Anthem Lesson Plan

How does the narrator’s invention lead him to decide to do away with societal rules?

Before he discovered electricity, the narrator was keen to hide his transgressions from the government because he believed he would be punished for them. After he discovered the glowing wire, the narrator believed that this invention was so great that he would not be punished for it. Thus, he does away with societal rules completely, planning on openly giving his invention to the Scholars and believing that he will be welcomed into the Home of the Scholars. This, perhaps, makes it easier for him to run away to the forest since he had already broken with the society's rules at that point.