Anthem Essay Contest Prometheus realizes that his “sins” so to speak were really what set him free. They were his freedom; they helped him break free of his chains of captivity, and this scared his society. People often fear what they do not understand; consequently this led to his society wanting him dead. When he finally sees all that he has achieved in his so called sins he realizes that the true sin was mankind’s captivity through the word “We”. Prometheus strived to learn more, and advance in his knowledge, which led him to realize the reason for the house of scholars’ refusal. They were afraid of advance, they were afraid of the only thing to set them free, individuality. Individuality, as Prometheus soon comes to understand, is what makes society function as a whole. When each person thinks for themselves they achieve their own accomplishments and pay their own debt to society. He sees that if each person does not make their own unique and significant contributions to their community, then that community will never move forward. Once he reaches the top of the mountain he sees all of the possibilities, and all of the unexplored realms of the world, when he realizes his thirst for knowledge was what kept him going through the toughest time in his life. Society did not want to move forward, therefore causing Prometheus to be banished from his own society. They feared what progression had to offer, change. Change is the corner stone of advancement, and society usually regards change as a threat. Their fear is what kept them in the dark, and when someone stepped out their fear chased him away. The society was driving itself toward extinction. Where Prometheus scavenged for any form of advancement, his society searched to destroy anything that progressed technology in any way. Prometheus spends much of his time in the underground tunnel where he finds that in his solitude he make more progress than his society has made ever. He has come to understand that he has the power to create. In his society people are based on merely their characteristics, and are ridiculed and punished if they aren’t normal. Prometheus is smarter than most in his society which is why he is dumbfounded when he is put to work as a Street Sweeper.