have more than one child if living in the developed areas. Forced sterilizations and abortions are pressed down on mothers, not even letting parents see their own child.(The Economist)

             After the loss of World War I, Germany, stuck in a deep depression, was seized by the iron fist of Adolf Hitler, appointed as the Reich Chancellor and soon Supreme Leader in 1934. (World War II) His controversial and extremist ideas on reasons for the decline of Germany began a massacre of millions of innocent people, deemed as “impure Germans”. Any citizen that did not attain the classic blonde hair and blue eyed look was out casted, rejected, slaughtered. Any citizen not agreeing with Hitler’s radical views was out casted, rejected, slaughtered. Any citizen with a disability or above average intelligence was out casted, rejected, slaughtered. In Anthem, the “sinful” members of the society receive no mercy from the Council and are immediately out casted, rejected, slaughtered.

            Ayn Rand’s novel, Anthem, can be easily related to thousands of tyrannical societies throughout history. Praising the average, question less fool and reprimanding the innovative, intelligent thinkers, many countries have bound their citizens with ridiculous rules and meaningless laws. They control what their people do, what they say, how they act, but no matter how these societies try, they cannot control one thing. They cannot control one’s curiosity, and they cannot change the human nature to decide for oneself.

 

Works Cited:

"Communism: North Korea." Communism : North Korea. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2012.                          \<http://histclo.com/essay/war/com/wc-nk.html>.

The Economist. The Economist Newspaper, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.economist.com/blogs/analects/2012/06/consequences-one-child-policy>.

"World War II." History.com. A&E Television Networks, n.d. Web. 19 Nov. 2012. <http://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii>.

Leading up to World War II

 

The devastation of the Great War (as World War I was known at the time) had greatly destabilized Europe, and in many respects World War II grew out of issues left unresolved by that earlier conflict. In particular, political and economic instability in Germany, and lingering resentment over the harsh terms imposed by the Versailles Treaty, fueled the rise to power of Adolf Hitler and his National Socialist (Nazi) Party.

 

After becoming Reich Chancellor in 1933, Hitler swiftly consolidated power, anointing himself Führer (supreme leader) in 1934. Obsessed with the idea of the superiority of the "pure" German race, which he called "Aryan," Hitler believed that war was the only way to gain the necessary "Lebensraum," or living space, for that race to expand. In the mid-1930s, he began the rearmament of Germany, secretly and in violation of the Versailles Treaty. After signing alliances with Italy and Japan against the Soviet Union, Hitler sent troops to occupy Austria in 1938 and the following year annexed Czechoslovakia. Hitler's open aggression went unchecked, as the United States and Soviet Union were concentrated on internal politics at the time, and neither France nor Britain (the two other nations most devastated by the Great War) were eager for confrontation.

 

 Outbreak of World War II (1939)

 

In late August 1939, Hitler and Soviet leader Joseph Stalin signed the German-Soviet Nonaggression Pact, which incited a frenzy of worry in London and Paris. Hitler had long planned an invasion of Poland, a nation to which Great Britain and France had guaranteed military support if it was attacked by Germany. The pact with Stalin meant that Hitler would not face a war on two fronts once he invaded Poland, and would have Soviet assistance in conquering and dividing the nation itself. On September 1, 1939, Hitler invaded Poland from the west; two days later, France and Britain declared war on Germany, beginning World War II.

 

On September 17, Soviet troops invaded Poland from the east. Under attack from both sides, Poland fell quickly, and by early 1940 Germany and the Soviet Union had divided control over the nation, according to a secret protocol appended to the Nonaggression Pact. Stalin's forces then moved to occupy the Baltic States (Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) and defeated a resistant Finland in the Russo-Finish War. During the six months following the invasion of Poland, the lack of action on the part of Germany and the Allies in the west led to talk in the news media of a "phony war." At sea, however, the British and German navies faced off in heated battle, and lethal German U-boat submarines struck at merchant shipping bound for Britain, sinking more than 100 vessels in the first four months of World War II.

 

World War II in the West (1940-41)

 

On April 9, 1940, Germany simultaneously invaded Norway and occupied Denmark, and the war began in earnest. On May 10, German forces swept through Belgium and the Netherlands in what became known as "blitzkrieg," or lightning war. Three days later, Hitler's troops crossed the Meuse River and struck French forces at Sedan, located at the northern end of the Maginot Line, an elaborate chain of fortifications constructed after World War I and considered an impenetrable defensive barrier. In fact, the Germans broke through the line with their tanks and planes and continued to the rear, rendering it useless. The British Expeditionary Force (BEF) was evacuated by sea from Dunkirk in late May, while in the south French forces mounted a doomed resistance. With France on the verge of collapse, Benito Mussolini of Italy put his Pact of Steel with Hitler into action, and Italy declared war against France and Britain on June 10.

 

On June 14, German forces entered Paris; a new government formed by Marshal Philippe Petain (France's hero of World War I) requested an armistice two nights later. France was subsequently divided into two zones, one under German military occupation and the other under Petain's government, installed at Vichy. Hitler now turned his attention to Britain, which had the defensive advantage of being separated from the Continent by the English Channel. To pave the way for an amphibious invasion (dubbed Operation Sea Lion), German planes bombed Britain extensively throughout the summer of 1940, including night raids on London and other industrial centers that caused heavy civilian casualties and damage. The Royal Air Force (RAF) eventually defeated the Luftwaffe (German Air Force) in the Battle of Britain, and Hitler postponed his plans to invade. With Britain's defensive resources pushed to the limit, Prime Minister Winston Churchill began receiving crucial aid from the U.S. under the Lend-Lease Act, passed by Congress in early 1941.

 

 

Perils of motherhood

 

Jun 16th 2012, 4:24 by The Economist online | SHANGHAI

 

WHEN Guo Meilian found she was pregnant again, she first thought to have an abortion. Ms Guo, then 32 and living in the eastern province of Zhejiang, should not be pregnant. After she had given birth to two daughters, she had a mandatory sterilisation in 1991, organised by the local family-planning committee.

 

So the new pregnancy was a puzzle. But Ms Guo's biggest concern was the crippling fine an extra child would incur. Before she went in for the abortion however, friends persuaded her to have an ultrasound taken. She learned then that she was carrying twin boys. “My family knew we had to bring them into the world at all costs,” she says. It was to be a hard path.

 

Breaching China's one-child policy carries a severe financial penalty. Parents in Shanghai pay between three and six times the city's average yearly income in what are called “social-maintenance fees” (SMF) for extra children. He Yafu, an independent scholar and critic of the one-child policy, estimates the government has collected over 2 trillion yuan ($314 billion) in SMFs since 1980.

 

Mr He's calculations—which are based on the number of “unplanned” births in China (some 200m) each carrying a 10,000 yuan fine—are conservative. A husband and wife in Shanghai will each pay 110,000 yuan, based on the city's per-capita annual disposable income, for a second child. For a third child, the parent's total is 435,000 yuan. Recently, a couple in the affluent eastern province of Zhejiang made headlines when the birth of a daughter cost them 1.3m yuan ($205,000) in SMF.

 

Failure to pay the fine carries grave repercussions. The second “black child” cannot get a household registration, a hukou, which carries with it such basic rights as education. But backlash can be more severe. When Ms Guo's brother refused to pay his SMF, family-planning officials destroyed his house, pulling down the walls and wrecking the furniture.

 

This week the one-child policy's darkest side was exposed. Pictures of Feng Jianmei, a 27-year-old from the central province of Shaanxi, prostrate on a clinic bed next to her dead seven-month-old fetus (graphic, horrible), are causing outrage in local media. Ms Feng, who has a five-year-old daughter, was forced to have an abortion when her family could not produce 40,000 yuan ($6,280) for the SMF. On the evening of June 14th, the provincial government apologised to Ms Feng. The family-planning officials involved are to lose their jobs.

 

“This is pure murder,” says Huangsong999 on Sina Weibo, China's version of Twitter, where hundreds of thousands of microbloggers are expressing their disgust. “Are [family-planning officials] human? How could they do this without showing any humanity? China was founded over 60 years ago, but the country is full of monsters.” Authorities have since deleted the post.

 

Yang Zhizhu, one of a handful of individuals who are criticising the SMF publicly, calls it China's “terror fee”. Mr Yang and his wife originally refused to pay the SMF for their second daughter. The transgression cost Mr Yang his job as a law professor. In April this year, a fee of 240,300 yuan was taken from his wife's account. In protest Mr Yang launched an online “begging” campaign. “It's more like performance art to educate people about the ruthlessness of family planning”, Mr Yang explains. “I was robbed by bandits.”

 

The government has created plenty of incentives for couples to have only a single child. The best schools prefer children carrying a “glorious certificate for one-child parents”. Such parents can be granted a special annual allowance as well as a bonus towards their retirement assistance.

 

But it is difficult to enforce a policy that is so tangled with loopholes. (Considering China's perilously low birth rate and its rapidly ageing population, strict enforcement would perhaps be even worse.) In 2007 a family-planning official estimated that the one-child policy applied to less than 40% of population. Couples living in the countryside can typically have a second child if the first is a girl. Many other rules seem almost arbitrary. In Shanghai, if either man or wife works in fishing and has been at sea for five years, a couple may have a second child without facing punishment.

 

Others turn to more imaginative means to bypass the SMF. Dong Feng, a 33-year-old from Nanjing, is offering to be a “fake husband” for a couple willing to divorce in order to have a second child. Mr Dong is exploiting another loophole: if one of two newlyweds has no children while the other has a child from a previous marriage, a second child, a half-sibling, is allowed. Having no children of his own, Mr Dong is in a position to help a woman who has already become a mother once. He is charging 20,000 yuan for his services—ie less than most SMFs—which will involve registering a marriage, applying for fertility and birth certificates and, finally, securing a hukou for the child. Mutual non-interference in each other's personal lives is his only non-cash requirement.

 

For Ms Guo and her twin boys, it was her personal connections, or guanxi, that helped. At first she was asked to pay 20,000 yuan, a 50% discount in light of her failed sterilisation. She appealed to authorities through her brother, who went to school with the town chief, and got a further discount. In the end she paid only a nominal 1,000 yuan.

 

“But I still feel indignant”, she says. “Bringing up children is already a huge burden and the government provides no assistance—instead they take from parents. In my eyes they are thieves.”

 

Juche

The North Korean economic system is called Juche. It is a mixture of xenophobic nationalism, central planning, and economic independence. The North Koreans have attempted to produce all of their needs domestically. The exception of course is dictator Kim Jong Il who esjoys lavish meals of imported food as well as imported clothes and consumer goods. The results of Juche has been an economic disaster. North Korea was the most heavily industrialized and prosperous area of Korea. Today North Korea has no only fallen behind prosperous South Korea, it has become perhaps the poorest country in the world and can not even provide subsistence levels of food to its people. North Korea is afflicted by famine andc dependent on shipments of food and oil from donor countries to prevent mass starvation.

 

 

Military Program

A great deal has been written about Noth Korea's military program, especially its nuclear weapons program. Military analysts agree that North Korea has functioning nuclear weapons. Experts disagree as to the number, but most agree that the Noth Koreans are adding to their stockpile. They have demonstrated ballistic misdsles they have develooped, including an overshoot of Japan in one test. The North Koreans also maintain a huge, well equipped standing army--one of the largest in the world and a constant threat to South Korea. Especially troubling is that North Korea has used military weapons to earn foreign exchange. High techh weapons and technology has been sold to rougue nations working on weapons of mass destruction (WMD).

 

 

Econonomy

Korea was a very traditional, agricultural country until Japan formally seized it (1909). The Japanese developed mineral resources and introduced heavy industry. Most of the industrial development occurred in the north where the mineral resources were located. North Korea thus was an important part of the Japanese World War II war industry. North Korean industry was largely beyond the range of the American strategic bombing campaign and thus unlike Japanese industry survived the War. Thus when the Communists took over, it was thw wealthiest, most prodictive. Kim Il Song sinstalled in power by Stalin pursued Soviet-style central planning and integrated the country into the Soviet economic system. The Korean War (1950-53) did considerable damage and was followed by a long period of economic decline when a series of large centrally planned projects proved economic failures. At the same time the South which pursued capatalist free enterprose economics brought about an economic miracle accomplished without important natural resources which made it one of the richest countries in Asia. Communist North Korea is the world's most centrally directed and least open economies. The result has been unmitigated disaster. Economic problems are endemic, but largely hidden while the Soviet Union subsisized the regime and forced its Eastern European satellites to do the same. The fall of Communism in Eastern Rurope and the Soviet Union, ended North Korea's ability to arrange barter deals. State policies preventing foreign competition has neant that industry fell behind that of other countries. The country's industrial capital stock is thus old an inefficient, suffering from underinvestment and shortages of spare parts and unable to produce products saleable outside of the country. As in other Connunist countries, agriculture is also a failure as a result of collectivization and mismanagent. Combined with droughts, crop failures have resulted in famine, only ameliorated by food shipments from countries the regime vilifies (America, Japn, and South Korea). All of this is further compounded by the maintenance of a huge military andc weapons programs which absorbs much of the country's economic output.

 

 

Humanitarian Nightmare

Details on the full extent of the humanitarian nightmare inside the country. Information is tightly controlled by the North Korean Government. Some information is available from refufees, most of who have escaped through Chinsa.

 

 

Famine

No one has precise statistics, but it is believed that anywhere from 1-3 million people have died in famine that began in the mid-1990s. Although there has been a draught and the country's economic policies have worsened an already dire situation. Maintaining a huge sranding and therefore unproductive army is another factor. A major cause of the famine appears to be a result of Government policies similar to those persued by Stalin in the Ukranian famine. The Government of Kim Jong Il seems determine to use food as a famine for those deemed the least loyal. Notably, relief agencies are not allowed to minitor food distribution in the most severely affected areas. [Gershman]

 

 

Refugees

North Koreans are desperate to flee their country. Escape through the heavily militarized DMZ to South Korea is virtually impossible. Most regueees have managed to escape across the Chimese border. Chinese authorities return refugeees they encounter to North Korea. An estimated 0.3 million are in hiding in China, terrified that the Chinese will repatriate them forcefully. Leaving North Korea illegally is a criminal offense and those returned are arrested and committed to the Gulag, often along with their families.

 

 

Gulag

The Soviet Gulag has not entirely disappeared. The North Korean Government operates its own vast Gulag known as kwan-li-so or political penal labor colony. Satellite photographs and interviews of refugees suggest that 0.2 million people are in the North Korean Gulag. Prison conditions are horrendous. Many do not survive. An estimated 0.4 million people have perished in the last three decades. [Gershman] Camps are vast enterprises. One camp in Hoeryong County has about 50,000 inmates. [FEEC] The North Korean Gulag and police state system make North Korean the most rifidly totalitarian state in the wolrld.

 

 

Class enemies

Kim Il Sung, the current rulers's father set a goal of elininating class enenmies through three generations. This means that those arrested in North Korea also have their parents, children, and grandchildren as well as other relatives committed to the the Gulag. Often infants are killed and pregant women given abortions. [Gershman]

 

 

United Nations Agencies

The U.N. Human Rights Commission has largely ignored the situation in North Korea. As of 2004 thet have only criticised the regime twice. In addition, the Chinese have prevented thec U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees from contacting North Korean regugees in China. [Havel]

 

 

Kidnapping Japanese

 

 

 

Relief Assistance

Foreign donnor countries have provided extensive food aid and relief assistance to North Korea to prevent famine. The North Korean Government has sought to use threats of invading South Korea and its nuclear problem to black mail neigboring countries into expanding these shipments. The United States has also provide relief assistance abnd oil. The results are distressing. Not only has Korth Korea not curtaoiled irs nuclear program, but much of the food aid is diverted from the popultion suffering from famine and insttead used to support the army and regime loyalists. [Havel]

 

 

Sunshine Policy

Since the Korean War, the South Korean Government persued a policy of unrelenting hostility to North Korean and its Communist regime. In recent years, South Korean Ggovernments have pursued what they call the Sunshine Policy. This change occurred when South Korea emerged from military governments to democratically elected governments. The idea was based on the idea that dropping the official policy of hostility would help develop positive contacts with the North and gradually change the nature of the North Korean regime. There have been some heavily publicized family visits and some small achievements such as opening communication among naval vessels to reduce the possibility of unitentioned fire fights. There seem to have been very little real progress, however, even though the South Koreans have provided large amounts of food and other relied assistance to the North. One observer writes that South Korea;s "official 'sunsgine policy,' which, however well intentioned, is based on constant concessions amd appeasement. The policy costs South Korea huindreds of millions of dollars, but is not helping in the effort to save innocent lives. In the end, the policy only keeps thevleaderv og Pyongyang in power." [Havel]