Dagny Taggart's Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged is a really odd novel that takes place in a dystopian United States somewhere in the future. The book gives off a very negative feel as though nothing in the world is quite right. Businesses have closed; men are out of work it’s as if the great depression has hit all over again. In fact other countries have turned into Socialist states causing them to go bankrupt; all the talented men in the world have started to disappear as well for an unexplained reason. The main character of the book is Dagny Taggart she is a vice president for the Taggart Railroad, she wants to rebuild the Rio Norte Line which is falling apart, its importance is that it brings oil from Elilis Wyatt's fields to Colorado. Dagny wants to replace the rails with …show more content…
Taggart's company has an even larger issue when one of their railroads called San Sebastian turns out to be completely worthless, even to the point of the Mexican government nationalizing it, Ha! The line was a risk taken by Francisco d'Anoconia (that’s a mouthful) who seems to have taken this venture the wrong way, almost as if intentionally (hmmm). Dagny's brother tries to save face by influencing a vote being held by the National Alliance of Railroads. Naturally this goes his way and he puts his biggest competitor out of business, buying him some …show more content…
She is told she either needs to stay or go back to the world. Dagny is determined to make her railroad work and so she heads back along with Galt who wants to be there when she gives up. When she gets back she finds out that the government owns the railroads and they want her to give a reassuring speech, if she doesn’t they will leak her affair with Rearden. On the airwaves she announces she had an affair with Rearden and that he only gave his metal due to black mail, before she is cut off she warns the American people to distrust their government. Many businessmen destroy all of their assets to prevent the leeches those people that live off of all of us productive ones from getting anything. The world is pretty much in chaos at this point. The government tries unsuccessfully to remove Rearden from power and they succeed anyway as Rearden has had enough and goes on strike. When the head of state tries to address the country he is cut off by the same motor that Dagnys wanted to build, and Galt addresses the nation. He says that until all of the people on strike have the right to live their own life then and only then will they return. Dagny goes to see Galt and the governments men follow her and capture him. They then attempt to "convince" him to take over and bring all of the strikers back to save the country. Dagny, Fransisco, and Rearden go to rescue Galt; once