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Gail Wynand In The Banner

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Gail Wynand is an intelligent man who developed from a poor environment, to a successful life. His noblest achievement, The Banner, appeals to mediocre masses despite his personal moral values. While Wynand has accomplished many goals in his life, he has neglected the lessons he has learned and only appeals to what the media desires. He broadens his understanding of humanity, abuses his powers, and disregards his past . Although Gail Wynand created a prosperous business, he allowed others to dictate its foundation rather than forming it himself. Because Gail Wynand grew up in the slums, he had witnessed both good and bad aspects of humanity. As he rose above and took over The Banner, he begins to grasp what humanity truly is. Humanity wants …show more content…

Wynand and Roark both share a difficult past, and untamed thoughts for their time. While Roark puts these ideas into his buildings and uses his past as motivation for his future, Wynand allows society's acrimony to strip away his prominence and completely transform him. Wynand also enjoys the power he possesses over people, and Roark refuses to have control over anything at all except his buildings. Keating on the other hand acquires an imperfect definition of success and manipulates others in order to gain what he desires in life. Both characters allow other people to guide them through their lives rather than forming a life of their own. Keating will use other's creations and take credit for it, and Wynand will listen to the opinions of society and give them what they want to hear in his paper. When Wynand defends Roark he expresses, "All this power I wanted, reached, and never used[...] Now they'll see what I can do. I'll force them to recognize him as he should be recognized."(590). Although Wynand assumes that the power he has over people will allow him to express his thoughts, the media does not want to hear about it and his paper goes unread. He neglects his own advice of, "If you make people perform a noble duty, it bores them." (408). No one can appreciate the dignified opinion he attempts to express because they can no longer take him seriously. This is …show more content…

While he embraced in the power he was given, he only possessed it when society got what it wanted from him. Once he decided to be honorable, it was too late. The media had always known him and The Banner as foolish yet entertaining forms of gossip, and when he used it intelligence to assemble a benevolent article defending someone rather than attacking them, the people retract his power because it is no concern to them. The heinous inclination of society is what gives him a salary and delivers him the power that he had never had while living in his poor town as a child, without it he would be nothing. In order to maintain his position, he must serve the people what they ask, even if it means setting aside his own personal morals and

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