Andy Qi

TOPIC :: Compare how “Invictus” and “Ransom” explore the concept of how a person must remain
committed in the face of adversity.

In the film Invictus directed by Client Eastwood and novel Ransom written by David Malouf, main
protagonists Mandela and Priam are shown to be remain committed to their vision and goals in
the face of adversity. As Eastwood depicts, Mandela in the face of conflict and mistrust between
his followers and the Afrikaans, remains committed to uniting South Africa as a “Rainbow nation”
by rejecting the temptation for revenge and instead forgiving his “enemies” to fulfil his vision. In a
similar way, Malouf depicts Priam who remains committed to becoming a “father” and his true
self by rejecting the temptation for revenge against his son’s killer Achilles in order to fulfil his
desires of reuniting with the body of his son. Likewise, to Mandela, Priam experiences adversities
but in the face of the death of his son Hector and conflict between the Trojans and Greeks. In
addition leaders such as Mandela’s black security guards must remain committed to their roles as
security and fulfil their duty by providing Mandela protection despite the fact they were joined by
Etienne and his security guards who they claimed “not long ago tried to kill [them]”. This is similar
to Somax in Ransom who stays committed in taking care of Priam despite the fact of social
hazards as Somax is fearful of offending Priam. Meanwhile Pienaar whose the leader of rugby
Springboks also displays commitment in the face of defeats but contrastingly this was not shown
by Achilles who sought revenge rather than forgiveness in the face of the death of Patroclus.

As shown in both the novel Ransom and film Invictus, main protagonists Mandela and Priam were
able to remain committed to their true selves and vision in different ways in the face of conflict
and war. Eastwood depicts Mandela’s hardship through the “Invictus” poem where the author
Mandela recites the “bludgeoning’s of chance” and “menace of the years” of being in captivity for
27 years on Robben Island, yet he was able to remain sane and to his true self by staying
“unbowed” as Mandela is self-determined to be “found unafraid”. This depiction of Mandela’s
commitment to rejecting revenge against the Afrikaans and instead seeking forgiveness and
reconciliation of South Africa demonstrates the extend of self-determination Mandela possesses
in order to fulfil his vision of a united South Africa, hence remaining true to himself of being the
“captain of [his] soul”. Likewise, Priam has to stay committed to forgiveness and reject the
temptation for revenge or otherwise he may not succeed in retrieving the body of his son in the
face of war between the Trojans and Greeks. The difficulty of staying committed to not seeking
revenge shown by Malouf when characters such as Hecuba threaten to “ Tear [Achille’s] heart out
raw and eat it” thus it reveals the extent of self-determination Priam possesses in order to face
the killer of his son as a father. Another challenge Mandela in Invictus faces is the conflict
between his South African followers and the Afrikaans. For example, Mandela has to be self-
determined enough in order to stay committed to his goals of forgiveness and reconciliation for a
united South Africa, even when under the pressure of Brenda and the National Sports Committee
who argue for the removal of the Springbok colours “green and gold”. Mandela achieves this by
reverting the decision and “restoring the Springbok colours” even with an overwhelming minority
of votes. Thus, Eastwood shows that Mandela self-determined enough to go against his followers
in order to achieve his vision of a “rainbow nation”. In similar ways, Priam’s transition from a king
to a “father” and an “ordinary man” proved he was self-determined to overcome the obstacles of
war and his status as a “king” in order to fulfil his desires of reuniting with his son. This is shown
when Priam steps out of his “royal sphere” and demands a very humble driver and “common
work cart” instead of a decorated chariot, which reveals how Priam stays committed to his true
self of an “ordinary man” by rejecting the symbols of his “kingliness”. Likewise to Mandela, Priam
Andy Qi

goes against the Princes in his kingdom who argued that Priam should “preserve” his “important
image” as the king of Troy.

Both Eastwood and Malouf also depict how characters around leaders remain committed to their
roles and duties in the face of conflict and social hazards. In Invictus, the Black security guards led
by Jason experiences mistrust and conflict with the Afrikaan security guards, which is shown
during the scene when Jason accuses them of trying to eliminate the Black South Africans “not
long ago”. This extreme claim that Jason makes presents the barrier that Jason and his security
guard faces in their workplace, which prevents them from becoming a fully functioning security
team at the start of the film. Somax in Ransom experiences a different kind of barrier as the mere
presence of a “king” would induce fear within him that would restrain Somax from taking control
over the journey. However, Somax was able to overcome the fear of the social hazard by
perceiving Priam as a “looking uncertain…as a child” and attaining the knowledge that the “old
king’s thoughts” are “leaping ahead” thus allowing Somax to undertake his role as Priam’s helper
in his journey to retrieve Hector’s body, as he knows he needs to be in control of the expedition.
This is depicted by when Somax takes the lead and suggests a meal and washing of their feet in
the river. Likewise, in Invictus, the Afrikaan security guards were able to stay committed to their
roles as Mandela’s security guards by accepting the reality that they have to share a workplace
with the Afrikaans in order to protect and stay faithful to their president “Madiba”. Thus
Eastwood depicts the transition of the black bodyguards from rivalry, driven by the motive for
revenge towards a cooperative team committed to their role by working efficiently together with
Etienne’s team in order to provide Mandela protection.

Finally, a key difference in characters in the film and novel is how Achilles undertakes his
leadership in the face of the death of Patroclus and how Pienaar undertakes a role an
inspirational leader of the Springboks rugby team in the face of defeats and responsibility. In
Ransom, the death of Patroclus led to the failure of Achilles who did not remain committed to his
role as a leader as he was not self-determined enough to accept reality and instead, was
consumed by his overwhelming “rage” which led him to seek revenge instead of forgiveness. This
is shown when Achilles relentlessly drags Hector’s body around in his chariot yet he did not feel
satisfied as he was trapped in a state of grief and despair due to his desire for never ending
revenge. On the contrary, Pienaar remains self-determined by remaining as the captain of the
Springbok team even in the face of countless defeats that has led to criticism of his role as a
leader. In addition, Pienaar faces immense challenges of winning the World Cup Final due to the
lack of support from his family as well as his team members who failed to remain committed to
their role. This is depicted by Eastwood when Pienaar’s father criticized Mandela’s leadership as a
result of the mistrust between the Afrikaans and the South Africans and furthermore when
Pienaar’s team looked down on playing rugby with the South African children. However nearing
the end of the Ransom, Malouf depicts Achille’s transformation from a warrior who was trapped
in a state of grief and despair into a son who was then able to commit to his role by returning
Priam the body of his son even in the face of the temptation for revenge. For example, upon
seeing Priam’s fatherly figure by the entrance of his hut, Achilles “falls on one knee and leans to
clasp his father’s robe” as he “feels as melting in him of will”, due to being freed of the
temptation for revenge, thus he was able to overcome the hardship of dealing with the death of
Patroclus. Similarly in Invictus, Pienaar remained self-determined till the World Cup Final, whom
he became an inspirational leader, taking inspiration from Mandela which helped him overcome
the physical and mental challenges of beating the “unstoppable” All Blacks, hence helping achieve
Mandela’s vision of a “Rainbow nation” as depicted by Eastwood through camera shots showing
different parts of South Africa joining and celebrating.
Andy Qi