The Meaning of The Fountainhead Through Quotes
Literature is often a key factor in understanding the meanings of certain philosophies. If philosophy were not explained to great extent in certain works of literature, man would have no means of understanding the crucial, insightful messages behind philosophy. One such philosophy, objectivism, is represented exceptionally in Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead. The compelling dialogue between the characters of the book allows one to uncover Ayn Rand’s own feelings towards objectivism. The connotations and the implications of several of the quotes within The Fountainhead accurately depict the essence of objectivism, as a way to live one’s life properly. They also encourage the opposition of convention through the telling of events that the novels main character, Howard Roark, goes through.
Howard Roark is a man who blazes his own path and listens only to himself. He feels success comes to those who achieve complete and utter independence from the world’s traditional principles. Howard also cares nothing of other’s opinions of himself. When he is expelled from school, he is not angry or sad; he simply feels he needs to discover a new way to venture into the career of architecture. He does not allow expulsion to ruin his hope of being an architect. Peter Keating, on the other hand, is a man with little independent thought. He was the top student of his class and was recognized by many professors as an outstanding student. However he has serious self esteem issues. In fact, Peter decided to go into architecture not because he has a passion for it but because it would gain him a socially respectable position. Keating believes that only by following set guidelines will he get ahead in life. In one dialogue, between the two characters, Keating is asking Roark for advice on what he should do with his life. Keating asks, “How do you always manage to decide?” Roark answers his colleague with a question of his own. “How can you let others decide for you?” Keating asks his question because he cannot comprehend how Howard can live his life not caring what others think of it, where as, Roark sees it as inconceivable that Peter could have such little self-assurance when it came to making his own decisions. In this regard, Roark is a better man that Keating. It also shows how Roark displays objectivism. Roark is unwilling to succumb to the norms values of society and he is able to think and reason for himself.
Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.
Janie gained this experience in love as she discovered that the promises of love are not always true. Janie was promised many things in her life and most of them were the promise of finding love and obtaining it. Janie’s grandmother promised her that even if she did not like Logan Killicks that she would find love in her marriage with him, but Janie discovered that no love was to be found in her marriage and that those more elderly than her would think she was wrong for her values (Hurston 21-25). Then after her marriage with Logan, her luck did not change with her next husband Joe who promised her nothing, but lies. Yet again promises persuaded her into another marriage where she was not happy as Joe went back on the words he promised her
In Ayn Rand’s famous, or in some circles, infamous, story Anthem, the differing ideologies of objectivism and collectivism are pit against each other. With objectivism being so tight knit and different from the society in the book, it seems that it would be almost impossible to truly follow in its entirety. However, Anthem, as a whole, doesn’t violate the ideals of Rand’s philosophy of objectivism.
Ayn Rand’s, The Fountainhead is spearheaded by the struggle between individualism and collectivism in society. This struggle is personified by the individualist Howard Roark and the collectivist Ellsworth Toohey. Toohey’s true nature and objectives do not come immediately apparent, however his goals are fundamentally simple; to acquire as much power as possible.Unlike Wyand, Toohey does not have a prize that he aims to acquire, rather he aimlessly acquires power for its own sake, further setting up the idea that he is truly selfless and a man that could never of been.
“She saw a dust-bearing bee sink into the sanctum of a bloom; the thousand sister-calyxes arch to meet the love embrace and the ecstatic shiver of the tree from root to tiniest branch creaming in every blossom and frothing with delight,” (11). The novel, Their Eyes Were Watching, God by Zora Neale Hurston, tells a story of a woman, Janie Crawford’s quest to find her true identity that takes her on a journey and back in which she finally comes to learn who she is. These lessons of love and life that Janie comes to attain about herself are endowed from the relationships she has with Logan Killicks, Joe Starks, and Tea Cake.
“Fountainhead” identifies that, though treading down the path of imminent defeat, individualism is the only noble pursuit to strive for, backed by the reasonable arguments that logic provides. Collectivism, in all of its publicized glory, serves only to enslave man and force them into subservience. Even those in power, specifically Toohey, fail to reap the benefits that collectivism is famed to offer, because they themselves are slaves to its all-consuming chasm.
Society dictates that there will be those that follow and those that will lead the followers. Peter Keating is one that adheres to conformity; a man of little independent thought, a follower. Howard Roark, on the other hand, is a man aspiring to achieve a level of complete and utter independence from traditional principles. One telling passage occurs in a scene where Keating and Roark are discussing architecture.
"The theme of The Fountainhead is individualism versus collectivism - not in politics but in man's soul." Ayn Rand
All over the world, marriage is one of the main things that define a woman’s life. In fact, for women, marriage goes a long way to determine much in their lives including happiness, overall quality of life whether or not they are able to set and achieve their life goals. Some women go into marriages that allow them to follow the paths they have chosen and achieve their goals while for other women, marriage could mean the end of their life goals. For Janie, the lead character in Zora Neale Hurston’s Their Eyes Were Watching God, who was married twice first to Joe sparks, and to Vergile Tea Cake, her two marriages to these men greatly affected her happiness, quality of life and pursuit of her life goals in various ways, based on the personality of each of the men. Although both men were very different from each other, they were also similar in some ways.
The book, Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston is about Janie Crawford and her quest for self-independence and real love. She finds herself in three marriages, one she escapes from, and the other two end tragically. And throughout her journey, she learns a lot about love, and herself. Janie’s three marriages were all different, each one brought her in for a different reason, and each one had something different to teach her, she was forced into marrying Logan Killicks and hated it. So, she left him for Joe Starks who promised to treat her the way a lady should be treated, but he also made her the way he thought a lady should be. After Joe died she found Tea Cake, a romantic man who loved Janie the way she was, and worked hard to provide for her.
It has been several years since both Roark and Keating left the Stanton Institute of Technology. Up until the past few chapters, Keating seemed to be the more successful architect as he had climbed up the ladder at the Francon and Heyer firm and won the competition to design the Cosmo – Slotnick building which led to him becoming Guy Francon’s business partner. During this time, Roark spent time working for the disgrace architect, Henry Cameron, he opens his own office, but has to close it down twice, and he struggles to find clients who respect his designs. However, this all changes when Dominique Francon files a divorce from Keating and when Guy Francon decides to hand over his firm to Peter. After this, Keating becomes unstable and downtrodden.
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One being the fact that this book is a collection of her essay and speeches. But the main one is how this book discusses her own Philosophy. She first explains the importance of philosophy and how it used in the real world unknowingly today, but she then says the philosophy most people follow today, Altruism, as irrational. “Altruism is the rationalization for the mass slaughter in Soviet Russia – for the legalized looting in the welfare state – for the power-lust of politicians seeking to serve the common good” (Rand 27) Altruism is basically the thought of having selfless actions and to serve others. This completely contradicts Ayn Rand’s philosophy of living, Objectivism. This is where the book becomes different form other books and even the entire world. Many people and religions are taught to help others. This follows Altruism in the fact that we are serving others and being selfless. Objectivism has many different layers to it but one of the most important parts to it is the concept that man should be self-serving. That we should be selfish and live for ourselves only under the condition that it doesn’t harm others. This is extremely different from everything we are taught since we were
Every time the boys enter the house, they’re older. The purpose of this phrase in the short story is to move time forward. Moody is also emphasizing the maturation of the boys. When the phrase is repeated the boys are experiencing changes in power in both positive and negative ways. When the boys entered the house they either walked in powerless and feeling bad about themselves; or they walked in feeling confident and empowered. An instance in which they felt sad and powerless is, “The boys are ugly, they are failures, they will ever be loved, they enter the house”(242). This is how the boys feel about themselves not how the narrator feels about them. Moody repeating the term “boys” to refer to the two main characters as opposed to young men comes to show how Moody believes they lack maturity until the end of the story. Aware that they were their father’s only hope the “Boys enter the house carrying their father, slumped” (245). The boys immediately rushed over to assist their father once they realized something was wrong. The repetition has finally advanced to where the boys are finally men. This power increase made it significantly easier to cope with their father’s death. Without the repetition, it would have been significantly more difficult to follow the timing of the story. Additionally, Moody used repetition to progress from the beginning of the story where the boys were inexperienced to the end where he idolized the boys for trying to help their
Throughout the text Keating connects with people on a personal level through his word choice and tone. This connection with his audience allows him to further develop belonging, and evoke a greater emotional response in his audience. This word choice and tone can be seen in the lines, “We took the traditional lands and smashed the traditional way of life. We brought the diseases. The alcohol. We committed the murders. We practiced discrimination and exclusion. It was our ignorance and our prejudice.”