From the first mention of Francisco between
Dagby and her brother, Ayn Rand reveals a history between them. Jim says condescendingly to Dagny that
Francisco is “her friend after all” to which Dagny ends up replying something
along the lines of “not anymore”. Her cold reaction to Jim’s remarks enable us to
see that whatever type of relationship that Francisco and Dagny had, did not
end well.
Rand
uses an extended flashback to reveal what happened between the two. However,
the manner in which Raynd goes back in time makes it difficult to distinguish between
the past and present. Nevertheless, we
as readers are able to see that after growing up together, Dagny and Francisco
grew affectionate towards one another. Francisco seems to be the only one that
understands Dagny’s want to work. Yet despite his affection for Dagny, at one
point Francisco warns her to forget him. He soon develops into some sort of
monster. His actions seem close to those the clinically insane would be taking.
He has no remorse whatsoever for the people he is hurting and even causes the
railroad industry to lose millions. In the beginning I thought Francisco was
going through a delayed childhood rebellion phase. Rand forced my opinion to
change when she revealed a later encounter between Dagny and Francisco later
on. Francisco seems to have lost faith his faith in everyone; there fails to be
a purpose in life to him. At Hank’s anniversary party, we are introduced to a
philosophy professor who believes that there is no purpose in life. Seeing as
that he taught at the same university Francisco attended I am left wondering if
he influenced Francisco to take such bold and unimaginable actions. I fail to
believe that their shared views are simply coincidence.
-Talia Akerman
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