Linking Anthem to Literature, Poetry, Myth, Song

1.		Conduct a study of literary heroes. Consider, first, what is a literary hero? In addition to referring to the central character, "[This term] includes a moral evaluation and implies courage, honor, great strength or achievement, or some other noble quality . . . the hero is the doer of great deeds" (C. Carter Colwell, A Student's Guide to Literature).   Compare and contrast Equality to a few of your favorite literary heroes. Discuss the qualities that they share and argue which one, in your opinion, is the most heroic. Consider the quality of his soul, the severity of his opposition, and the significance of his battle.   Characters to consider: Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird; Cyrano de Bergerac in Cyrano de Bergerac; Saint Joan in Joan of Arc, Sir Thomas More in A Man for All Seasons; Henry Drummond in Inherit the Wind; Howard Roark in The Fountainhead ; Jean Valjean in Les Miserables.
2.		Write a comparison of Anthem to other anti-utopian novels, such as George Orwell's 1984, Aldous Huxley's Brave New World, or Ray Bradbury's Farenheit 451.
3.		Write a conversation between George Orwell and Ayn Rand, in which she explains why a totalitarian dictatorship would ultimately resemble the primitive stagnation of Anthem, rather than the highly technological society of 1984.
4.		Liberty chooses "Unconquered" as a fitting name for Equality. Similarly, William Henley's most famous poem is entitled "Invictus", which is Latin for "Unconquered". Write a short essay on the similarities between the main characters in each of these works.
5.		Contrast the hero in a Romantic novel such as Anthem to the anti-hero in a Naturalistic work, such as Death of a Salesman.
6.		Research the Greek myths about Gaea and Prometheus, and explain why Ayn Rand chose these names for her characters in Anthem.   Title: "Invictus" Poet: William Ernest Henley   Out of the night that covers me,      Black as the Pit from pole to pole, I thank whatever gods may be      For my unconquerable soul.   In the fell clutch of circumstance      I have not winced nor cried aloud. Under the bludgeonings of chance      My head is bloody, but unbowed.   Beyond this place of wrath and tears      Looms but the horror of the shade, And yet the menace of the years      Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.   It matters not how strait the gait,      How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate;      I am the captain of my soul.   William Ernest Henley