Individualism versus Collectivism in The Fountainhead Essay example --

Individualism versus Collectivism in The Fountainhead The theme of The Fountainhead as stated by its author, Ayn Rand, is individualization versus collectivism, not in politics, but in mans soul. Three major characters avail as types for the noble, contemptible, and parasitic in this comparison. Howard Roark is an architect who serves as Rands model for individualism to the extent that he is willing to give oneself up everything he has in order to retain his status as an individual. Ellsworth Monkton Toohey is a charismatic genius who uses his knowledge of human nature and collectivism to garble and control the masses, who hang on his every word. Peter Keating is an ambitious unfledged man who is in all actuality exactly what the public says he is he reaps the benefits--and the curses--of collectivism in his rise to and fall from the top. The actions and motives of these tierce men serve as a means of bringing the two concepts in straits to life for the readers of The Fountainhead. Howard Roark summarizes his philosophy of existence when, in the course of a royal court speech, he states I came here to say that I do not recognize anyones right to one minute of my life.(1) Roark spirits buildings for a living, or more(prenominal) accurately, he lives to design buildings. He sees his clients as a secondary--albeit necessary--element of his profession. When someone asks him to design a building, he rents only the basic requirements and funds for the project he designs the structure to make optimum use of the building materials and construction site. He will agree to no suggestions or modifications he builds for himself only, and his clients may accept it as they accept him, or reject it in much the same... ...ions of three distinct philosophies. Roark is the individualist--the man who will not borrow his life from others he is the man who will give all he has to preserve the original purity of his soul. Toohey is the propagat or and employer of collectivism, the voice of the people, the enemy of the individual and everything it stands for. There is no Peter Keating--the name represents the shell of a man who is shaped and tell by society and its caprices. Peter Keating is collectivism incarnate. It is through the concrete photo of each of these men that the reader is able to grasp the meaning of individualism and collectivism, and their effect on mankind. 1. The Fountainhead, 50th Anniversary Edition (Penguin Books), page 686, course of study 3. 2. ib. page 640, line 7. 3. ibid. page 640, line 22. 4. ibid. page 637, line 6.