Anthem - Ayn Rand - Anthem is a dystopian fiction novella by Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, written in 1937 and first published in 1938 in the United Kingdom. The story takes place at an unspecified future date when mankind has entered another Dark Age. Individualism. Without a doubt, individualism is the core theme of Anthem. The entire text is essentially a parable designed to illustrate the paramount importance of Ayn Rand's idea of individual will. Based on Ayn Rand's novelette, Anthem, we look at a dystopian future where humanity is challenged. Anthem is Ayn Rand's classic tale of a dystopian future of the great "We"-a world that deprives individuals of a name or independence-that anticipates her later masterpieces, The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged.