What if exactly the same question uttered by Francisco d’ Anconia during one of his conversations with Hank Rearden was thrown at you, right at this very moment? What would you say? What do you think Atlas would do? This is the main dilemma in Ayn Rand’s magnus opus, Atlas Shrugged, her last, longest, and most philosophically profound book. It has been in circulation since the late 1950s and is greatly considered as a modern classic. The book took 14 years to make before proving its merit and grand contribution to literature.
How this book came into my hand was more of a natural occurrence than a mishap of events or a mere curiosity of the mind. I have only known Ayn Rand through word of mouth and occasional mentioning during my undergraduate years in college. My knowledge on Rand and her philosophy was superficial for I merely was acquainted with her by name. I had not read any of her works, by chance or by intention. I had come across her books whenever I went to the bookstores but often ignored them for some strange reasons.
How do I convince myself to read a book that is 1,000+ pages long and has an odd title and a glum image for a cover? How do I persuade myself to read a book that would give me little room for sleeping and socializing?
I was itching to buy an Ayn Rand book but I wasn’t ready at that time. I believe that Atlas Shrugged entails some exclusivity. Not everyone can just grab it, sit down and read it. In a personified consideration, I would say, this book chooses a particular audience.
One time a friend gave me a hand-me-down copy of The Fountainhead as a Christmas gift. Astounded by the fact that I was holding a copy of Rand’s work, I immediately put it on my priority list. Unbelievably, I finished it in five seatings. This wasn’t my fastest reading record but considering I was taking down notes while reading it, it was a feat to say the least. After that, my fascination for Rand’s works grew. After finishing it, all I ever wanted to do was to start on her next book. This time I knew it would never be an easy task for I had to deal with a much hefty book. I have read quite a few of her novels, but Atlas Shrugged is the most intense, compelling, satisfying and well-presented book I have ever read. Some people find it contrived, manipulative, intimidating, and surprisingly boring but in my own, humble opinion, I considered it the most powerful set of words ever put together i.e., the best influential novel I have ever read.
Although a work of fiction, Atlas Shrugged was based and built on the philosophy of objectivism, which Rand also founded. The philosophy of objectivism looks at man as a heroic being with his own happiness as moral purpose of his life, productive achievement as his noblest activity and reason as his only absolute. Objectivism defines the abstract principles and the ideologies that dominate in the world today like collectivism, altruism, and mysticism.
The plot of Atlas Shrugged is framed to be mysterious or "questionable in every sort of way" as my co-Rand fanatic used to say. The first few chapters build up questions inside your head that all you ever want to do is to turn the pages as fast as you could and know the answers. Every new stir of event brings questions and as a reader you’re a helpless hostage.
John Galt is Rand’s grand epitome of the "heroic man" and the mysterious figure in Atlas Shrugged. In the beginning of the book, Galt was merely a part of a rhetorical question that people habitually utter in their state of hopelessness and futility. Although his existence becomes evident only in the third part of the book, his essence and spirit is embedded from start to finish, vividly threading every character into one big suite.
Galt is the man who promised to stop the motor of the world and the man who loves life and won’t sacrifice his love or his values for others’ sake. His supremacy as the man of reason is evident in these lines: "I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man nor ask another man to live for mine."
Dagny Taggart is the main protagonist of the story and Galt’s counterpart. In a nutshell, she is the embodiment of what every woman wants to be – brilliant, independent, and with a natural passion for creation and achievement. She is the vice president for operations of Taggart Transcontinental railroad, a company that is dominated by men. I considered Dagny as a my personal model of the woman I wanted to be. It wasn’t just her being strong and independent that struck me, but her determination and firm stand amidst opposing powers that are obviously much stronger than her. Such trait was specifically manifested during her numerous arguments and repartees with the looters and even her overpowering grit to destroy John Galt.
Other important characters in the novel equate power and influence that are intoxicatingly overwhelming in the world of business and elitism. There’s Hank Rearden, founder and president of Rearden Steel and America’s greatest industrialist; Francisco d’ Anconia, heir to a huge copper-mining fortune; and Ellis Wyatt, an oil tycoon. Rand referred to them as the Atlas of the World, the prime movers who would go on strike against martyrdom and the moral code that demands it. These characters are joined by the leading scientists and artists like Hugh Akston, a one-time philosophy professor at the Patrick Henry, university and teacher of reason. His three brilliant students are John Galt, Francisco d’ Anconia, and Ragnar Danneskjold, an aristocrat who chose to become a pirate to show the world that brute physical force can never defeat power compelled by sharp-witted mind. The rundown of characters may seem endless and some of them may not even leave a mark in your head but they would definitely help you identify their significant roles in today’s society.
Aside from the massive casting of characters, which were brilliantly developed, the book has a different twinge of style in its storytelling. The elaborate foretelling, the foreshadowing and even the choice of words are simply astounding that boredom never did once cross my otherwise, impatient mind. The bulkiness of Atlas Shrugged is simplified in John Galt’s 50-page speech found at the latter portion of the book, which if spoken would last to about three hours or more. Galt’s speech is the heart of Atlas Shrugged. The sheer bulk is intimidating but after reading this book I have learned to outgrow my impatience and started enjoying every turn of page. It even came as a surprise to me that when reading the last portion of the book, all I wanted to do was to read another hulking books and learn more about the philosophy of Rand. My life is greatly influenced by Atlas Shrugged but I could never be John Galt no matter how I tried.
Although I am trying to apply Rand’s philosophy of objectivism, I know I still have a lot of guts to summon and a lot of lot reading to do before I could fully grasp and understand its essentiality. Nevertheless, Atlas Shrugged will forever be an influential book to me.
It takes a minute or two to like a book but to like it and have your life be greatly influenced by it takes a little longer. This book did that to me.