Friday, April 24, 2009

Blog Four of Fountainhead

3.) Gail Wynand hires Roark to build a fortress to protect Dominique from human society. Despite the irony, there is almost an inevitability to this event. Why does Wynand choose Roark from among all the architects of the country? Why is it fitting? What is the essence of their bond?

Wynand chosed Roark to build his home because he is in love with Roark's meaning of his work. Wynand has a good reason for building this home, this works around both a tribute and a protective barrier for Dominique from the rest of society in which they live. Wynand wants this home that Roark is building to be a symbol of everything that Dominique is to him. This to me is ironic because Roark is also in love with Dominique.
Both Wynand and Dominique share their same views but don’t are once again the complete opposites .Their reasons for doing what is done all and all are the same but for the too of them its all at a different level. While they respect each other, they both have their own intentions and plans to carry those intentions out.

6.) Why is Roark's brilliant design for Cortlandt Homes altered by Gus Webb and Gordon Prescott? What factors in society make it possible? Why is Keating, despite his best efforts, powerless to stop it?

Roark's design for the Cortlandt Homes was changed when the design went through Keeting, and Webb and Prescott knew that Keeting would be easy mulnipulate. Nowing how Keeting is it is obvious that Keeting is a pleaser. The society in which this took place affected the outcome in various ways. The society did not know the plans, the original design or who it was by, therefore they did not make even a notice when the plans began to change. Roark was away with Wynand at the time, so he could not enforce Keeting to stand up. Although Keeting did make efforts to stop the changes being made, he was ineffective for many reasons.

8.) Dominique assists Roark in the dynamiting, and tells him that she will wait for him even if he serves time in prison. She is no longer afraid of what society will do to him. What is the essence of Dominique's change of thinking? What error has she previously made that she now corrects? What enables her to finally see the truth? How does her change of mind integrate with the novel's theme?

"Howard, if you win the trial-even that won't matter too much. You've won long ago....I'll remain what I am, and I'll remain with you-now and ever-in any way you want...."
Dominique's mind frame has changed. To me this realization or fear only occurred because she let the fear Roark being thrown in jail take hold of her. She excepted the fact that if didn’t anyone know that they both knew the truth. Which was that they are indeed in love. She knew that they would be reunited eventually, and she knew that if he did go to jail, that it would be for good reason; he would have stood up for his beliefs. She knows that she has admitted pain to him, but now she is admitting happiness to him, and the only way he was able to stand that was because he understood and he felt the same way. Her change of mind and the novel's theme blend because both are about realizations and perspective. Dominique explaining this to Roark was the equivalent of Roark's speech at his trail.

11.) In his courtroom speech, Roark discusses the outstanding innovators who have carried mankind forward, arguing that it was their independent thinking--not compliance with their brothers--that enabled them to reach their monumental achievements. In terms of some of history's great independent minds--Galileo, Darwin, Pasteur, the Wright Brothers, et. al.--explain and defend Roark's thesis.

Roark is saying that individuals have conquered while second-handers have copied. Independent minds have create things, while dependant minds have simply been praised for making duplicates. He is saying that creators rise to the occasion, while followers copy stuff and expect it to be used even in a time when it is not needed. Roark is an individualist, and every part of his designs carry purpose and dignity, while say, Keeting, for example, always relied on past works and got help in almost everything he was challenged with. Roark's work has purpose and makes sense, while Keeting's work is simply praised because it was praised in the past.

12.) At the end of the novel, Roger Enright buys Cortlandt Homes and hires Roark to build it in accordance with his original design. Wynand hires Roark to erect the Wynand Building, the world's tallest skyscraper. Roark marries Dominique Francon. He has succeeded completely, and on his own terms. What point does the author make regarding the nature of success? In contrast to the evil Toohey, what point does she make regarding the nature and power of the good?

Rand makes the point that anything can happen if you have your business in order. From the beginning of the book, Roark was expected to be a failure, but he ended up winning. In various places his work was always recognized and praised, because there were other people that thought like him. She makes the point that if you stick to what you started out with, you can achieve the corresponding goal that you set. Rand makes the point that success can be achieved even in the most heinous situations.
Toohey failed at life. While he was a twisted collectivist, he was considered evil throughout the whole book. Toohey manipulated people and looked for power, while Roark used nothing but himself and looked for his buildings to be useful. Toohey was bad, and he lost. Roark was good, and he won. The power of evil can be used to manipulate and hide the truth, but with the power of good comes realizations that show the truth and everything real. Rand makes the point that the power of good is stronger than the negative power of collectivism.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Blog Three Fountainhead

1.) Gail Wynand is a brilliant individual who rose out of the slums by means of his own talent and effort. But despite his reverence for man's noblest achievements, his newspaper presents lurid, loathsome values to the most vulgar people. Why does Wynand pander in this manner? What is the meaning of such a self-betrayal?
Gail Wynand is a brilliant individual ,but yet he faces issues with excepting the events that has become in tangled in. He finds his self in an area of his life where he is putting his feelings in his own way of what his true emotions are.
3.) What is Toohey's overall purpose on The New York Banner? What is his overall purpose in regard to society in general? Dominique warns Wynand against Toohey, but he is too contemptuous of Toohey to heed her. Is Dominique correct in her assessment of Toohey's actual motives?
Toohey purpose of The New York Banner is bigger then what others may see. Often the things that are recalled is conveyed in such a way by the reader where as it is misunderstood. The articles in The New York Banner is actually tyring to give credit to the person creating the sulpctors indirectly without actually stating the facts of what she is doing.
4.) What is Dominique's motive in marrying Wynand, for becoming "Mrs. Wynand Papers"? Does it bear any similarity to her reason for marrying Keating? Does she accomplish the goal she set out to reach? Tie this discussion to the quote from Nietzsche--that nobility of soul is not to be lost--that the author cites in the "Introduction" to the 25th anniversary edition

"It is not the works, but the belief which is here decisive and determines the order of rank--to employ once more an old religious formula with a new and deeper meaning,--it is some fundamental certainty which a noble soul has about itself, something which is not to be sought, is not to be found, and perhaps, also, is not to be lost.--The noble soul has reverence for itself." (Friedrich Nietzche, Beyond Good and Evil.)
There is a possibilty of many reasons why Dominique married Wynand. Dominique motives could be sincere or.)
2.) Toohey presents Mallory's sculpture of Dominique to Wynand in an effort to bring Dominique and Wynand together. What is the purpose of Toohey's scheme? Why does he need something to distract Wynand's attention away from his newspaper?

I believe that Toohey has multiple reasons for trying to reconnect Dominique and Wynand together. The first and foremost reason is to get the Stoneridge contract for Peter Keetin which is Dominique's husband. Dominique to me is selfish only thinking about herself tring to act as if she is concerned. I think that that she tried to lead him away so that she could enter into his columns to have the freedom and involvement to say what she wants to. Toohey is already highly respected by a majority of their society. Being that all of his intentions are to make ever one else happy as well as his self hiding from where can't see the reality of the situation.
5.) Why does Wynand fall deeply in love with Dominique? Do they share noble qualities in common? Have they made a similar mistake? Because of Wynand's undeniable virtues, do Dominique's feelings for him change?
Wynand falls for Dominique, somehow in the same way that she fell for Roark. Dominique is a person who considers herself perfect so while doing so she encourages herself to do things to justify her beliefs. Like mostly all people can find things in common with another ,but for them this is very little. They have both made mistakes, but Dominique had no choice about hers and Wynand doesn't see his as mistakes. Dominique starts begins to care for him but it hasn't developed into the same love that she has for Roark.

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Fountainhead Blog 2

Fountainhead Blog 2

1.) To me from what I have read Dominique doesn't really resist Roark, when he attempts to have sexual intercourse with her. Instead inside of her mind to enhance her pleasure she starts “losing control” of the situation. At first she disliked the sexual intercourse but eventually excepted it because of her mental state. For some reason she has a need to want to be in control of situations and her psychological being must be 'controlled' during the rape has a play on the situation.
To me when Ayn Rand once stated regarding this scene that, if it is “then rape by engraved invitation.” This to me is taken as if she won’t have enticed him then and lead him on then it wouldn’t have happened.

2.) Dominique treats everything as if its so complicated. Roark has, two different outlooks which symbolizes her complicated belief that all men are imperfect, even though Roark is not (so they say). She believes that all things that are beautiful should never be used by the imperfect. Then that they should be destroyed once after imperfect won’t use them. In this case the situation is complicated because she seems to contradict herself within her beliefs. Dominique somehow at this points has made some off the walls decisions. She starts to try to destroy Toohey career. She then starts to try to destroy things with Roark because of the situation with Roark.


In this section of the book Kneating tells Roark to “always be what people want you to be.” This makes Roark's belief of Keating encourage Roark tends to believe that people don't a choices because the choice has already been chosen, but is unknown




3.) Dominique thinks of Roark as 'the face of a god.' This description is not to be taken as literal; everything is a representation of something of deeper meaning. By 'face', Dominique is describing Roark's representation of an idea/belief. By 'god', she is describing the ideal of architecture. Thus, the meaning of the saying is simplified: Roark represents the true ideal of architecture, which is also part of Roark's belief system.

4.) Toohey uses Stoddard in order to bring down Roark which shows his personality. Toohey's has the belief that one needs to do what the greater good needs rather than for yourself. Toohey is manipulative and he shows this when he makes a proposal to Roark to help construct a temple or chapel. This was only in my point of view to help himself and diminish Roark.



5.) Dominique once again in showing her unstable mental state. She exemplifies this by marrying Keating to deal with her trying to accept society's imperfection as perfection.
Dominique surrenders everything she believes in when Roark fails her so call test. This ruins her belief of him as perfect, not because he isn't, but because society doesn't accept him as that. By marrying Keating, she is trying to regain a new state of being in which she hasn’t reached yet.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Fountain Head

1.) Explain in detail the reasons for Howard Roark's expulsion from the Stanton Institute of Technology. The Dean states that Roark has "a determined little group of defenders" among the faculty, while other professors "felt it their duty" to vote for his expulsion. Why do the faculty members on each side evaluate Roark and his work so differently?

I think that this is because Roark was expelled from Stanton because his work was too “extreme”. Since this was so , he fought he believed in. Thus, getting expelled from Stanton. Roark was called into the Dean’s office on graduation day at Stanton Institute of Technology, and the Dean asked Roark to come back to his office. Roark stated that he didn’t want to do the same thing over and over; he wanted to do his work, his way. The Dean explained that some of his Professors did want him to stay, but the disapproval of his work weighted more then what his approval was. The faculty views Roark as being a know it all person. To some people he is rude but others at the institute he is not.
3.) Peter Keating graduates as valedictorian from the Stanton Institute of Technology. Does this mean that he is an outstanding architectural student? By what methods did he get such high grades? What does this say regarding his moral character?

Since Peter graduated as valedictorian from his class does not mean that he is a brilliant architect. In a lot of cases this happens because others do not put forth effort like they should when working. From what I have read Howard is a better architect then Peter. And at one time, Peter was afraid that Howard would beat him in ranks. Howard was expelled, then Peter fears instinct the reason Peter stopped worrying about him. He was only valedictorian because he did what he was told and didn’t think outside of the box.

5.) Roark gains employment with Henry Cameron. Cameron, though a genius, is a commercial failure. Why has society rejected his work? Why does Roark nevertheless revere him? What qualities do Roark and Cameron share in common? What is the fundamental difference between them and Francon and Keating?

Henry Cameron is an amazing arhitect. Over time the public has lost the respect that they once had for him. He has built some woderful buildings that have awe people. I feel as if Roark wants to work for him because both Roark and Cameron both love to think outside the box and push the boundries of their surrounding.Francon and Keating are to me caters. They dont come up with orginal ideals and just do what others want or expect

6.) Citing specifics from the story, describe the means by which Keating seeks to rise to the top of Francon's firm? Explain the meaning of Keating's methods. Why do they work at Francon's? Would Keating's methods work similarly well at Cameron's? Why?
To me Keating is a con. I say this because he enjoys to backstabb the people around him. He initially told on his partner Stengal, which was then fired from Francon's Firm. I think that he can rise to the top but, only depending on where he is at.

2.) At the end of Chapter One, Roark comprehends that there is a fundamental difference between his approach to life and the Dean's. Roark understands his own, but not that of the Dean and those like him. He recognizes that there is a principle that explains the difference, which he calls the "principle behind the Dean." Based on subsequent events of the story, explain the "principle behind the Dean."

What is the "principle behind the Dean"? I think that the Dean is just a conversation and that he isn't open to a liberal mind. Roark his a great mind and feels as if he needs to exercise it to his fullest ability. He wants to create his own work, well others want to be instructed and not challenged . The Dean basically his no real reasons to me for his opinions except that he is a collectivist conservative.

Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Blog 5

1) Uncharted Forrest symbolize where he finds true freedom for the first time and adopted new names that represent their true identities.

4) He now realizes he has a cause for his life. Now life in which he knows it is a less noble goal than what his efforts are.

3) a) I believe that this quote applies to me in many ways even though it is so simple. I know that in life we as people have a road to take, but I think that even if I choose the wrong path or right it was a reason I was guided that way. Not saying that every path you take is going to be the right one but it is one that will evenly guide you to your destiny.
b) This particular quote is one that hit close to me. I think that if everyone thought like this the world be a better place. Not saying that it isn't good to speak your mind which is something that I do when speaking upon my beliefs. Then also but to keep a situation from escalating this would be the best thing to do.

Thursday, November 20, 2008

Blog Four

1. I believe that the society is a place in which fears are set. It seems to me to be off and missing what people need. Me being a person in which I am wouldn't like to live in this socitey. I feel as if I did then I couldn't really fulfill my ture desires.

2.I think that the novel takes place back in a place where communist exist. It to me seems as if it's a time where it is the present for them but, the past for us.

3. In this chapter Equality discovers that it is Damned.

4. I think that Equality feels shame, but then he has the feelings of remorse. The teacher's reaction to Equailtys' curse is not a surprise. This is a society where people are jugde and held for petty things.

5. They fear what they don't know. They fear what the government will think. They also fear what the society around them will turn into. They fear the change or effect that it will bring upon the society.

6. At this point Equality is expericing the feeling of both rejection, shame, and remorse. Equality laughs because he is in aw about what is happening around him and in the society.

Wednesday, October 15, 2008

Blog Three

1. What might it be like to be in a society where there are no "selves" and "we" has replaced "I"? This question that has been opposed opun me is one quit puzzling in a way. I think that this would take away a lot of misunderstood perceptions of people which others oppose on them at times. When speaking of no "selves" this could stop a lot of greed but at the same time courrpt a person because no one is the same, because if there are no selves then it's we. Then again, if there is I how can we become we?

2.I think that names give an effect of what her concept is, as far as what the book is about. Often as the reader, reads you can notice that the character is not exactly addressed with a name but, with a number. Which is strange to me ,because I haven't yet graspped a full understanding of Ms.Rands writing.

3. I believe that the unspeakable word could possible change if used. This may happen only if, the people who take offense to it changes it's purpose. With this being said, over time in history we have seen the effect of words that it may have on one, but then in the long run it changes meaning for the one it was meant to take offense to but still has the same history in pass behind it.