Roark defines selfless people as secondhanders who live their lives through others. For the most part the narrative moves along in an interesting way and the long philosophical passages do not derail the reader. Many of its characters are variations on the theme of second hand liveswhich was the original working title for the novel. A second hander is one who regards the consciousness of other men as superior to his own and to the facts of reality. Polarizing, because they offer a new set of ideas to look at things. Roark says the greatest enemy of the secondhander is an independent. Independence is ones acceptance of the responsibility of forming ones. When she was writing the book that was to become the fountainhead, rand used a different title. When you suspend your faculty of independent judgment, you suspend consciousness.
Guy francon cliffsnotes study guides book summaries, test. The fountainhead was serially rejected and published to. Feb 06, 2011 the fountainhead is a 1943 novel by ayn rand. The fountainhead was about individualism and collectivism within mans soul. Howard roarks defense from the fountainhead by ayn rand. The fountainhead s protagonist, howard roark, is an individualistic young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision. The term secondhander refers to the villains, all those who support the suppression of individuality for the sake of the common good, or collectivism. Guy francon is a mediocre architect who attains commercial success by consummate mastery of the social graces. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of the fountainhead and what it means. Roark is opposed by what he calls secondhanders, who value conformity over independence and integrity. Her idea for the book was to contrast the first handed independence of her hero, howard roark, with other characters who are variations on the theme of second handedness. The fountainhead by ayn rand the 259th greatest fiction.
Ari campus the fountainhead lexicon second handers the fountainhead, wrote ayn rand, started in my mind as a definition of a new code of ethics the morality of individualism. Ayn rands the fountainhead is still remembered and enjoyed today as the philosophers first bestselling novel. Howard roark, the ideal man in the fountainhead by ayn rand. In this sense, the strike is to be much more a social novel than the fountainhead. The fountainhead revolves around the dynamic protagonist howard roark, who defies collectivism with his own brand of philosophy and architecture. It is to a second hander that the moral appraisal of himself by others is a primary concern which supersedes truth, facts, reason, logic. What is the synopsis of ayn rands the fountainhead. The creators, create the things that the second handers give away.
The story presents the career of howard roark, an architect and innovator who breaks with tradition, recognizes no authority but that of his own independent judgment, struggles for the integrity of his creative work against every form of social. Men have not found the words for it nor the deed nor the thought, but they have found the music. Howard roarke is essentially a man who lives according to his own standards and own ideals. A novel of utopia, now publishing serially through patreon. Dec 25, 2015 fountainhead and ayn rands ideology are, as rightly pointed out by many, pretty polarizing. How others in the novel relate to roark demonstrates rands various archetypes of human character, all of which are variants between roark, the authors ideal man of independentmindedness and integrity, and what she described as the second handers.
The main antagonist of the book, ellsworth toohey, is one of those people. The story must be primarily a picture of the whole. The fountainhead project gutenberg selfpublishing ebooks. Put in an equation for you mathy people out there, ayn rand objectivism howard roark. This idea of living a second hand or conventional life crops up near the end of the book in a scene with roark, the protagonist, and his frenemy gail wynand. The idea of individualism is not new, but nobody had defined a consistent and specific way to live by it in practice. Ayn rand is transparent about the physical appearance of her characters. Roark condemns second handers, men who feed on the souls of creators. The nature of the secondhander ari campus ayn rand institute. The novels protagonist, howard roark, is an individualistic young architect who designs modernist buildings and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. The book follows his battle to practice modern architecture, which he believes to be superior, despite an establishment centered on traditionworship. It was rands first major literary success and brought her fame and financial success. Guy francon cliffsnotes study guides book summaries. As the subtitle suggests, this book is a guide to breaking down the mental walls that get in the wa.
With characters that are gripping, settings that are par excellence, and dialogue that displays incredible depth, the book is a well rounded synthesis about the nature of individualism and what it means. This idea of living a secondhand or conventional life crops up near the end of the book in a scene with roark, the protagonist, and his frenemy gail wynand. Ayn rand writes novels that are, essentially, objectivist treatises. The fountainheads protagonist, howard roark, is an individualistic young architect who chooses to struggle in obscurity rather than compromise his artistic and personal vision. The fountainhead literature guide page 3 teachervision. After years of chasing fame and money, keating finally looks inside his soul and sees the pointlessness of his existence. Rand didnt stifle this bit of awkwardness for the sake of her novel. The term second hander refers to the villains, all those who support the suppression of individuality for the sake of the common good, or collectivism. What philosophy does the book the fountainhead preach. Ayn rand philosophy of objectivism depicts howard roark as an ideal man, who is unmoved by the masses, and lives only to create his work. Charity and self sacrifice are the ideals of the second handers. The revolutionary literary vision that sowed the seeds of objectivism, ayn rands groundbreaking philosophy, and brought her immediate worldwide acclaim. Handsome, wellgroomed, impeccably dressed, charming, and debonair, francon wines and dines prospective clients at new yorks most exclusive restaurants.
Jan 12, 2014 the fountainhead revolves around the dynamic protagonist howard roark, who defies collectivism with his own brand of philosophy and architecture. Miscellaneous thoughts on the fountainhead by a secondhander. For the new intellectual the theme of ayn rands novel the fountainhead is. The fountainhead was about individualism and collectivism within man s soul.
That is great because we can observe a new perspective and whether we decide to agree. The fountainhead, ayn rand the fountainhead is a 1943 novel by russianamerican author ayn rand, her first major literary success. He steers students and others toward careers he knows will never task them creatively, instead, it will kill their individualism. Howard roark to gail wynand in the fountainhead ayn rand. The fountainhead is a 1943 novel by russianamerican author ayn rand, her first major. Before calling it the fountainhead, ayn rands working title was second hand lives. Ayn rand created and defined her philosophy, objectivism, in the pages of her bestselling novels, particularly the fountainhead and atlas shrugged, and in a series of nonfiction books that address a wide range of fundamental issues in philosophy. Roark says he gave the cortlandt to his fellow men, but he destroyed it because he could not stand to see it corrupted. Considering the last romantic, ayn rand, at 100 the new. The fountainhead is a 1943 novel by russianamerican author ayn rand, her first major literary success. Howard roark, in ayn rands the fountainhead essay example. Jan 20, 2004 the main theme of the fountainhead is the struggle of the free mind, creativeness and individualism all symbolized in roark against the common opinion, second handers, people who think only about what other people think mostly symbolized in keating.
Fifteen million copies of her books have been sold. Roark embodies what rand believed to be the ideal man, and his struggle reflects rands. Peter keating admits his failing to howard roark in chapter 8 of the novels final book. That, precisely, is the deadliness of second handers. Roark calls men like keating second handers because they do not create original work, but steal the work of others. At this level, the fountainhead is an impassioned defense of the free thinker against the stifling restrictions of conventional norms. He is manipulative and his only goal in life is to promote mediocrity by helping second handers rise to stardom through literature and the arts. He warns that altruism has even corrupted the great nation of the united states, a country built by brilliant men.
He has made it his lifes mission to use subversive techniques to control the second handers and make them work towards his goals. Men have been taught that it is the highest virtue to give. Miscellaneous thoughts on the fountainhead by a second. Fountainhead and ayn rands ideology are, as rightly pointed out by many, pretty polarizing. Donald trump is an ayn rand villain the federalist. The fountainhead by ayn rand meet your next favorite book. The fountainhead is a 1943 novel by ayn rand, and her first major literary success. It was rands first major literary success and brought her fame and financial security.
It is to a secondhander that the moral appraisal of himself by others is a primary concern which supersedes truth, facts, reason, logic. A secondhander is one who regards the consciousness of other men as superior to his own and to the facts of reality. This modern classic is the story of intransigent young architect howard roark, whose integrity was as unyielding as granite. Roark calls men like keating secondhanders because they do not. The fountainhead is a very philosophical book with extended monologues and dialogues about freedom, tradition, choice, and other deeply philosophical topics. The term secondhander refers to the villains, all those who. The idea of individualism is not new, but nobody had defined. And in the fountainhead, howard roark is rands ideal objectivist. The fountainhead book san francisco public library.
The main theme of the fountainhead is the struggle of the free mind, creativeness and individualism all symbolized in roark against the common opinion, second handers, people who think only about what other people think mostly symbolized in keating. Just finished the fountainhead by ayn rand and have a couple of observations. The fountainhead can be difficult to follow and one has to be patient to get to the very meat and bones of ayn rands objectivist philosophy. The fountainhead has been described in many ways, but at its core it is about the individual vs. The original working title of this book was secondhand lives. The fountainhead and atlas shrugged still sell,000 to 150,000 copies a year. Ayn rand that, precisely, is the deadliness of secondhanders. He is an original, a creator, unlike other people who are second handers.
The story presents the career of howard roark, an architect and innovator who breaks with tradition, recognizes no authority. Petersburg in 1905, rand witnessed the russian revolution as a teenager and promptly condemned communism as. Howard roarke stands as the embodiment of ayn rands objectivist philosophy, or at least the individualist idea. Keating and toohey are just two characters out of many that the novel introduces which can be used to represent the second handers. The fact that roark is judged not guilty shows that he succeeded in convincing jury and audience members to revise their existing beliefs and attitudes about the relationship between creators and second handers, and in shaping the basic codes of value and belief by which society lived walker 9thus championing egotism over. The book is an introduction to ayn rands morality of rational egoism. When roark says second handers have no sense of reality.
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