Wednesday, May 03, 2006

FountainHead : My Take

Completed reading Ayn Rand's Fountainhead - One of the best books in modern literature, in print for more than 25 years; My first encounter with Ayn Rand's philosophy - Objectivism. I haven't got a chance to read her 'Atlas Shrugged' , which is supposed to be a comprehensive exposition of her Philosophy, But I have got good insights into what all Objectivism is about.

There has been so much raving about the book, not to mention the occasional criticism and the cribbings that it is too idealistic. So, I have decided to explore this self-proclaimed 'philosophical fiction' and am not at all disappointed.

The Plot

The book is more or less a narrative of Howard Roark's Life. The trials and tribulations faced by him at the hands of the not-so-worthy sham altruists. Ayn Rand has cleverly grafted her ideals into Howard's character. She shows Howard as the ultimate human being, and propounds her philosophy through the depiction of his life.

Howard Roark, the protagonist, is a genius architect, who believes in building each building with a different spirit. He doesn't compromise on his work and only works when he is given full freedom in designing buildings. Naturally, he finds hostility amongst the stalwarts of the plagiarist culture and was shunned, feared, ostracized and persecuted almost throughout his entire career. The story is a walkthrough of his fight against the second-rate people who believe that public acceptance is their ultimate goal. It culminates in an exciting courtroom trial where Roark upholds his philosophy and finally succeeds in his endeavor.

The Characters

Howard Roark :

An independent and asocial genius, with little regard for the opinion of others. A person with great reverence for his work and wouldn't compromise on his work, even if that means he has to go through abject penury, intense calumny and terrible hardships. He believes that his creation itself is the end, the fact that it existed itself is a great source of pride and he doesn't require anyone's approval to convince himself of the greatness of his work. An egotist in his own way, with just a few friends who could understand him.

This is the character I admired the most. Isn't that Obvious -- afterall he is the protagonist. But many people don't appreciate Roark so much. They feel he's impractical and conceited. In my view, a person who knows himself is much better than the confused poor( Shud I say pathetic ? ) souls. Roark is so sure of his values, his motives, his causes and his pride. He never compromised. His skills, his unflinching attitude, the aplomb he has shown in troubled times and above all his courage to oppose the world impressed me a lot. He works for the love it, and not for the material gains, which is a great quality.

There are certain aspects of Roark I am not comfortable with. His passiveness with the society. His inimical behaviour, his despise for the ineptitude and his total disregard for the human race. Now, I felt uncomfortable, bcoz these are the qualities I would prefer not to have. These are qualities an ideal person better not have. But for a person so devoted to his work, who doesn't need social relations to survive, these qualities fit well.

Peter Keating :

A charlatan, a shameless plagiarist who has devoted his life to impress people. In spite of full knowledge of his ineptitude, he desperately tries to convince himself and the world that he is has it in him. He constantly needs approval of the world to keep himself away from his nagging conscience. His insecurity and self-doubt turns him into a pitiful wreck. A parasite by all means, he treats his work as a means to achieve his end: Public Acceptance.

Though many people despise him, I felt pity. This one character sums up our world. Though we deny it, most of us have at one time or other exhibited such characteristics, maybe not at such contemptible levels. He has ambition, which is good. But the means he chose are so filthy and spiteful. His desire for public approval is a disease pervading every nook and corner of our civilization. But such desire, when coupled with ineptitude, ruins a person.

Ellsworth Toohey :

A person who goes after power and influence over fellow-men. Money is worthless for him. All he needs is the servitude of the human race. He uses media to propagate fake altruism. He confounds the wavering minds, shows benevolence to the meek, does favours to the useful, raises self-doubt and fear among the rich and successful, supports and encourages the lousy artists, everything to make people loyal to him and have control over them. A person lacking talent himself, he envies the able. With an uncanny ability to recognize geniuses, he uses every dirty trick to destroy their self-respect.

A highly contemptible character without any doubt. We might even have a consensus on this. But there are certain points we need to appreciate. He recognizes his limitations and uses his strengths to accomplish what he set out to do. Though deprived of talent himself, He understands talent. A truly self-conceited person, who tries to make up for his clumsiness with the support of mass approval. A person rotten to the core.

Gail Wynand :

A man split between ideals and practicalities. He has pure heart that understands beauty, respects talent and despises the masses. But he has given himself to the trend, to leverage the foolishness of the public, to amass great wealth and power. Feeling inspired by the spirit of Howard, he decides to fight back. He stands strong for a while, but later loses the courage and falls back. He flees from truth afraid of the hardships. Finally, he makes amends by stopping his newspaper and giving Roark a chance to use his genius.

Many people love this character, some even more than Howard. I just like/respect him. Throughout his life, he has done things against his beliefs and values. He perpetrated the very things he hated. He lead a life that he despises himself. And when he finally realized his mistakes and fought hard for what he truly believed, he couldn't carry the grit all through the end. He succumbed to the pressure, against his own will. Of course, he stopped living a debauched life in the end, but failed in upholding his true spirit.

Dominique Francon :

A person who believes in freedom from the depravity of the world. She loves Howard for what he stands for. Instead of fighting with him against the world, she tries to protect him from the world. She flees from the world initially and then she tries to condemn herself to the depravity of world. Finally, she realizes that she should insulate herself from the hurt and returns to Howard.

A coward, that's what I would call her. She aspires to nothing due the fear of losing it. She destroys her prized possessions to prevent them from being snatched away. A person should dream, and show courage to achieve them. Instead of running away from the society, a person should either fight/ignore it. One cannot simply detach oneself from the sorroundings, of which one is always a part.

Steve Mallory & Henry Cameron :

People who always upheld their values inspite of chronic persecution. They fought and fought and lost, but never compromised. They end up broken by the world that doesn't understand them, that couldn't bear their genius.

These characters represent the real people who faught for a cause and lost. Those people banished into obscurity, just because they are different from us. Or maybe because they are better than us. Well, Not every Howard Roark can laugh. Some perish.

The Philosophy

I am no expert on Objectivism. But there are certain precepts I have gathered from the book.

Creativity in Man is the supreme power and should be highly reverred. Man should devote himself to his work and find gratification in accomplishment of the task and not in the praise showered by his fellow-beings. Man should not depend on others for approval of his greatness. He should believe in his virtues and competence. Man should take his decisions on his own. Self-respect is most vital in any person and it shouldn't be lost for any reason. Man should always uphold his spirit and should have the courage to face any adversities in that process. Man should know himself and believe himself.

It criticizes altruism and supports atheism. By treating all people equal, man is committing a sin against the people who create the world. Altruism creates a dependence among human beings on one another for their own survival. It results in decadence of human spirit and people start living second-hand lives in rottenness. Also, surrendering oneself before the divine kills self-respect in a man and leads to self-doubt and mental depravity. It limits a person from exercising his own free will, believing in making his destiny and induces a sense of helplessness. Man's freedom is curbed by his dependence on the fate or fellow-men.

----

Though I do not espouse every ideal propounded, the book did influence my way of thinking.

There are certain things which I believe in : Never lose your self-respect, Admire a person's creative talent, Do not depend on others' approval, Work for the love of it, Believe in yourself etc. There are certain aspects I do not approve of : Self-Conceit or Egotism, Not developing good relations, Ignoring the inept, Insulating oneself from the world, Renouncing the material gains etc.

However, there are certain qualities I have decided to imbue myself with. It's not that the book has inspired these thoughts in me. I have been brooding over these things over the past few months, and the book happened to act as the much required catalyst.

Share your work with others but never look for their approval. I shall work for the love of it, for my personal satisfaction, but not for public praise.

I have decided to take my decisions myself, and not to look for help from some one else. Throughout the MBA process, I have been looking for someone to make my decision for me. But not again. Of course I will ask others for the information and facts, but will never pester anyone for any sort of advice. I shall take their suggestions, and considering all the information available, I will take the decisions myself.

---

There are three Questions I ask myself after reading any such inspiring book :

The character I would like to see myself as ?
Obviously, Howard.

The character I would hate to see myself as ?
No prizes for guessing, Toohey.

Which character do I relate myself and my qualities to the most ?
None completely. But mostly Gail Wynand, with some characteristics of Howard Roark, Steve Mallory and Peter Keating( Now don't look at me like that, I am no saint! ).

1 Comments:

Blogger milieu said...

Hey, Nice review of Fountainhead. A big book deserves a big review too. I had to labor my way through it though. But I liked Atlas shrugged infinitely more than this. Would recommend you to read it.
Cheers!

9:50 AM  

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