Howard Roark In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

“Anthem” – one of writing authors Ayn Rand, shows her at her most vicious, hungry, and ambitious reading personality not only as a writer, but as a storyteller as well. The classic hit novel “Anthem” is the predecessor to Ayn Rands later books and storytelling works such as “The Fountainhead” and “Atlas Shrugged”, often tackles controversial themes that are still prevalent within modern America today, such as Family & Love. The grandeur novel “Anthem” is a reflection of such topics, all whilst being told with almost an aura of mystery within the novels plotline / storyline. “Anthem’s” take on things such as individuality and self discovery along with universal, self serving terms such as “I” & the word “We” are the key factors in helping differinciate this author Ayn Rand from other authors that write and compse the same genre of literature as Ayn Rand. Anyways, please allow for me to introduce you to the under the surface, deeper themes expressed in the classic debut novel, Ayn Rands “Anthem”

A noticable interesting topic about the story is the way Liberty acts. It seems Ayn Rand, the author, has something against women even though she is a woman herself. The meaning of this is, the women out there that act like girls and only care about fashion and themselves is what is being spoken of. The literary element that is being focased on deals with this issue. This essay will focas on the story "Anthem" written by Ayn Rand containing the literary element of character.

In Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged, Francisco d’Anconia, a highly intelligent and extremely perspicacious industrialist, makes his moral values clear and known throughout the book. From d’Anconia’s first encounters with Dagny Taggart as children to his speech about money at James and Cherryl’s wedding, Francisco never tried to hide what he thought about the world and what the looters were doing (Rand 90, 380). Even when everyone seemed to be turning against him, he continued to do what needed to be done; prove the point that money encourages people and is needed as a crucial part of modern exchanges.

During Equality’s first days in the Uncharted Forest, he starts to realize that perhaps there is more to life than the beliefs of the collective. The simple act of going into the Uncharted Forest was forbidden; however, Equality feels as though the forest is the place he is meant to be. While exploring the forest, Equality notes that “the trees parted before [him], calling [him] forward. The forest seemed to welcome [him]” (Rand 79). In this important part of the novella, Rand utilizes personification of trees to convey the idea that the forest is not as scary as the Council made it out to be. It is, in fact, quite the opposite as the trees welcomed Equality with open arms like a human would do when embracing a newcomer to a community.

It is the future, and society has been ruined. The word “I” has been erased from society; the only replacement being the word “we”. Ayn Rand’s novel Anthem explores the effects of a horrific, totalitarian society. Children are separated from their parents at birth, careers are assigned, not chosen, and free will is the ultimate crime. Living within this structure, Equality 7-2521 finds himself lost in contradiction; collectivity should lead to happiness, but for him, individuality seems to be the key. Through vivid setting, a provoking major character, and symbolic details, Ayn Rand’s writing is focused on one thing: to show “the meaning of man’s ego.”

Character development is vitally important in Anthem. As we watch Equality 7-2521 change from a state of guilt and unhappiness to a state of pride and self-worthiness, the process creates the bulk of the story elements. One of the most important instances that show how much Equality has changed occurs in Chapter 8. At the end of this chapter, Equality bursts into laughter after thinking about what has happened. Equality laughs when he remembers that he is the damned because he feels liberated, not ruined.

Collectivism is a very common theme in Ayn Rand’s writing. From Anthem to The Fountainhead, her opinion is very clear: individualism is the source of freedom and joy, while collectivism is the root of sorrow and slavery. In Anthem, the main character, Equality 7-252, has grown up in a collectivist society that has remained strong for centuries. In that society, no one has had the choice to do what they want to do, love what (or who) they love, and simply be who they are. That society praises the idea that men live only for each other. Living for oneself is evil, a Transgression. The idea of “I”, “Me”, and “Mine” has disappeared, dragging the precious words along with it. Throughout the plot, Equality 7-2521 is seen both unintentionally and intentionally defying his society. At first, he condemns himself, describing his evil acts and mind and labeling his different mindset as a curse. “We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts which are forbidden.” (Rand 18) He is also condemned by others, for things he cannot control. He is taller than most other people, he has preferences for what he wishes to become, and he has ideas and opinions. Yet when his life assignment is Street Sweeper, he rejoices. He sees that as a way to pay penance for his sins. Later on, however, he embraces his individuality. “I am. I think. I will.” (Rand 94) He is the first to accept the idea of individuality for centuries, and helps others accept it, too.

“Anthem” was written by Ayn Rand, and she was born on February 2, 1905 in Russia. Russia at the time was heavily focused on collectivism, which is the idea that people should prioritize the good of society over the welfare of the individual, and was highly influential on Rand’s life. When she was introduced to American history, her ideas of what a free nation should be was America. When she left Russia, she decided to never go back to Russia and 13 years later, wrote Anthem. Anthem is set in the future and is based in a city that has collapsed from modern day society and accepts collectivism. “Anthem” is a novella about a man named Equality 7-2521 and throughout his life, he struggles to find self-identification in a society that has no sense of individualism. Throughout the story of “Anthem” the main themes are the importance of the individual and the value of martyrdom. Ayn Rand wrote “Anthem” as a warning to us westerners about the horrors of collectivism regardless of how it was put in use. She experienced most of the horrors first hand and this was also another reason for writing “Anthem”. Some of the horrors of what she experienced was the Kerensky Revolution and the Bolshevik Revolution which ended in her father’s pharmacy being confiscated and leading to periods of near-starvation. So, based on Rand’s past experiences and her ideas, she wrote “Anthem”.

A. Authors work: Ayn Rand has written many novels, including The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, Night of January 16th, The Virtue of Selfishness, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, and her first novel We the Living, Which was written in 1934 and was published in 1936.

What lies at the heart of each character of The Fountainhead is their own central principle, idea and drive. Roark, the hero and protagonist, embodies creativity, efficiency, independence, and reason. On the other hand, Lois Cook is the avatar of a notorious logical fallacy—the Appeal to Novelty. This fallacy states that because something is novel and never-before-seen, it is automatically better than an existing predecessor; the only criterion used to measure greatness is modernism. While this fallacy may be a rebellion against the familiar, conceivably stagnating “don’t fix it if it ain’t broke” mentality, it manages to be only a complete reversal of the philosophy, providing no further reasoning as to why the novelty is actually better.

If you were to live in a society like the one in "Anthem," wouldn't you stand up for your rights? I know I would. Yet in Ayn Rand's novelette "Anthem," no-one chooses to oppose against the leaders of the society. Why is that? In my opinion I think people never argued against the leaders because they were manipulated into believing lies, many lies that pretty much control every piece of them.

Throughout the Novel The Fountainhead the main conflict between Individualism and Collectivism is put on display. Howard Roark, the embodiment for individualism, creates buildings that are not currently accepted in society. Throughout the course of the novel he is fighting Ellsworth Toohey, the embodiment of collectivism. Toohey feels that people should do what everyone likes and individuality should be non-existent. These two ideas couldn’t be more different and are constantly clashing.

In order for a man to have a meaning in his life, He must face and overcome many conflicts. Equalities motivation is to be free in his society and to be different from everyone else. He has the right to be motivated because it's the way to express himself and show what he likes. Anthem is a story of a boys struggle to be free and fight the masses of conformity. Equality believes in curiosity and living a free life.

Ayn Rand was a Russian- American novelist, philosopher, playwright, and screenwriter. She was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia on February 2, 1905. She is known for her very controversial novella showing a fictional, but eerily realistic post-apocalyptic world that has fallen into communism called Anthem. Anthem was published in 1938 and depicts a city that has fallen into now would be considered inhumane acts and laws. The city in the story Anthem features a collectivist dictatorship which holds strict laws that must not be broken, these laws prohibit individuality, creativity, and freedom.

Rand also contended with the lack of freedom in writing and actions. The communist society discouraged the rights of the individual much like a collectivist society and put down whoever challenged their power. The Council of Vocations felt threatened by Equality because he is young, strong, intelligent, and could be more powerful than they are themselves. Another part of Ayn’s life was when she climbed to the top, attempting what seemed near impossible she worked low income jobs, made costumes, and worked as an actor all to achieve success for her writing. Equality risked everything for his inventions, he hid from society and conducted secret experiments to obtain