The narrator of the book, Anthem, is the main character, Equality 7-2521.  The book begins with Equality committing a sin by writing down the story of his life in the "collective" dystopian society he later escapes.  It is through his eyes that we begin to understand the level of inequality and the lack of freedom in this society of the future.  Throughout the novel, Equality is denied individual rights. He is denied love because of a bizarre mating ritual, is unable to form friendships with his fellow man, and is forced to spend his life as a street sweeper even though he shows the intelligence to be a Scholar.   We see Equality grow and change throughout the novel as he discovers books and inventions from the past.  He figures out that he no longer wants to be a part of this society when he is arrested for taking the gift of electricity to the Home of the Scholars.  He escapes into the dark woods with Liberty 5-3000, a girl he falls in love with as she is sowing seeds in a field.  With Liberty, Equality sets up a new society where the individual is more important than the group.  It is in this new world that Equality changes his name to Prometheus, the Greek Titan in mythology that brings fire and light to mankind.