Objectivism In The Crucible By Ayn Rand

1432 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Character analysis john proctor

Every philosophical idea comes with a flaw, or a contradiction. There is no perfect philosophy that everyone agrees on. For instance, Aristotle’s approach of everything is true if it is logical, but his four elements theory is false because if you look on the periodic table there is definitely more than four elements. Several people have even dismissed Ayn Rand as being a philosopher, but in fact we are all philosophers ourselves. There are some major and minor flaws of Ayn Rand’s philosophy on the idealized individual inspired by Classical Greek philosophy. Ayn Rand’s flaws in Objectivism are the way she presents logic in the individual, and selfishness into charity, which doesn’t really mix well. Her industrialists in Atlas Shrugged, has similar virtue ethics because they all have characteristics of gaining their knowledge through reason and having a moral code of “reason, purpose, and self-esteem,” truly being “rational beings” (reason is an absolute to Ayn Rand). Ayn Rand is disliked because her ideas aren’t acceptable in society, and she was misunderstood by her peers. “There are no contradictions. If you find one, check your premises.”
Finding philosophy in The Crucible begins with comparing just two characters with Atlas Shrugged. The novel shows a comprehensive tool into Ayn Rand’s philosophy (Objectivism) by her characters virtues. I will pick Hank Reardon from Atlas Shrugged, and John Proctor from The Crucible. They both have dilemmas of the individual, and the majority because both do not fit in with the majority. I will first discuss John Proctor’s society, which is the majority, and then Hank Rearden's society.
“Everyone lies,” wouldn’t that accusation offended anyone who is truthful? Well, in The Crucible he shows th...

... middle of paper ...

...in Emerson’s eyes. Someone who was once misunderstood was Democritus’ and his Atomic Theory because his contemporaries (Aristotle and Socrates) thought the theory was crazy. However, we now know that not everything that is logical is true and that Democritus was right all along, which was proven by John Dalton.
The discontent of both characters John Proctor and Hank Rearden leads them to find their self- interest to make them happy, expressing the romantic side of Ayn Rand’s work. The dilemmas they faced included being misunderstood by their peers, trying to stick with their morals, being truthful and honest to themselves to find justice in their corrupt political systems. Overall, once said by Friedrich Nietzsche, “Morality is the herd.” is untrue in both characters because they know that the majority is not always right into claiming what is right, or wrong.

Show More
Related

  • Altruism In Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1318 Words  | 3 Pages

    One being the fact that this book is a collection of her essay and speeches. But the main one is how this book discusses her own Philosophy. She first explains the importance of philosophy and how it used in the real world unknowingly today, but she then says the philosophy most people follow today, Altruism, as irrational. “Altruism is the rationalization for the mass slaughter in Soviet Russia – for the legalized looting in the welfare state – for the power-lust of politicians seeking to serve the common good” (Rand 27) Altruism is basically the thought of having selfless actions and to serve others. This completely contradicts Ayn Rand’s philosophy of living, Objectivism. This is where the book becomes different form other books and even the entire world. Many people and religions are taught to help others. This follows Altruism in the fact that we are serving others and being selfless. Objectivism has many different layers to it but one of the most important parts to it is the concept that man should be self-serving. That we should be selfish and live for ourselves only under the condition that it doesn’t harm others. This is extremely different from everything we are taught since we were

    Read More

  • Examples Of Morally Ambiguous Characters In The Crucible

    464 Words  | 1 Pages

    Proctor has many character traits that contribute to him being so difficult to figure out. His crime of lechery against his wife, and his willingness to save her, are both intermixed in a tangle of ethics. After committing adultery with Abigail, John clearly has a guilty conscious. When

    Read More

  • Ayn Rand´s Anthem: Failure in the Implementation of Marxist Ideals

    701 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ayn Rand, in Anthem, illustrates a futuristic, socialist society. In the novel, Rand destroys any sense of individuality and describes the social setbacks endured after living ‘only for the brotherhood’. The individual person fails to exist and is but a ‘we’ and recognized by a word and a series of numbers rather than a name. Additionally, she describes the horrors encountered within this different system of life: from reproduction methods to punishments. Through the life of Equality 7-2521, Rand demonstrates a person’s journey from obedience to exile in this socialist society. Throughout the entire novel, Rand criticizes Marxist theory as she demonstrates socialism’s failure to suppress revolution, thwart material dialectic, and its detriment to humanity.

    Read More

  • The Themes Of Individualism In Anthem, By Ayn Rand

    815 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Different Types Of Lies In The Crucible

    501 Words  | 2 Pages

    Lying is a natural human defense that we use for various things. Everyone lies. In The Crucible we get to see exactly what could happen if lies spiral out of control to the point where crying witch is believed at every turn. In the article “Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she discusses the different types of lying and when they are typically used. Some of these include Facade, White Lies, and Groupthink. These three types of lying are directly relevant and present in The Crucible. The plot is driven by lies, and as they pile on top of eachother is becomes harder and harder to uncover the truth.

    Read More

  • Trancendentalism: Ralph Waldo Emerson and Chris McCandless

    881 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...d Luther, and Copernicus, and Galileo, and Newton and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh. To be great is to be misunderstood” (Emerson).

    Read More

  • How John Proctor's Eyes Opened To The Needs of Others

    742 Words  | 2 Pages

    John Proctor was just one example of how the characters in the play underwent changes in regards to selfishness and he exhibited the most change. He showed it is important to think of others before you think of yourself and that past sins, motivated by your own wants, can come back to haunt you, and in his case cause a great number of problems.

    Read More

  • Objectivism in Ayn Rand's Anthem

    1055 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Ayn Rand’s famous, or in some circles, infamous, story Anthem, the differing ideologies of objectivism and collectivism are pit against each other. With objectivism being so tight knit and different from the society in the book, it seems that it would be almost impossible to truly follow in its entirety. However, Anthem, as a whole, doesn’t violate the ideals of Rand’s philosophy of objectivism.

    Read More

  • The Foolish Death of John Proctor in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    963 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Arthur Miller's The Crucible, John Proctor, a proud and frustrated farmer of Salem, chooses to die rather than to give a false confession to witchcraft. Many might view this act as that of a selfless martyr; on the other hand, it can more readily be seen as the height of human stupidity in the face of vanity and pride.

    Read More

  • John Proctor's Moral Struggle in The Crucible

    770 Words  | 2 Pages

    ... integrity are among the most important things. He also uses Proctor to demonstrate what an unjust system can do to an individual with good intents. The play is a parallel to the anti-Communist McCarthy era. Through John Proctor we see the ludicrous nature of mass hysteria that exists when society has gone awry.

    Read More

  • Conformity In Anthem By Ayn Rand

    697 Words  | 2 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Analysis Of Anthem, By Ayn Rand

    1282 Words  | 3 Pages

    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

    Read More

  • Values and Morality in The Crucible by Arthur Miller

    775 Words  | 2 Pages

    The Crucible by Arthur Miller raises many thought provoking issues throughout the play, including the importance of personal integrity, injustice in society and the rights of the community versus the rights of the individual.

    Read More

  • Control in Anthem by Ayn Rand

    676 Words  | 2 Pages

    Throughout history dictators such as Hitler, Mussolini and Kim Jong-Iland have used fear to manipulate thousands, if not millions, of people. Anthem by Ayn Rand explores a dystopian world where man is completely controlled. He complies to every order and demand without hesitation and is wholly satisfied with the way life is because it is all he knows. It is said to fully dominate a man, dictators must not only enslave his body but also destroy his mind. The manipulation in Anthem is far past fear alone; the leaders in Anthem also strip individuals of their identities, turn people into “robots” and leave the population naïve.

    Read More

  • Evils of Communism Exposed in We the Living, by Ayn Rand

    816 Words  | 2 Pages

    Ayn Rand destroys any ideal claiming Communism is a ‘noble’ theory. She demonstrates its complete failure in practice, reveals the impossibility of a steadfast conviction to Communism, and embodies her very beliefs within her main character. Rand, with the very essence of her being, opposes Communist ideals.

    Read More

More about Objectivism In The Crucible By Ayn Rand

Open Document