Similarities Between Roark And Toohey

From the time that the character of Ellsworth Toohey is introduced in detail and supersedes Peter Keating as the main antagonist in the novel, it becomes apparent that he and Roark are antipodes to each other. Each man’s moral code rests on completely opposite foundations. Toohey relies on and embodies altruism and second-hand living. He glorifies mediocrity, underachievement, and the meanest accomplishments of the most incompetent individuals in ways that surpass even Gail Wynand’s abominable New York Banner. Roark, on the other hand, personifies all that is competent, self-sufficient, and able; he is Rand’s ideal individual. As such, he doesn’t concern himself with others. Toohey bases his entire existence on others; without the masses, …show more content…
When he points out the fact that they’re alone, he reveals his dependence on his surroundings by even considering company as a factor that Roark would consider in answering his query. For Roark, the idea that he would account for his social environment is alien. His surroundings mean nothing in relation to how he conducts himself. His speech to the jury in the Cortlandt case could have been a conversation with Henry Cameron, Steven Mallory or Dominique. His conduct in the Stoddard Temple trial was legal suicide in that situation, but that didn’t affect his desire to do it. Throughout the novel, Howard Roark was Howard Roark whether he was in a granite quarry or in the executive office of the most powerful newspaper in the world. He doesn’t think of anyone around him when he considers his actions, just as he doesn’t think of anyone or anything that he doesn’t wish to. The unwritten (or unsaid) follow up to “I don’t think of you,” is, “Why would I?” He’s too busy fulfilling himself and his own goals to concern himself with others. This is a large part of the irony of The Fountainhead and this contest; the novel’s protagonist would not read it nor would he write and submit an essay on it. If Ayn Rand just walked up to her protagonist and asked him what he thought of her, his answer would be the same as it was for Ellsworth Toohey, not through any sort of …show more content…
Both the real world and the world of The Fountainhead hold up selflessness, compromise, and sacrifice as virtues to end all virtues, and attack anything in opposition to these principles with ferocity. A truly selfish person is nothing like the traditional meaning of the word. An objectivist would say that becoming truly selfish is the ultimate triumph over the forces of collectivism and to some extent our own natures. Others, such as Toohey, find it far more despicable to be truly selfish than to be the misused stereotype that we often associate with the word (ex. Gail Wynand.) To men like Toohey, and to most people in both Rand’s fictional world and in ours, find it far more offensive to not be considered worth thought than to be insulted in the traditional sense. A second hander relies on others, and by doing that, places themselves in possession of someone else. Obviously, they would rather be thought of highly than insulted; however, disregard is the most offensive thing that they can imagine. When one truly doesn’t think of them, it doesn’t allow their way of life. A second hander can deal with someone not liking them; they can’t handle someone who doesn’t bear them even the compliment of consideration. Not thinking of them not only disallows their way of life by preventing their parasitical practice of living through others, it