Atlas Shrugged: Individualism of the Creator

Austin Kohlman November 4, 2010 MYP English 10, 3R Mrs. Delimont

Austin Kohlman 10/21/10 Mrs. Delimont 3R Atlas Shrugged: Individualism and the Ideal Man

Throughout Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand tries to romanticize the idea of the individual and completely downplay the existence of the modern leech the people who feed off of anothers success, and never develop any certain drive or prospect of their own. Of the main heroes: Dagny Taggart, Francisco dAnconia, Hank Rearden, John Galt, Richard Halley, and Ellis Wyatt, each was led to take on a strike that represented much more than themselves. Each feels that their work is slowly becoming the property of the leeches and destroying America in its wake. Everyone has done something magnificent to benefit the rest of the world in this novel, and during their strike, they refuse to allow anyone but the actual creators in their world to possess their knowledge or products thereof. This strike, of the noble against the looters, who are known as the leeches, devastates America to the point that only those who can provide something of use will be able to survive; it leaves behind only the creators. These creators in our world and that of Atlas Shrugged are those who lead, and the followers who sap profit from them and sacrifice so much for that of the other are meaningless, as they have nothing more to contribute than an opinion. As these great minds of the world of Dagny Taggart and of our own relinquish their burden of carrying those who only pursue greed, this symbolizes the same loss that could be Atlas shrugging off his own burden of holding the weight of the world. In the final depiction, the lights of New York City go out, which gives the ultimate image of a final America, and a broken world. In the novel, she accentuates her ideology of individualism and of the creator through the use of characterization and plot. This broken world portrayed in the last scene first developed in Ayn Rands mind, branched out from her childhood, which began in czarist Russia. Born as Alisa (Alice) Zinovievna Rosenbaum, the eldest of three children, her life took a twisted turn when her fathers local pharmacy, which had become a singular form of income for her family, was nationalized by the Russian government, following the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. From this, and the profound talent of writing she discovered at the age of 9, she developed her career and her entire being around the diminishment of collectivism/communism, and the exaltation of the

individual through moral, economic, political, and religious means. This later developed into an entirely new philosophy called objectivism, which has influenced the lives of most of America, and will do so for generations to come. Acquiring her citizenship to the United States in 1931, Alisa Zinovievna Rosenbaum changed her name to Ayn Rand. With Ayn rhyming with mine, this epitomizes the foundation of her individualistic views. In 1947, she appeared as a friendly witness before the House Committee on Un-American Activities (HUAC) during the period of the communist witch-hunts, which she later admitted to regretting. These actions, though eventually regretted, parallel the extremity taken by the heroes in the novel to express their individual rights and triumphs over the rest of the collective American society. She also had labeled herself as a practitioner of Romanticism, in which she portrayed her heroic characters in whom certain human attributes are focused more sharply and consistently than in average human beings (Ayn Rand Institute, NP). This shows up dramatically in the perception and actions of each of the characters the pure and faultless actors of humanity. Romanticizing each, Ayn Rand gave each of her characters their own defining traits and interpreted perfection. Francisco dAnconia, a wealthy playboy and tycoon, inherited a large amount of corporation control and money from his noble Argentinean family, giving him the title of Copper King. To kick off the strike, Francisco, who profits from every business venture he has ever sought after, deliberately sinks millions of his own money and that of other companies seeking benefits from his virtuoso into a failing mine in Mexico. Each of the heroes or heroines of the story had unique traits that exemplified their personalities and their perfection in the eyes of Ayn Rand. Dagny, youre wonderful, Francisco dAnconia tells Dagny Taggart (Rand, 101). Francisco means to emphasize the typical connotation of wonderful, and how much that trait really represents Dagny Taggart: a rare heroine in Rands timeline, and a way to honor her virtues: her capabilities, her ethics, her work, and her sheer brilliance (Sparknotes, NP). In the same way, many of the leeching characters band together and see themselves as perfect in their methods to keep others from their highest potential. Lillian, youre wonderful! Jim Taggart cries to Lillian Rearden (Rand, 404). Jim Taggart is Dagny Taggarts brother, and co-manager of their famous railroad. He however, is only interested in feeding off of others success and crumbling them with his Washington connections in one swift motion. He decrees Lillian, Hank Reardens wife, as wonderful only in the way that she believes that she has been solely holding him back from his absolute potential. Those like Lillian Rearden and Jim Taggart seek to

dominate a world not made for them while the heroes are noticeably regarded with respect that they have earned and demanded, keeping them at the tip of their world. These heroes, who are labeled as the actual creators and providers for their modern world, band together in a strike. This was no great depression, world war, or national economic crisis. This strike was the renaissance of the human mind against the rest of the world. The modern Da Vincis, Michelangelos, and Botticellis were up for the fight of their lives in the war for severance. However, if there is one master to them all, it is John Galt the man who develops the plot to perfectly represent a creator like none other. In the opening sentence, a homeless man poses the question, Who is John Galt? to Eddie Willers, personal assistant to Dagny Taggart (1, Rand). This question, used as an expression, is coined the same way as one would say, Whats the use? Who John Galt is, is the man who gives meaning and definition to the very purpose of the individual by commanding the plot as a character who creates most of the events himself. Delivering a speech over the national radio wavelengths that he personally commandeered, he rants on for 3-4 hours in the novel, depicting the utopian society without greed, but also without altruism. His entire argument can be summed up in one sentence of his, I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine. This statement of individualism is the summation of all the sacrifice given by each of the great minds. Anconia, Rearden, Dagny Taggart, Wyatt, and Halley each give up their livelihood and image for the sake of their individual beliefs and principles, and Galt finds a way to communicate their message. He sets the looters apart from the givers. Galt, along with Rand herself solidifies the foundation for the ideal man to flourish in the world of Atlas. In the events of the book, it seems that Ayn Rand borrows some elements from another individualistic and anti-collective book, 1984 by George Orwell. Ayn Rand manipulates the reality into an illusion where the government and the greedy bastards who have connections to the corrupt members therein have an overwhelming control over every citizens life, and in this case, over the companies that operate within that jurisdiction. Legislature is created in order to eliminate the capitalism that America had been fighting for all throughout its existence (Sobczak, NP). As the book further develops, the government, through the readers eyes can be perceived as following a socialist or communist regime, which is allowing only a couple companies who know people to flourish in the economy. The plot of

the entire book simulates a certain hypothetical situation to the reader, which questions what the reader may think about how their own government controls their lives. What Rand was most afraid of was the rise of communism, which would force people to her own dark past. When looking at the events of Atlas Shrugged, being Galts incredible speech about individualism, or simply the meaning of the entire plot, one has to think about what the situations would highlight in their own lives. This is precisely what Rands intention would be. She is not a person who forces her ideas and beliefs instead of those of another. Ayn Rand simply found the best way to share a philosophy. In contrast with religion or politics, philosophy is not something that is meant to convert people. It is simply, by Latin meaning, the love of wisdom. Through the characterization and the events or plot that were discussed in Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand enlightened the reader of her views, and posed questions not directly to reader, but that could be presumed throughout the reading. By examining the heroes of the book, Taggart, Rearden, or whoever else, the way that Rand conveyed individualism through them was from their actions, taking a strike against the whole world, and their supposed perfection that is established by the exaggeration of their characteristics to a new level. Everything that readers can take from the book is found in her writing, and all they have to do is look. The weight of the world is not solely the burden of Atlas, but also made the responsibility of each individual to themselves and their own world.

Works Cited Ayn Rand Institute. "A Brief Biography of Ayn Rand." Center for the Advancement of Objectivism. Ayn Rand Institute, 1995. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=about_ayn_rand_aynrand_biograph y>. Bernardo, Jr., Anthony. "Atlas Shrugged." Magills Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition (2007): Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL9830001468&si te=lrc-live> Sobczak, A. J. "Atlas Shrugged." Cyclopedia of Literary Characters, Revised Third Edition (1998): Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL0091000164&si te=lrc-live> Sobczak, A. J. "Atlas Shrugged." Masterplots II: Womens Literature Series (1995): Literary Reference Center. EBSCO. Web. 2 Nov. 2010. <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=MOL9610000029&si te=lrc-live> SparkNotes. "SparkNotes: Atlas Shrugged: Analysis of Major Characters." SparkNotes: Today's Most Popular Study Guides. Web. 01 Nov. 2010. <http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/atlasshrugged/canalysis.html>.