Shrugged's Ragnar Danneskjöld Essay

Atlas Shrugged’s Ragnar Danneskjöld, a philosopher turned pirate, is a man with a mission. His mission: to destroy a man that Ragnar claims that “until the last trace of him is wiped out of men's minds, we will not have a decent world to live in?” (532) Who is this person that poses such a threat? Oddly, it is the legendary character who resides in a centuries old fairy tale—Robin Hood, remembered for having robbed from the rich to give to the poor. Danneskjöld posits the theory that Robin Hood’s destructive legacy has so corrupted the minds of the gullible masses that their brainwashed thinking will bring the inevitable collapse of the world. Ragnar observes that Robin Hood has been immortalized, not as one on a quest to return property to their rightful owners, but as one who gives to the needy by taking from the greedy. This distortion of the legend assigns virtue to being poor; conversely, the wealthy are considered contemptible. Ragnar Danneskjöld has managed to seize U.S. relief vessels that are transporting goods around the globe for various People’s States. The People’s States share the U.S. political …show more content…
Robin Hood has rebranded the poor as the needy. Similarly, the upper class does not necessarily consist of only those born with a silver spoon in their mouth or the ambitious who obtained their wealth on the backs of others, but also of risk-takers who profited well and entrepreneurs who attained their wealth through hard work and self-sacrifice. Robin Hood has demonized the wealthy. Danneskjöld holds Robin Hood up to be the “foulest of creatures—the double-parasite who lives on the sores, of the poor and the blood of the rich.” The reverence that the common people bestow on Robin Hood is misguided because his charitable giving comes, not from his own benevolence, but by forcefully making others pay for his