They argue that you can’t have freedom unless you know who your real self is.Right from the start Equality 7-2521 states that he is breaking the law by being alone, and writing. This shows that he is an outcast right away. When Equality 7-2521 was a young boy, he was taller than the rest of the kids, making him standout, which he did not want, for he knew that his teacher resented him for being different. He also was able to learn a lot quicker than the rest of the kids, which was not a good thing. He had to pretend to not know what the teacher was talking about in order for the teacher not to think he was trying to be smarter then the rest of the kids.
So as Equality 7-2521 grew up, he hid his differences for as long as he could until he found the tunnel underneath the city. This tunnel was from the Unmentionable Times, from before the Great Rebirth. Equality went here to be alone and experiment; he loved science and wished to be with the Home of Scholars rather than a street sweeper.
Everything he would do in the tunnel was against the law, but he did not care. The word equality means fairness and sameness in everything, yet Equality 7-2521 is not the same as every one else. Rand ironically names the main character equality to show that he is not the identical to the people in his city.
