Whatever their future, at the dawn of their lives, men seek a noble vision of mans nature and lifes

potential. Ayn Rand Ayn Rands, fountainhead, is based upon her philosophy called ob ectivism. !n order to understand much of the dialo"ue in the book, one must understand the central ideas of ob ectivism. #b ectivism presents us with two types of people$ creators, and second%handers. &oth "roups are motivated by their virtues to become "reat. 'he difference between these two "roups lies in their vision of what is "reat and what is virtuous. (reators are those, whom contribute most to the "rowth of the world, they are the first to accomplish that which others could not even ima"ine. (reators, create for there own satisfaction) they create thin"s in there own vision of what is "ood. (reators are motivated by selfishness and reason) they do only lo"ical thin"s for their own benefit. 'hese same men are always persecuted by those people to whom they "ive their creations) these persecutors are the second%handers. *econd%handers thrive on what the creators "ive them. 'here whole bein" is devoted to others$ they live off others opinions, ud"ments, and creations. 'he second%handers do what they are told) they are what they are "iven. 'he reason second%handers persecute creators is because the creators challen"e their way of life. *econd%handers are used to livin" in others, and creators dont allow anyone to live within them) creators allow only their own desires and lo"ic to live within them. (reators place their e"o at the center of their e+istence and keep their work for themselves, this selfishness is contrary to the classical virtues of

the second%handers. *econd%handers have been tau"ht to be selfless throu"hout their lives, and share everythin" they have, most dan"erously even their soul. 'hrou"hout 'he ,ountainhead, Rand refers to mans soul. -very person, is dominated, by their soul) their central idea. A soul is composed of mans e"o and reason. When a man creates somethin" .When Rand refers to man she is referrin" to the perfect man, 'he ,ountainhead is a book devoted to paintin" a picture of the perfect man. /oward Roark is the embodiment of the perfect man, as well as the creator.0 he does it as an act of virtue, to benefit himself, to satisfy his selfishness) which is mans prime virtue and ri"ht from birth. (reators use reason to solve problems and achieve "reatness) a creators work is a direct product of his soul. *econd%handers do not use reason to solve problems, but a set of predetermined virtues, presented to them by others throu"h tradition. 'hey solve problems, by others methods, and not their own reason. *econd%handers work is not a product of their soul, but a product of a collective soul, everyone elses virtues, and opinions. 'his collective soul, restricts work to followin" the creators of the past, and takes away from the works central idea, allowin" it to have only a weak soul, and a limited beauty. 1iven that reason and e"o make up a mans soul, when second%handers work without reason, and work for others benefit, they forsake their soul. !n chapter 2 of part 3, 4eter 5eatin" .4eter 5eatin" is the embodiment of the second hander, and is primary source of contrast for Roark as a creator.0 comes to /oward Roark for help desi"nin" (ortland, keatin" pleads$ /oward anythin" you ask. Anythin". !d sell my soul6 Roark replies, 'o sell your soul is the easiest thin" in the world. 'hats what everybody does every hour of his life. !f ! asked you to keep your

soul would you understand why thats much harder7 'his raises the 8uestion$ what does it mean to sell your soul7 !n order to understand this plea one must understand, that /oward Roark, is the embodiment of the perfect man, he is a creator, and he has achieved "reatness. 4eter 5eatin", is a second hander, and despite his fame in others eyes for a short period of his life, he has never been able to achieve "reatness, because he has never received it. /is whole life, 5eatin", like all second handers, has sold his soul. /e has "iven others what they have told him is "reat. 5eatin" has lived to serve others, and his work is not his, but the work of the rest of the world, he has done their work, for their praise. !n desi"nin" a buildin", Roark approaches the task as a problem, in which reason can be applied to make it the ri"ht buildin" for the ri"ht purpose) all workin" towards a central idea that he has created. When 5eatin" desi"ns a buildin", he follows the hand of the public, and does not use reason, but what he is told to use, reason is not 8uestioned. 'his abandonment of reason, is mans "reatest downfall. When Roark says everybody sells his soul every hour of his life, he is talkin" about how people have forsaken there consciousness, reason, and inte"rity, for somethin" in e+chan"e. When people forsake their soul, what do they do it for7 4eople do it for "reatness. 'he everyone that Roark is referrin" to is, the second%handers) they sell their work, their soul, and their inte"rity for the publics reco"nition. 'he second%handers sell their soul for "reatness in others eyes. Roark reco"ni9es that this is not "reatness, but a flawed idea of "reatness. Roark says that this is actually a much easier road, than keepin" your soul. 'his is evident throu"hout the book, as Roark passes up opportunities$ to accell in other eyes, to money, to fame, and to bein" liked

and appreciated. All of these are opportunities that the rest of us, as humans, would turn down with lots of reluctance, if this is a challen"eable idea, look only at your own life, and think of what you would do in such situations, and the difficulty associated with turnin" down such opportunities. Roark turns down such opportunities in order to preserve, his inte"rity, his reason, and conse8uently his soul. :espite the second%handers appearant loss of hope, in seekin" "reat by sellin" their souls, we can still find hope in their actions. -ven after bein" clouded by visions of what is virtuous and "reat, they still have their desire to achieve "reatness. 'his small act of selfishness is human nature, and is the motivation which allows us to achieve noble vision to which Rand says all humans seek from birth. 'his search for "reatness, is part of human nature, and will always be found in the human soul, as lon" as we live. 'his selfishness and desire to become "reat, is what builds$ a "reat man, a "reat society, and a "reat country.