To craft an essay on Hank Rearden's internal conflict in Ayn Rand's "Atlas Shrugged," we must first identify the conflicting premises that torment him. Rearden, a steel magnate and inventor, is a paragon of the industrious, self-made man. His conflict arises from the clash between his personal values of productivity and self-reliance, and the external pressures of a society that demands he serve others at the expense of his own interests. The conflicting ideas within Rearden's soul are primarily between his own moral code, which celebrates the virtue of selfishness, and the moral code of altruism imposed by society. He believes in working hard, earning his own success, and the righteousness of his own happiness. However, he is constantly berated by societal norms that view his success as selfish and insist that his achievements should be shared with …show more content…
Initially, he tries to comply with societal expectations, feeling a sense of obligation to support his family and to contribute to the common good as defined by the government and his peers. However, he slowly comes to realize that the moral code he has been adhering to is not only destructive to his own life but to the very fabric of society that relies on the productivity and innovation of individuals like himself. His transformation is complete when he decides to live for himself, embracing his own values and rejecting the altruistic demands of others. Rearden's internal struggle is emblematic of the larger conflict within American businessmen, particularly those who, like Rearden, are innovators and producers. They are often caught between their desire to succeed and create, and the cultural expectation that they should give back to society, often in ways that negate their own achievements. This reflects a central conflict in American culture between individualism and collectivism, between the pursuit of personal happiness and the call to serve
By the end of the story he moves back to the farm and goes back to be a normal person once again. He no longer feels the need of acceptance from everyone because he doesn’t need to change who is in order to fit in.
In the novel, Anthem, written by Ayn Rand takes place when mankind has entered another dark age. A man named Equality 7-2521 lives in a society where he struggles to live equal within the brotherhood. In the world he lives in people are told they exist only for the sake of serving society, and have no other purpose. Therefore, each individual is assigned a vocation as a permanent life career which determines who they socialize and live with. However, Equality being very different from his brothers, believes in individualism and rejects the collectivism society around him. The concept of individualism vs collectivism is portrayed in the story because individuality is unknown to the people where no one is unique or excellent in any way. The people
...s can make a person do unbelievable things. Although he was still an outlaw of society at the end of the book, his status changed immensely. Throughout the novel, he experienced reeducation and rebirth. He became a new man who fought for social amelioration and a better way of life for his people and for all struggling people. Tom learned that a man cannot just look after himself; in the spirit of compassion, he is also obligated to help others.
One man never gets to feel the sense of accomplishment that comes from doing things by or for himself. All will have been done collectively for him, thus something fundamental is missing from his life. This can be likened to the pride Equality 7-2521 feels after hunting and preparing his own food in the forest (Rand, 1946, p. 63). He finds happiness in doing things for himself. This idea can be found in many instances, such as while he is studying in the tunnel (Rand, 1946, p. 30). The invention he makes there becomes so important to him that he is willing to be beaten and later leave everything behind in order to protect it, and such is a testament to his desire for independence and strides toward acting on his own
A utopia is a community which possesses highly desirable or perfect qualities. The beginning of the book Anthem, written by Ayn Rand, is supposed to be represented as a utopia, but the reader soon discovers that it is actually a dystopia; which is merely the opposite of a utopia. The main character of the book, Equality 7-2521, explains to the reader that there are many laws and regulations that the people of City must obey such as: not to write or have their own thoughts, citizens can’t have individual names, and the citizens of the city also have to refer to themselves as “we.” Equality 7-2521 soon realizes that a society that lacks individualism does nothing to make the community prosper; meaning there must be a stop to the collectivism within the city.
Have you ever read a book or seen a movie set in a dystopian society? Well the book “Anthem” written by Ayn Rand is about the main character Equality 7-2521 breaking away from the teachings of his dystopian society and finding his true identity. Ayn Rand is a brilliant writer. Equality realizes that collectivism is a way to strip him, Liberty, and all their brothers of their individuality, happiness, joy, love and freedom. Equality comes to this realization from internal conflicts he has with himself.
Question: Aside from very rare exceptions there is literally no opposition to the leaders in this society. Why is this? What ideas must the people in this society have accepted to live a life of obedience, drudgery, and fear?
Many people have trouble being apart of a society. These troubles come from trying to fit in, which is also known as conforming. Another trouble is trying to express one’s own style with one’s own opinion. This is a trouble due to the fact that many people have the fear of being frowned upon when being the black sheep of the group if one’s opinion does not correspond with other opinions. This is where one’s own sense of who they are, individuality, and trying to fit in, conformity, can get confused. A nickname for conformity is “herd behavior” which is the name of an article where the author relates animals that herd with people that conform. Many people have a different philosophy of this topic which will be expressed in this essay. An important
...s dramatically. He now realizes people do not and will not see him for who he is, and yet he is willing to play the part in society he feels he must play.
It is a rare conception where a human being is completely and utterly alone. One problem we tend to overlook due to our primitive ideals of staying as a group, is the fact of us becoming solely to that group. In the book Anthem ,by Ayn Rand, a man named Equality 7-2521 sees this problem evolve and how it becomes a nuisance to his society. The book has made me open my mind up to the ideals of doing things for yourself and not always for those around you. The feeling of the story showing a world where many are brought down for being unique and talented hurts me as I imagine a time where all are mere specs of the world. The book hits the hard points of what can easily go wrong with our society if we decide to go over the line. I can see a life
family and points out behaviours that are selfish. He also points to the wider selfishness of a society that is driven
There's many examples as to how the Holocaust can relate to the dystopian book Anthem by Ayn Rand that are shown throughout the book; however they also have many differences. The author writes about many events that can clearly be related to the book The Night by Elie Wiesel about the Holocaust that can be supported with direct quotes. A dystopia is “a community or society that is undesirable or frightening. It is translated as "not-good place" and is an antonym of utopia” accourding to https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/dystopia. In other words, a dystopia is a society where people live often fearful lives and are dehumanized and classified just like the jews were during the Holocaust. In many dystopian books power is maintained through
In this world, and in the world of Ayn Rand’s imagination, there are two kinds of people: those who live to create, and those who wish to live as parasites feeding off the benefits of those creations. In Atlas Shrugged, she explores what might happen when the creators of the world stop creating; the parasites are left to try to live on their own. The novels that Miss Rand writes always reflect this sort of thing. She writes of the battle between the two types of people as some write of the battles between good and evil. In reality, each side of the battle can be equated in such terms. These writings provide a detailed analysis of the two forces, and leave the reader with a profound sense of vitality and inspiration.
The American life is a life of greed, it is a life where no amount of money is enough, where happiness can only be found by earning more and more money. This system is exemplified in America’s world of business. America’s
What is ideology? How can it help us understand media? Use academic literature to support your argument.