A new-age philosophy. Review on FountainHead, The - Ayn Rand

Some paragraphs of the review are actually excerpts from an award-winning essay of mine. Copyright violations, if any should be immediately reported to me.In that case, I'll edit the review.

The Fountainhead by A.R. is a defense of selfishness, self-love and egoism. Don't get shocked. These terms does not hold the conventional meaning as you know them.

Egoism and selfishness has been aptly defined by A.R. as ‘to demand the best for oneself. An egoist is the epitome of self-love and self-respect. He does not live for others but lives for himself. He has no care of public opinion and works just to satisfy himself. He is a true friend but has no enemies. He is the man as a man should be --- an ideal man.

The Fountainhead is the story of Howard Roark, an architect and an epitome of selfishness. In course of the story, many people help him, many more, hamper him. But, in the end, it is the selfish individual who wins.

Some of the major characters of the book are :

Howard Roark

Howard Roark, the protagonist, is an egoist and a selfish person. He is an architect and believes that it is his right to build. He builds as he wishes to build. He cannot be dictated. The opinion of others hardly matters to him. In fact, he is oblivious to the existence of any other person. He follows the principles of his mentor and his idol, Henry Cameron.

Peter Keating

Peter Keating, Roark’s senior, is a selfless man. He is devoid of any soul. He has nothing in him. He needs other people to fill the vacuum in him. His only aim in life is to be great in the eyes of the masses. He becomes successful and gets all he wants; name, fame, wealth and honour. But, he still does not have any achievements to his credit. Either Roark or Keating’s employees have designed most of his ‘great buildings’

Gail Wynand

Gail Wynand is independent and powerful. He has all the traits of becoming the ideal man. But, he sells his soul. Wynand is powerful both mentally and economically. He is the owner of the largest journalistic estate in America. He despises people and believes that in order to protect himself from them, he needs to win over them.

Ellsworth M. Toohey

Ellsworth M. Toohey is the antithesis of Roark. He is at the helm of selflessness. Toohey preaches altruism, self-sacrifice and self-abnegation as means to a perfect life. He is a power-hungry second hander who wishes to be respected by all. He has nothing of his own to offer to the world.

Dominique Francon

Dominique Francon. She is independent and fiercely guards this. She is capable of great desires but makes it a point to desire nothing. She chooses self-degradation as a mean to defy the rules. She is the only person towards whom Roark has some feelings.

When to read the book !

This book should be read when one feels defeated in life, depressed, or wishes to think something new.

When did I read this book

I read this book for an essay competition. But, after reading 20-30 pages I completely forgot about the competition and read the book for the sheer joy of reading.

Philosophical Content

The philosophical content is not given out straightforward but, is interwoven with the plot. When one reads the book, slowly the philosophy of objectivism and individualism takes the reader into it.

To read essays on The Fountainhead visit https://libertyinstitute.org.