Read the excerpt from anthem. those men who survived—those eager to obey, eager to live for one another, since they had nothing else to vindicate them—those men could neither carry on, nor preserve what they had received. thus did all thought, all science, all wisdom perish on earth. thus did men—men with nothing to offer save their great number—lose the steel towers, the flying ships, the power wires, all the things they had not created and could never keep. what connection does the narrator make between collectivism and human invention? people in a collective society often dismiss the need for human progress and creativity. people who prefer collective thought are unable to contribute new ideas to mankind’s progress. societies in which people live for one another tend to cooperate and produce innovative developments. societies that have the greatest number of people need to have more inventions and produce more.

the illustration   that would give a reader a clear understanding of the text is a picture of men constructing the frame of a building.the frame is made of iron bars. the text describes the job of blacksmiths'. these were very organised and they had different names: "the driver" and "the heater". the text describes the way in which these men worked ; they worked iron pieces as if they were playing a sport. in fact, the text wants to show the men's skills. the text also puts some emphasis on the use of '' rivets'' in construction. this kind of nails were not always used in the construction of manhattan.

some examples:

"and with an underhand toss he hurled the smoking rivet straight at the catcher, who caught it in mid-air in his catching can." men's skills

"when the driver was ready for a new " the emphasis on the rivet ( special nail used in construction).

" it against a beam to remove any cinders, and jammed it into the waiting hole. " the emphasis on the rivet.

the novel is told in flashback