Response

            Up to the reading passage this week, the book has been very realistic. However, the addition of John Galt as a character into the book has really changed my perception. To me, it is very impractical and unrealistic that after everything that has been said and done about a supposed man that he is a real human. No one knew who he was yet everyone used him as an example in a situation. Additionally, the fact that him and Dagny meet after her naming her railroad after him was very unbelievable.

            However, I think that even though it was unrealistic it was a very good plot twist by Raynd, especially due to the fact that they meet after being in an airplane accident. The fact that she discovers that he is the one person that she has been searching for because he created the motor was a very good point that added to the admiration that Dagny is going to have for him.

            The utopian society that is described after the plane crash is amazing. The fact that all of the great thinkers in the world that have had issues with government disappear and go to one place is truly mind blowing. The ability of these people to create a whole new society where everything is self sufficient and sustainable truly adds us knowing the abilities of these great thinkers.

            To me, the most interesting point of this whole passage is what Galt says and describes to Dagny. When entering the new village that is formed he briefly describes how everyone in the society is on strike. He also says that every man who has never been on strike has the weight of the world on his shoulders. I particularly liked this because of its relation to the title and the overall theme of the novel. You cannot rely on one person or one body of people to control society as a whole. In this case, it is the government and Wesley Mouch’s board. They think that they can hold the whole world on their shoulders. Sometimes you just need to shrug and let others do some of the work.