There’s something wrong with the world

      A common motif throughout Atlas Shrugged has been the struggle of the main characters in understanding exactly what is “wrong with the world”. In the opening chapter, Eddie Willers cannot pinpoint the source of his overwhelming sense of dread. As the story progresses, it becomes clear that the main characters are all fighting to remain whole in a world that seems to want to destroy them. 

      Dagny comes in contact with several men that seem to be broken. The first is Owen Kellogg, to whom she offers a promotion. His refusal marks the first time she feels beaten and helpless. She cannot convince him to take the job, and worst of all, she cannot understand why he will not. When asked his reasons, he replies with the phrase “Who is John Galt?”, the slang term that seems to spread like a disease that infects and ruins its victims. 

Dan Conway, owner of the Phoenix-Durango, admits to Dagny that he no longer wants to fight. He, too, hopelessly asks, “Who is John Galt?”. The phrase angers Dagny every time she hears it; she cannot bear to think a problem exists that there is no solution to. 

When Dagny visits Francisco d’Aconia she sees a man that has been corrupted by the world. She argues with him and pushes him to fight, but he seems hopeless. She thinks back to Richard Halley, who gave up his work at the height of his career, and asks Francisco if he has written a fifth concerto. This sparks his attention; perhaps he sees a glimmer of hope in the possibility that someone has broken free from the trap of “Who is John Galt?”. 
      Dagny’s overwhelming frustration comes from her inability to understand and to fix the problems of the most intelligent people she knows. She grows angry as the people she most admires begin to drop like flies. Their sudden changes in character seem almost unreal; perhaps the most talented people will soon resemble the bland, worthless men she saw at her childhood ball.