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The Powells.com Interview with Margaret Atwood

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   $18.86 Sale Hardcover add to wish list

   The Year of the Flood

   Margaret Atwood

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drawing_dancer_girl, March 31, 2008 (view all comments by drawing_dancer_girl)
When Roark is expelled from Stanton University he realizes that it is just the beginning of his life. He moves to New York. His classmate Peter Keating works for Francon & Heyer while Roark works for Henry Cameron. Roark tries to get work but is having a lot of trouble he gets fired and is often short on money. Eventually he ends up in a quarry where he meets Dominique. She instantly loves him and is afraid that the world will destroy him. Soon Roark goes back to New York to work because he has a commission. Peter Keating is making it to the top thanks to Ellsworth Toohey, but for Roark, all he gets from Toohey is criticism. Toohey is out to create a world where he is the leader and everyone submits to popular opinion. For Toohey, Roark is the ultimate challenge. Roark gets sued for bombing his own building that was altered for “the better good”. Roark makes a really long speech at the trial and is acquitted. In the end everyone gets the outcome they deserve.
The main conflict of the book is individualism verses collectivism. Rand wants people to see that it’s okay to be and individual and to live up to your full potential. In the book Roark is and individual and Toohey is a second-hander. She encourages greatness and inspires the individual to become their own person in the world we have today. This book is a fast-paced, exciting read, and I would recommend The Fountainhead to anybody looking for a new take on life.

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dani_l3anani, March 30, 2008 (view all comments by dani_l3anani)
When Howard Roark is expelled from Stanton University, he moves to New York to begin his career as an architect. He chooses to work for Henry Cameron, a washed-up modern architect with little commissions. His classmate Peter Keating works for Francon & Heyer, the most popular company in the country. Roark works for others after Cameron dies but is repeatedly fired. After not making it on his own, he works in a quarry where he meets his perfect match. She does not commit to a relationship because she is afraid to see the world destroy what she loves. Soon after, he goes back to work as an architect. Keating claws his way to the top and Roark joins the race slow but steady. Ellsworth Toohey writes against modern architecture and preaches selflessness. He tries to ruin Roark, but Roark pays no attention and continues to receive commissions. Gail Wynand, editor of the New York Banner, hires Roark and, after the pair become friends, decidedly attempts to embrace his beliefs. Many sacrifices, marriages, plots, and speeches later, everyone gets the ending they deserve.

Ayn Rand based The Fountainhead on her philosophy Objectivism. The main conflict in the story is collectivism versus individualism. Howard Roark is an egoist and Ellsworth Toohey, a second-hander. Rand is trying to show that man’s purpose in life is to pursue his own happiness regardless of the opinions of others. Roark has incredible integrity and is portrayed as the ideal person. The book has a good message and opened my eyes to the importance of one’s self. “His vision, his strength, his courage came from his own spirit. A man’s spirit, however, is his self. That entity which is his consciousness. To think, to feel, to judge, to act are functions of the ego” (678). Life can be simple if one knows what he wants and goes after it; Roark would rather work in a quarry than compromise his beliefs. Because of his strength, he is able to enjoy life’s simple pleasures regardless of what he is doing. “Roark lay stretched on his stomach, his face buried on his arm, the orange hair on the white shirt sleeve, one hand extended before him, palm pressed to the ground, blades of grass between his fingers. The fingers moved once in a while, crushing the grass with lazy, sensuous pleasure” (583).

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amandabrphy, March 30, 2008 (view all comments by amandabrphy)
Ayn Rand’s, The Foutainhead, is a very fast paced book. However, there are ups and downs. While the book is making it’s way to it’s next climax, there is down time that may turn the reader off. Don’t give up on it though; it will be worth it once you’re finished.

The Fountainhead is most definitely a book that makes you think. It is based on Rand’s philosophy Objectivism, which promotes individuality, integrity, and egoism. In the story, Rand's ideal man, Howard Roark, projects her philosophy through his way of living and magnificent architecture. Roark struggles through writers manipulating society into hating him and his architecture to his lover, Dominique, who only gets satisfaction by destroying any chance he has at happiness. Yet, he stays strong and does not give in to societal “norms.” Dominique is a truly unique individual. She believes in destroying things she thinks are beautiful because she knows no one will ever appreciate them as much as her. Dominique marries horrid men, such as Peter Keating, to punish herself. Peter Keating is a second-hander who will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He uses Howard Roark to design buildings for him because he cannot think for himself.

The Fountainhead gave my brain a work out and challenged my beliefs. From the beginning, I agreed with Rand’s ideas of non-conformity and that anybody can do anything they set their minds to. However, I do not agree with being completely selfish. I feel humans can help each other make changes and live autonomously.

“Men have been taught that it is a virtue to agree with others. That the creator is the man who disagrees. Men have been taught that it is a virture to swim with the current. But the creator is the man who goes against the current.” The first time I read this, I got chills.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780451191151

Introduction:

Rand, Ayn

Afterword:

Peikoff, Leonard

Introduction:

Rand, Ayn

Author:

Rand, Ayn

Author:

Peikoff, Leonard

Afterword:

Peikoff, Leonard

Author:

Peikoff, Leonard

Publisher:

New American Library

Location:

New York :

Subject:

Fiction

Subject:

Classics

Subject:

American fiction (fictional works by one author)

Subject:

Man-woman relationships

Subject:

Psychological

Subject:

Individualism

Subject:

Architects

Subject:

Factacn

Subject:

Philosophical literature.

Subject:

Object (Philosophy) -- Fiction.

Subject:

Object

Subject:

General Fiction

Subject:

Psychological fiction

Copyright:

1943

Edition Description:

50th anniversary ed.

Series Volume:

76

Publication Date:

July 1996

Binding:

Mass Market Paperbound

Grade Level:

General/trade

Language:

English

Pages:

704

Dimensions:

698x423x148 77