Individualism in The Fountainhead

1297 Words3 Pages

Individualism in The Fountainhead

Individualism, the doctrine of free thought and action of the individual, forms the basis of Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead. The major theme of her fiction is the primacy of the individual, the unique and precious individual life. That which sustains and enriches life is good, that which negates and impoverishes the individual's pursuit of happiness is evil.

The Fountainhead is Rand's fullest explication of the primacy of the individual. As she worked out her interpretation of the inalienable rights: the rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and what these entailed, she saw three areas of conflict where these rights were held in balance.

The Three Antipodes:

Individualism versus Collectivism

Egoism versus Altruism

Reason versus Mysticism

All of these areas are interconnected. Collectivism, altruism and mysticism all work against individual freedom, a healthy ego, and rationality.

The Fountainhead is the story of a highly individualistic architect, Howard Roark, and his fight for integrity and individualism against the altruistic parasites and also against the non-heroes who do not believe the fight can be won - the fight of the individual against the non-entity called collectivism.

Non-entity because, any 'collective' or group is only a number of individuals. But here, being an individual is to be selfless, voiceless, righteous, slave of any heed, claim or demand asserted by others. Under collectivism, it is imperative to repress one's critical faculty and hold it as one's guilt. Doubt, not confidence, is man's moral-state; self-distrust, not self-reliance, is a virtue; fear, not self-confidence is the mark of perfection; guilt, not p...

... middle of paper ...

...

Works Cited and Consulted

Berliner, Michael S., ed. Letters of Ayn Rand. By Ayn Rand. New York: Dutton, 1995.

Branden, Barbara. The Passion of Ayn Rand: A biography. New York: Doubleday, 1986a

Branden, Nathaniel. My Years with Ayn Rand. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers, 1999.

Garmong, Dina. Personal interview. 2 Nov. 1999.

Peikoff, Leonard. The Philosophy of Objectivism, A Brief Summary. Stein and Day, 1982.

Rand, Ayn. The Fountainhead. New York: Plume, 1994.

The Ayn Rand Institute. "A Brief Biography of Ayn Rand" [Online] available www.aynrand.org/aynrand/biography.html, 1995

Walker, Jeff. The Ayn Rand Cult. Carus Publishing Company, 1999

You may wish to begin your paper with the following quote:

"The theme of The Fountainhead is individualism versus collectivism - not in politics but in man's soul." Ayn Rand

Open Document