An excerpt...

“When a miracle happens and some live to be forty-five, they are the Ancient Ones, and children stare at them when passing by the Home of the Useless.” In Ayn Rand’s Anthem, the average person lives around forty years. Some live longer, but none surpass the age of forty-five. To those of this day and age, this is a strange scenario.

Perhaps the biggest reason of all is simply that there is no hope. In life, hope is key. The people in Equality’s society have no hope, and which gives them nothing to live for. With hope there is always something better in the world. When one loses hope, they once again lose the will to live. When someone is lost, hope is there to guide them home again. Without hope, one will stay lost forever, never to be found. Equality’s society desperately needs hope. They need to know that somewhere out there, life is better. Somewhere, there is a place where one thrives on being different. Somewhere, there is a place where individuality is rejoiced. Somewhere, ego is honored.

Equality has the will to live. He goes out, finds a new home, and most likely lives to be older than forty-five. In not having the will to live, the soul starts to dematerialize. Without soul, there is no life. The simplest yet most important things are essential to living a longer and happier life. One just has to know how to branch out, be different, have ego.