Questions tagged [the-fountainhead]
For questions related to "The Fountainhead", a novel by Ayn Rand. Use together with the [ayn-rand] tag.
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Was Austen Heller's name inspired by Henry W. Austin?
It's no secret that Howard Roark was loosely inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright.
Interestingly enough, on a recent tour of Frank Lloyd Wright houses in Oak Park, IL, I encountered a park named after Henry ...
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What attracted Howard Roark to Dominique in The Fountainhead?
I can understand why Dominique was ultimately attracted to him. He really was the "Superman" she wanted, although it took her almost the whole novel to realize it.
But Dominique disdained Roark for ...
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Did Howard Roark contradict Henry Rearden on the purpose of work?
And Rearden said the following at his trial for the illegal sale of metal:
“You pose as a champion of freedom, but it’s only the freedom to make money that you’re after.”
“Yes, of course. All I want ...
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Why did Ellsworth Toohey advise people against doing what they really wanted when he was a career advisor?
Prior to his job on The Banner, Ellsworth Toohey spent awhile as a career advisor at a college. One of his distinctive traits as a career advisor was that he usually advised people against doing what ...
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How did Guy Francon feel about the decline of his (former) firm after his retirement?
After he developed a number of highly successful buildings, Guy Francon was established enough in his reputation that he no longer had to do much actual design work on his own. Peter Keating privately ...
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Why did Henry Cameron tell Roark that it was all worth it?
At one point, Henry Cameron tried to fire Howard Roark and get him to quit architecture because he knew what kind of a struggle Howard would have later. However, towards the end of his life he told ...
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Why did Henry Cameron say that Howard would have to fight Gail Wynand?
Towards the end of his life, Henry Cameron told Howard Roark that he didn't hate anyone anymore, just Gail Wynand because he represented "the triumph of overbearing vulgarity." He told Howard that he'...
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How expensive was electricity during The Fountainhead?
When Henry Cameron and Howard Roark were struggling to keep the office open, they had a number of failed bids. They were paid a modest sum for the proposals themselves, but apparently the fee didn't ...
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Why did Ellsworth Toohey ignore Peter Keating's confession?
When Elsworth Toohey and Peter Keating were arguing about Cortland and Toohey was trying to force Keating to admit that Howard Roark had designed the whole thing, they had the following exchange:
"...
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Does Gail Wynand imply that he's going to kill himself at the end of The Fountainhead?
When he met with Roark about the Wynand Building, Gail Wynand repeatedly spoke of his death as if it were imminent, and his life as if it were essentially over at that point. For example:
I told ...
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Why wouldn't Guy Francon testify against Howard Roark?
In her testimony at the lawsuit over the Stoddard Temple, Dominique Francon mentioned that her father had refused to testify against Roark and that he thought that they "weren't behaving like ...
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Why were Ellsworth Toohey and Peter Keating so afraid of the identity of Ellsworth Toohey's assailant?
Shortly after he lost a commission on the Cosmo-Slotnick Building, sculpture Steven Mallory took a shot at Ellsworth Toohey as he was getting out of his car to deliver a radio address (which missed by ...
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Was Ellsworth Toohey's public speaking style modeled after Harold Laski?
The first time that Peater Keating hears Ellsworth Toohey speak, it's described as follows:
It was not a voice, it was a miracle. It unrolled as a velvet banner. It spoke English words, but the ...
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Is Ellsworth Toohey just giving the same speech over and over again?
In a labor meeting, Ellsworth Toohey said the following:
"... and so, my friends," the voice was saying, "the lesson to be learned from our tragic struggle is the lesson of unity. We shall unite or ...
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Why were Howard Roark and John Galt both from Ohio?
Why were John Galt and Howard Roark both from Ohio? Was Ayn Rand making a deliberate parallel here, and why Ohio in particular?
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Why did people feel like Howard Roark didn't see them?
Shortly after he was expelled from the Stanton Institute of Technology, Hoard Roark has the following encounter with Mrs. Keating:
He stood looking at her. She knew that he did not see her. No, she ...
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Isn't Ayn Rand a bit irrational in her criticism of altrusim in The Fountainhead?
In the speech of Howard Roark, or at most places in the book, altruists are shown to be in negative light/evil. But this criticism seems to constructed by deliberately painting such characters as evil....
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What is the historical basis for Roark's claim about the Parthenon?
From Chapter 1, p. 23 of The Fountainhead:
"Why do you want me to think that this is great architecture?" He pointed to the picture of the Parthenon.
"That," said the Dean, "is the Parthenon!"
"...