Comparing Ayn Rand's Anthem 'And Invictus'

Overcoming the odds and hardship is a universal concept, and one who has achieved this could be considered unconquerable. Being such a comprehensive topic, a large scope of literary works have been produced inclusive of or around it. Two examples include Anthem by Ayn Rand and “Invictus” by William Ernest Henley, which share a common theme of conquering the suppresser. Both protagonists in Anthem and Invictus prove to be unconquerable, one against society and the other against life’s hardships. The speaker of “Invictus” begins the poem by acknowledging the “night that covers [him]/Black as the pit from pole to pole”, which is metaphorical for the endless evils and hardships he experiences. While not stated in the poem, Henley was likely to be referring to himself and his hardships. At the age of twelve, Henley lost a leg to tubercular arthritis. Yet Henley would later come to realize that that was not the end of his …show more content…
Henley writes in “Invictus” that “In the fell clutch of circumstance/I have not winced nor cried aloud”. Even after undergoing a painstaking time in his life, the protagonist remains to keep his head held high and refrain from complaining. Similarly in Anthem, Equality had been lashed as punishment, causing him to feel “as if [his] spine had been cut in two”. Yet regardless of his lashing and cruel imprisonment, Equality manages to escape as if his strength had not been whipped out of him. Henley’s protagonist holds himself unafraid and in control of himself, and Equality quickly recovers from his abuse and continues to seek change in society. The speaker in “Invictus” exclaims, “It matters not how strait the gait…I am the master of my fate”. Equality displays an unrelated understanding of this when he runs into the Uncharted Forest, knowing very well that going into the forest would be the death of

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Comparing Ayn Rand's Anthem And Invictus '