One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich vs. Invictuus the essays

One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich vs. Invictuus the essays In both One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich by Alexander Solzhenitsyn and "Invictus" by Henley, the speakers are faced with the same raging physical and physiological battles. They both take different existentialist methods to assure survival in different situations. Existentialism is the belief that there is no higher being to rely on, you must guide yourself through life and make your own decisions and rely only on yourself. The narrator of Invictus basically tells of a misfortune that has occurred in his life and how no matter what problems occur you must be dependent on yourself. It matters not how strait the gate, how charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul. This is an example of how throughout the poem Henley portrays the existentialist belief. Henley will not let adversity stand in his way, he realizes that to overcome all obstacles he must do it on his own. Denisovich is faced with lots of hardships while being held captive. Ivan Denisovich uses existentialism to make it through the suffering. He admires other inmates who only rely on themselves and always remain dignified. Those who try to cheat there way through life and allow themselves to become savage because they are treated savagely, he looks down upon because they let there unfortunate circumstances run there lives. Both the narrator in Invictus and Ivan Denisovich are characters who are interchangeable because of there beliefs. The idea of existentialism allows both characters to rise above what has made life difficult for them individually. By pushing themselves over whatever is holding them back, they feel better about life and there are able to overcome more than people who sit back and wait for others to help them. Existentialism plays a big part in both the poem Invictus and in One day in the life of Ivan Denisovich. There beliefs allowed the...