Ayn Rand the Fountainhead Essay

Ayn Rand migrated from the Communist U.S.S.R. with a righteous anger. Not only was she as an individual demeaned by lack of a personal identity -- as far as worth and contribution to society, but her gender incurred unjust persecution as well. It seems a trend that Americans enjoy literature that reveals the philosophical or political depravity of our own or other countries, and appropriately so. Art, whether visual or written, has always been a powerful form of critique on society and collective

Intended as a proprietor of interests of its citizens, American capitalism has been chosen by the Founding Fathers as their concept of the supreme governing force to establishing a productive, intellectually encouraging society for each individual citizen. Many supporters of capitalism look to it as the only way the interests of citizens can be adequately taken into account, allowing each to accrue unrestricted amounts of private property, while still maintaining a relatively large central government

Many people define success as being famous or wealthy. However, that is not success. Throughout “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand, Howard Roark and Peter Keating are depicted as opposites trying to succeed. Peter Keating is successful in the beginning while Roark is struggling or failing. He is wealthy and well known. Keating is However a liar and a cheat. Keating has Roark do his work and presents it as his own. In court the prosecutor asks, “Mr. Keating, will you state under oath whether you designed

Jpz777 03/09/2013 Order # 2088074 The choice to pursue architecture, both as my current course of study and as my eventual career, was based on a number of influences throughout my life, but having begun that journey with my work here I am confident that I made the right decision. My motivation to become an architect was nurtured from an early age by my very supportive family, and in fact many of my most enduring childhood memories were formed while visiting my father on his construction job sites

Anthem In 1946, Ayn Rand wrote, “‘The greatest good for the greatest number’ is one of the most vicious slogans ever foisted on humanity. This slogan has no concrete, specific meaning. There is no way to interpret it benevolently, but a great many ways in which it can be used to justify the most vicious actions.” Collectivism is defined as the practice of assigning primacy to a group over each individual within it. At its core, the ideology stems from prioritizing the well-being of all. However,

individualism is non existent to the extent that the word “I” is not found in one’s vocabulary. Every person in this dystopian world exists only to serve for the greater collective being of mankind and not for themselves . In the novella Anthem by Ayn Rand this is exactly what happens, although the main character Equality 7-2521 is not interested in these collectivist ways. In this society it is unacceptable and unthought of to be an egoist yet somehow Equality breaks through the collectivist restrictions

Individualism versus Collectivism in The Fountainhead       The theme of The Fountainhead as stated by its author, Ayn Rand, is "individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man's soul." Three major characters serve as types for the noble, contemptible, and parasitic in this comparison. Howard Roark is an architect who serves as Rand's model for individualism to the extent that he is willing to sacrifice everything he has in order to retain his status as an individual. Ellsworth

In the book, The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, Ellsworth Toohey has a very strong impact on the architectural career of Howard Roark. Toohey and Roark are extremely different, some people would say they are polar opposite characters. But one thing they do have in common is that they do not like one each other. For example, from the first time Toohey saw Roark (on pg 263) he felt very threatened by him, “ ...his eyes went back to the man with the orange hair. He looked at the man as he looked occasionally

individual is only focused only on themselves. However, the focus on oneself does not fully define what an egoist is. A true definition of an egoist is a person not holding other values and using the concept of individuality for the better of themselves. Ayn Rand’s novella Anthem follows a character, Prometheus who knew nothing about ego and egoism, through his discovery of individuality. As Prometheus grew in his knowledge, he began to worship individuality as “holy”.

Ayn Rand created two kinds of characters in The Fountainhead: the independent creator who created the human society with his own effort and the dependent parasite who lived second-handedly, being fed by other people's minds, and relied on others. An example of a character in the book, Ellsworth Toohey, represents this characterization of a dependent parasite. Toohey managed to gain power was not based on his physical abilities but on his manipulation of other people. As an altruist, Toohey spent