Ayn Rand is a Russian born American author of the mid-20th century. Her works of fiction include Anthem, Atlas Shrugged, and The Fountainhead. Through her novels she explores ideas in ethics through the actions and relationships between her characters. In The Fountainhead she uses the two main characters, Peter Keating and Howard Roark, to contrast what it means to be an authentic and an inauthentic person. Both characters work in architecture one went directly to one of the top firms while the
Ellsworth Toohey ask "Mr. Roark, we're alone here. Why don't you tell me what you think of me?" to which Roark replies "But I don't think of you." This is perhaps the most ideal representations of the theme in The fountainhead by Ayn Rand. From the first page to the last, it is evident that Roark has no concern as to whether he is unanimously admired or even though of as a selfless man. For these are the principles of second-handlers who live, not "to be great, but to be though great." Roark is
Howard Roark is the living embodiment of egoism that breaks social norms and will not recognize any authority except his own. He is a self-confessed egotist in The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand, with complete confidence in himself, his creations, and and actions. As an individualist, his noblest goal is productive achievement; his greatest concern “the conquest of nature.” He is constantly unwavered by the opinions or actions of others as they are completely irrelevant to him. As seen with his responds
One of the scarce exchanges between Toohey and Roark highlights the complex motif of having a central purposed of self by contrasting their ideals. In The Fountainhead Ellsworth Toohey, a power hungry second-hander seeks to feed off the emotion exerted from the blunt Mr. Roark. The idea of having a central purpose is the underlying force, and is reinforced by a multitude of virtues. The famously influential writer of One Small Voice Ellsworth Toohey, himself has been influenced by observing the
Living in a world confined by society’s definition of what is acceptable or not acceptable can be difficult to grasp for those who don’t have a limited mind. Howard Roark, in the Fountainhead by Ayn Rand, struggles with this idea through his architecture, "The structures were austere and simple, until one looked at them and realized what work, what complexity of method, what tension of thought had achieved the simplicity. No laws had dictated a single detail. The buildings were not Classical, they
shows self-recognition; it represents individualism and independence while 'we' shows a form of collectivism and in some ways dependence on others. "The word 'we'… is the word by which the depraved steal from the virtue of the good [and] by which the weak steal the might of the strong." Ayn Rand's philosophy on objectivism shows her support to the individualist who will endure hardship to stay true to his belief of self-reliance. In her novel The Fountainhead, Rand applies her concept by using Howard
The court case found in the final chapters of The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand is based upon the rule of court of law versus the egotist. In dynamiting the Corlandt homes project, Howard Roark was not only challenging the people who would benefit from the project, he was also going against the secular law of the country. The book demonstrates the struggle between moral law and secular law. In his testimony, Roark not only shows his morals supersede the court of law, he also backs up his egotist nature