Write your abstract
here.
rand is the expounder of objectivist philosophy which
is
presented in her smashing hit the fountainhead.the last
speech of the protagonist howard
roark, at his trial
underlines her philosiphy. roark is a self-proclaimed
egotist.in his speech he speaks against
altruism espousing
the view that selfishness should be everyone's motto.
he
says altruism goes against basic human nature which is
to
seek happiness for oneself. but he forgets that
altruism
could be just another way of achieving happiness.
infact,
the world cannot do without altruism. the book was
published in 1943-just 1 year before world war-2
ended.roark and rand should be grateful for leading
peaceful lives because of the altruism of the soldiers
who
fought in the war.the very nature of this altruism
shows
that the world would have ended withput it.roark
expounds
what the modernists would call sustainable
developement.he
believes in helping others if it benefits you.he does
the
same with mallory in the book, yet is it not altruism,
considering the fact that all philanthropists have some
selfish reason or the other for helping others?stoddard
in
the book is one such philanthropist who wants to atone
fpr
his sins.rand is not true to her words here as
dominique
francon inflicts pain upon herself because she cannot
bear
to see roark being destroyed by this world which
doesnot
value greatness.is it not a sacrifice?roark also talks
second-
handers in this speech.they are those peiple who
donot have an
opinion of their own but follow popular
opinion only.i will say this again that the world
cannot do
without these second-handers.it is they who give
prestige
to the original thinkers by emulating them.who would
have
cared about roark and his original ideas if not for
heller,
enright, lansing and dominique francon?it is they who
make
his ideas important,worthy of emulation by believing in
them.they are also second-handers, not to popular
opinion
but to roark's ideas.roark says that the worst kind of
second-
Hander is the one who seeks power.gail wynand is
one
such second-hander in the book.but toohey, too seeks
power
in the book, yet he is not a second-hander rather a
creator
of second-handers.whatever he says becomes popular
opinion
overnight.he has the ability to make mediocre to great
through manipulation of second-hand opinions.toohey,
later
tells the readers he has original ideas, is not
influenced
by anyone and works only for himself.how can rand show
a
man who is a power seeker and yet not a second-hander
when
she herself doesnot believe in it?rand didnot get due
recognition from her contemporaries and she always
resented
that.if she believes that second-handers are really
contemptible, then why did she seek these second-hand
opinions?finally, if second-handing is so bad, then
what
about those second-handers who bring in a revolution
like
those who followed mahatama gandhi or abraham lincoln
or
nelson mandela or martin luther king junior?
i have reservations about rand's objectivist
philosophy,
yet the book makes for a good read because of its
novelty
and fast-paced action.also, it induces the reader to
think
which i think is the most important achievement of the
book.
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