Atlas shrugged furthers the theme of individualism that ayn rand developed in the fountainhead. A core tenet of ayn rands philosophy, objectivism, is the importance of a. But to understand the authors sense of urgency, we must have an idea of the context in which the book was written. Standing alone against the world in ayn rands the fountainhead 816 words 4 pages. When austen heller speaks to roark about why he loves his house, roark explains to him that a house can have integrity. That speech sums up the philosophical statement made in the book about the individual. The idea of individualism is not new, but nobody had defined a consistent and specific way to live by it in practice.
Liberals will be immediately offended, but for those without philosophical bias, rand is difficult to dismiss. In the years following the publication of the fountainhead, rand developed a philosophical system that she called objectivism. On the surface, it is a story of one man, howard roark. The fountainhead, wrote ayn rand, started in my mind as a definition of a new code of ethics the morality of individualism. Frank that i would dedicate the fountainhead to him because he had saved it. The fountainhead is a story about characters set in more or less realistic social contexts.
Every discription, every small word on every page made me wonder what i am doing on this earth and why no one. The novel celebrates reason, individualism, productivity, and creativity. The fountainhead, novel by ayn rand, published in 1943. Having grown up in the totalitarian dictatorship of the soviet union. Dictionary grammar blog school scrabble thesaurus translator quiz more resources more from collins. Here it means that he denies to accept his existence as a result of the society and its norms. A fountainhead is the source from which a stream of water emerges. The fountainhead, which became one of the most influential and widely read philosophical novels of the twentieth century, made ayn rand famous. Ayn rand 1905 1982 was a russianborn american author of fiction and nonfiction known for having developed objectivism, a philosophy that embraces laissezfaire capitalism and the pursuit of rational selfinterest. The fountainhead questions and answers discover the community of teachers, mentors and students just like you that can answer any question you might have on the fountainhead. The story would have been faster paced, the characters more sharply limned, had whole episodes, repetitive and tautological, been eliminated. This reader was awed by ayn rands crisp writing, and cutting wit. Educated in russia, she moved to the united states in 1926. Fountainhead definition of fountainhead by the free.
The fountainhead has ethics as its theme, particularly the meaning of individualism. It is like the completion, the proper climax of this books history. January 20 1905 march 6, 1982 was a russianamerican writer and philosopher. Based on curated lists from the guardian, flavorwire and more, suggestions from readers on goodreads, quora and reddit, and picks from philosophical fiction authors like khaled hosseini, irvin d.
What are the arguments for and against ayn rands philosophies. Novel by ayn rand published in 1943 centering on the struggles of a young architect named howard roark. The book includes the essay, for the new intellectual as well as excerpts from we the living, anthem, the fountainhead, and many speaches from atlas shrugged. Buy the fountainhead book online at best prices in india on. More recently i have both books available on audible. When the fountainhead was first published, ayn rands daringly original literary vision and her groundbreaking philosophy, objectivism, won immediate worldwide interest and acclaim. This extraordinary tale is about a knight who challenges death to a fateful game of chess. Nietzschean themes in rands novel deep and pervasive, but the book. Roarks main antagonist in the novel is ellsworth toohey, who is. Roarks meaning of life differed from the others he associated with, which left him isolated toward them, but benefited his remarkable success in architecture. That is great because we can observe a new perspective and whether we decide to agree.
An impassioned proponent of reason, rational selfinterest, individualism, and laissezfaire capitalism, she. She was still working out many details of her philosophical view. She wanted the novel to be imbued with a spirit of individualism and to convey the idea that mans ego is the fountainhead of human progress the fountainhead, front matter. Philosophical literature the fountainhead is all objectivism, all the time.
I have read the fountainhead and atlas shrugged another ayn rand novel several times. It falls short, as do so many modern novels, in the apparent inability of the author or editor to be a ruthless surgeon. You are lucky that youve been exposed to rands work early. Donald trump has quoted rands novel fountainhead as his favourite book, though his bookreading habits are doubtful. Who needs it is a collection of essays by ayn rand.
And one of my happiest moments, about two years later, was given to me by the look on his face when he came home, one day, and saw the pageproofs of the book, headed by the page that stated in. The beauty of this movie is that both are right and wrong at the same time. These are some of the reasons why, for me, the most profound personal meaning of this new, anniversary edition is the fact that its jacket carries the reproduction of a painting by frank. The 18 best philosophical movies of all time taste of. I learned the meaning of integrity in the fountainhead, which i define as the ability to stick to your own ideas. There are several key characters in this novel, but the most notable is howard roark who is an architect. Throughout the fountainhead, rand emphasizes that integrity is one of the distinguishing qualities between men who have retained their sense of self and men who have completely destroyed their egos, subordinating themselves to the ideas of equality and altruism.
His creative, original, and self worthy energy prevail throughout the story. When rand set out to write the fountainhead, she decided to write a book where she could explore her views on individualism and explore her own philosophy. In atlas shrugged, she shows that without the independent mind, our society would collapse into primitive savagery. Philosophical quotes by ayn rand literaryladiesguide. For the new intellectual ayn rand preface for the new intellectual we the living anthem the fountainhead the nature of the secondhander the soul of a collectivist the soul of an individualist atlas shrugged the meaning of money the martyrdom of the industrialists the moral meaning of capitalism the meaning of sex. In her first notes for the fountainhead, ayn rand describes its purpose as a defense of egoism in its real meaning. The fountainhead serves as an excellent introduction to both ayn rands writing. Standing alone against the world in ayn rands the fountainhead conformity is a basic human characteristic that man spends a life time either fighting or accepting, but few can escape. Objectivism is ayn rands pet philosophy, and it urges people to act in a way that is according to the ayn rand institute, so it must be true selfish. The philosophy of the fountainhead is individualism.
Peaceful warrior 2006 is a great philosophical film and the corresponding book of the film, is one that changes lives. Click download or read online button to get fountainhead book now. The fountainhead serves as an excellent introduction to both ayn rands writing and her philosophy of objectivism. She sees philosophical principles important part of our lives, arguments, and communication. Atlas shrugged is a novel of ideas, a suspense narrative based on rands philosophy of objectivism. The state of the society and what i described above is her statement against the collective. The fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. Yalom, rebecca goldstein and daniel quinn, here is a roundup of the 105 best philosophical novels ever written. Atlas shrugged is an impassioned defense of the freedom of mans mind. The fountainhead is a masterpiece, integrating theme and plot. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. The fountainhead originally provided, and continues to provide, a powerful inspiration to the individualist movement in america and throughout the world. Ayn rands the fountainhead presented an egoist character, howard roark, and portrayed him to what society needs, but unwilling to admit the necessitate.
Buy a cheap copy of the fountainhead book by ayn rand. But, in principle and in the long run, truth wins out. What does ayn rand mean by individualism, and why are the founding. Also its not a religion, people pretend that youll read this book and turn. In spite of this excess of verbiage, the novel is a. This movie is considered to be a cult classic among independent cinema critics and filmmakers for its philosophical meaning and minimalist style due to its insightful talks about life, the human condition, religion and communication. He is an independent architect, caring little about the opinion of others. She is known for her two bestselling novels, the fountainhead and atlas shrugged, and for developing a philosophical system she named objectivism. The fountainhead contains an undeveloped form of rands philosophical beliefs.
Many who dislike the book despise rands philosophical system, objectivism, or are simply too damn lazy to read a 700page novel. In them, she summarizes her philosophical views and argues for rationality and unbiased observation, and brings up her objectivism philosophy. All of the major intellectual themes that inform rands fiction and her subsequent philosophy are presented clearly in this novel. Comprised of actual customer comments posted on, an internet bookseller. Ayn rands 7 virtues can make you a better leader even if. She later states its theme as individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in mans soul. This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love affair with a. Toohey here comes across as a force of nature capable of ripping time apart, like a philosophical atomic bomb. Fountainhead and ayn rands ideology are, as rightly pointed out by many, pretty polarizing. Rejected by twelve publishers as too intellectual, the fountainhead became a best seller within two years. The quotes by ayn rand presented in this selection, whether from her novels, works of nonfiction, or interviews, speak to her philosophical tenets.
Despite continuing intellectual opposition to ayn rands ideas, the fountainhead has gained recognition as one of the great novels of american literature. In the back of the novel is an overview of ayn rand and objectivism. Passion, devotion, and hard work stranded howard throughout. I read the fountainhead as a senior in high school as i passed through the most fantastic and emotional time of my life. Easiest to specify is the books political and ideological significance. The fountainhead by ayn rand january 20, 2004 at 14. Buy the fountainhead book online at low prices in india. Rich in layers of philosophical insight, at one level the. More than any other work, the fountainhead reawakened popular enthusiasm for a way of thinking, and a way of life, that in 1943 was regarded by virtually every sector. The fountainhead continues to be an example of its own theme. Polarizing, because they offer a new set of ideas to look at things. Fountainhead download ebook pdf, epub, tuebl, mobi.
Popular philosophy books showing 150 of 100,000 the republic paperback by. Find all the books, read about the author, and more. Rand did extensive research while writing the novel. The fountainhead mass market paperback september 1, 1996. When my english teacher first passed this book out in class i groaned at its size. The novels worldview is that most people dont do this. Ayn rands 7 virtues can make you a better leader even if you hate her lead the controversial author of atlas shrugged and the fountainhead created a terrific management philosophy. It presents the idea that mans ego is the fountainhead of human progress. Fountainhead and ayn rands ideology are, as rightly pointed out by many. The fountainhead was written in 1943 by ayn rand who has to be one of my top 5 authors. On the surface, it is a story of one man, howard roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, peter keating, and a newspaper columnist, ellsworth toohey. In the fountainhead, she shows by means of its hero, the innovative architect howard roark, that the independent mind is responsible for all human progress and prosperity. This main theme is very important, as it is the philosophical main idea of the book, and most of the characters revolve around it. Fountainhead definition and meaning collins english.
Explore the themes in atlas shrugged the atlas society. Those ideas come across, scene by scene, in the film adaptation. Essay on ayn rands the fountainhead 700 words bartleby. If you work hard and with absolute selfinterest, youll eventually succeed, states objectivism. In these short, engaging videos, philosopher david kelley, a script consultant on the movie trilogy, plays excerpts from the films and discusses their philosophical meaning.
922 302 794 587 580 138 467 581 681 550 247 832 22 1113 212 383 902 1033 461 9 618 402 750 614 1160 313 1491 1396 1223 1470 87 647 907 1174 1431 1436 482