Individualism In Any Rand's The Fountainhead

To Stand Idle and Watch Your Life Pass By, or Make a Change for the Better The quote from Colin Wilson, "The average man is a conformist, accepting miseries and disasters with the stoicism of a cow standing in the rain," relates to how people live their lives and what they do to make change for the better or sit idle while the world passes you by. The Fountainhead is the story of a corrupt world where each member of society tries to climb to the top while fighting against everyone else. It is a story of the American Dream, individualism. One of the characters the is fighting against society to make his mark on the world is Howard Roark. Howard Roark is a young architect whose ideas are modern and abstract compared to those of his time, therefore, …show more content…
In Any Rand's novel, Roark is a selfish, egotistical person who does only what he wants and listens entirely to himself. In this particular text, selfishness is not bad because the individual must go up against society somehow. His egotistical characteristic isn't bad either because he is only worried about himself and his own work, making it easier for him to ignore the outside world which is full of hate and is content. His work and designs are part of his ego, and he cares very much for architecture, therefore, he is like a selfish child who does not want a change in their daily routine, he does not want any change in his designs. So to stay true to himself and his ego I architecture, Roark destroyed Cortlandt …show more content…
It is a story of the American dream, individualism. On of the characters that is fighting against society to make his mark on the world is Howard Roark. Howard Roark is a young architect whose ideas are modern and abstract compared to those of his time, therefore, they are rejected and he is looked down upon by those in the building business. His mentor, Henry Cameron, warned Roark that the world would never accept him because of his brilliant and unique ideas. All along, Roark had been designing projects that he knew weren't going to be built exactly how he wanted them to be, and even when he had his own commissions, Roark always met the point where his clients usually wished to change something about his original designs. Even those who dominate society are second-handers because they depend on the failure of others to get to the top. Roark is not a second-hander because he only relies on himself and his own work that is done the way he wants it to lead him to success. But even though Roark tries to succeed, he is shot down time and time again because society is not yet ready to accept his modern and unique designs. Howard Roark's moral and p philosophical reasoning for destroying Cortlandt Homes has to deal with the fight to the top though society and its pessimistic