Atlas Shrugged. When we were given the
book on the first day of class and everybody instantly checked to see how many
pages it consisted, the first thought that came into my mind as I read 1069 at
the bottom of the last page was “This better be a good book”. Fortunately, it
did prove itself to be a phenomenal book, and I am glad I had the opportunity
to read it.
One aspect of the novel that I was highly
intrigued about was how Ayn Rand was able to incorporate a main conflict and
theme with various other minor conflicts throughout the book. The story depicts
perfectly the story between the looters and the “Galt’s” (as I named them), and
how their views of society were complete opposites. Other minor conflicts came as
relationships between the characters of the story, mainly between a looter and
a Galt, such as Hank vs. his family, and Dagny vs. her brother. The
interconnection between the minor conflicts and the major conflict of the
story, which portray the same theme, is what in my opinion allows the reader to
understand both the big picture and the small picture, how the dispute of ideas
between how to run a nation affects the overall economy and how the differing
ideas between individuals affect personal relationships.
From the start of the novel, I began to
admire Dagny. How she ran Taggart Transcontinental, got things done, put effort
into her work, fought for her opinion and actions and showed passion for her
career is exactly what I believe to be essential in order to find success in one’s
life. As I read the multiple examples throughout the endless pages of the book
of how Dagny was able to construct the John Galt Line over all of the haters,
how she was able to pursue her own interests and fight against the looters, I
saw a perfect example of a businesswoman that can lead the world in the right
direction. In addition to Dagny, Hank was another character that I got close to
as well. Portraying similar traits to Dagny, I was also in complete accordance
with all of his actions regarding the way he ran his business, and particularly
with Rearden Metal. During the countless arguments between him and the looters,
who wanted a fair share of his metal and the freedom to manufacture it
themselves, I was giving them the same answers in my head as Rearden was in the
novel. It is his metal! He put the work in and he researched it and he produced
it for his own profit! Why in the world would he be required to share the
profit with looters that took no part in the production of the “Miracle Metal”
as they call it? Throughout the entire novel, the level of hatred I felt for
the looters was indescribable. I couldn’t deal with the way they thought, and
the stupid ideas they had about running society. Don’t even get me started on
the pathetic Directive 10-289, as I read through the laws pertaining to it, I
had a constant “I can’t believe this is actually happening” face on. I just found it unbelievable how people
in the world can have such ideas and believe that they can actually work.
As the story went on and the looters
began attaining more and more power, I knew that society was doomed. It is
impossible to live under such pathetic conditions. It is illegal to quit?
Really?! Well its not their fault that whatever action one does the Unification
Board will get them arrested for. All that the new Directive did to society was
prevent innovation and action. No one wanted to give orders since if something
went wrong, they were the ones to blame and they were the ones who would have
to face the pathetic Unification Board. I couldn’t deal with it anymore and I
was glad when John Galt was finally discovered and came to save the world. I
knew from the first time I read the line “Who is John Galt?” that he would turn
up sooner or later and have a huge impact on society. His land, Atlantis, in my
mind, is the description of what a successful society and government should
look like. The idea of no borrowing and paying for everything might seem harsh,
but it is the perfect solution to keep money flowing and passing from hand to
hand so that the economy is fit and well run. I enjoyed the idea that the
worthy people fled form the destructive society of the looters and waited in a
perfect land until the looters reached their doom to come back out and start an
entire new beginning in an efficient and effective way.
All in all, I thought that Atlas Shrugged
was one of the best novels I’ve ever read. The pages were worth it, and I
particularly enjoyed the “Super Hero” ending of the Galt’s saving their leader
John Galt and bringing him back to safety to plan for a new start to the world
that should have always been led by the Galt’s. A nation should be led by people
in society that are able to get things done and that understand how to run a
free private market economy, the method proven to be essential for a successful
nation. As I read the description of the United States at the end of the novel,
I couldn’t believe the state that Directive 10-289 brought it to, and
understood that one should not let any aspect of his life be led by “looter”
ideals, as the end is proven by history not to be a positive one.
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