Final Reaction

            When we were first assigned the book, I thought I was not going to enjoy the book. The more I read, I was surprise by how much I actually enjoyed reading it. The character developments, themes, and the writing style were key points to the story. Atlas Shrugged really opened my mind to what was going on in today’s society and how it could end up destroying us. It was shocking to read how Ayn Rand could predict the problems we have today. Coming from communist Russia, Rand had a first hand experience to what it was like not having the freedom to produce as much as one would like. The first two parts of the book serve as a warning of what can happen if we stay on the path of self-destruction.

            Even though I do not know much about politics, Atlas Shrugged showed me what policies such as Obamacare could do to us. After reading the book, I realized that Obama is just like the “men in Washington” who give false promises, give free hand outs, and punish those who are successful and work hard for the items they have. At times I did not want to believe that this could actually be happening to the United States, the land of democracy and freedom, but I realized that our freedom is restricted even more each day. We value those who have great minds but at the same time we envy them and shun them. Those who are successful in our world are the ones who make the most money, but what about those who are successful in other ways? We do not seem to care much about the ones who have an IQ of 130 or above. They are too advanced for us to understand. Ayn Rand points out that the key to having a stable nation is to accept everyone but not treat everyone as equals because in reality, no one is truly equal no matter how many times we tell ourselves that we are.

            Dagny kept talking about this world that she always thought she would end up in. That world failed to exist in the first two parts. A world where success is valued and not punished or where the looters loose.  Her dream was a constant reminder to her that those men in Washington were not protecting the public but protecting themselves. It made her strive even harder to prove them wrong. Her determination and hope that someday she will be praised for her achievements is what fueled her. In part three, Dagny is finally brought to her paradise. As she was exploring the valley, it reminded me a little bit of the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy goes to the city of Oz where everything seems perfect, as if it was a dream. Dagny finds it hard at first to accept that this is reality and that every man who has quit and vanished are now standing in front of her.  After the crash, she is greeted my man who shows no sign of guilt, pain, or struggle. To her, he is the perfect man. The man who has no burden. It did not seem possible that Dagny survived the crash and that the heat waves were reflecting the valley over the mountain tops. The valley did not seem possible.

            “This is John Galt speaking. I am the man who loves his life. I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values. I am the man who has deprived you of victims and thus destroyed your world…”  (pg. 923) Galt is the man who has stopped the motor of the world. At first, when the tramp speaks about a young man who plans to stop this motor, I thought he would be destroying every big business that has contributed to society. This was not the case. He has destroyed the world by taking away the intellects, the innovators, the ones who work hard. He took away the brain. The motor the Galt described while working for Twentieth Century Motor Company was the brain. It was not materialistic. It proved that the world would mean nothing without knowledge and the success one achieved out of that knowledge. Galt has taken away everything the public believes is evil. Instead of addressing an audience, he is “addressing a mind.”

            As Galt first started speaking, the only people who knew his voice were Dr. Stadler, Dagny, and Eddie. Half way through the speech, I realized how Eddie knew Galt. Eddie had been speaking to a man whose face showed no lines of stress, guilt, or pain. He always seemed relaxed but always wanted to know more about Dagny, which I had always thought was strange. I made the connection. John was the man in the cafeteria. He was also the man who stood outside of Taggart Transcontinental pacing back and forth, watching her.  He was the destroyer, the one who has freed the nation of those they hate but do not want to loose. He has taken away the world’s key to growth. He is John Galt.