Commonalities In Anthem And Invictus By William Henley

There are many commonalities that can be found in literature, and this can be seen in Ayn Rand’s Anthem (a Russian novella written in the 1930s) and William Henley’s “Invictus” (a poem written in the 19th century.) The novella, Anthem, takes place in an authoritarian society where individual rights and freedom have been terminated. Equality, a street sweeper, is the antithesis of the others in the society; he does not want to follow the city’s rules. He is given the name “The Unconquered One” by Liberty because no matter how much Equality has been through, he has never given in and only thinks on the bright side of things. The word “Invictus” is Latin for unconquered and in William Henley’s poem, the speaker describes the darkness in his life. Evil beats him many times; however, he does not feel defeated nor does he put his head down in despair. Three examples can be found to show the speaker and main character’s commonalities: their choice of fate and autonomy,

Equality’s life started with being given everything and being put down because of his mental and physical abilities that differ from the rest of society. Everyone is required to follow the same rules, but Equality hates how he cannot be free and do his own thing. Although Equality lives a depressing life, he is granted peace, freedom, and happiness when he enters the Uncharted Forest. Similarly, the speaker lives a depressing life as well. He loses his faith in god and darkness tries to cover over him. In the poem, the speaker says, “Beyond this place of wrath and tears; looms but the horror of the shade” (10-11). This phrase means that beyond the place of extreme anger and sadness, hangs over an extreme fear of death. In the end, the speaker becomes self-confident and does not let evil manipulate him. Both the main character and speaker live depressing lives which open doors to