The Importance Of Quests In Howard Roark's

While Ellsworth Toohey and Gail Wynand crossed paths in their quest for power, both their humble beginnings and their motivations for the power they achieved differed. Before comparing these goals to Howard Roark’s, it is essential to detail what exactly these quests consisted of. Ellsworth’s story begins early in his childhood, in an anecdote where he turned the hose on Johnny Stokes when he was seven years old. He received no repercussions for this incident because of his generally poor health and fragile body structure. According to other spectators, “it seemed wrong to chastise a boy who had sacrificed himself to avenge injustice, and done it bravely...ignoring his own physical weakness; somehow, he looked like a martyr” (294). This attitude towards Ellsworth carried well throughout his life and the remainder of the novel. Most of all, his appearance to those bystanders as a martyr foreshadows the altruism that he claims to stand for and reflects the power that he wields later on. Ellsworth also demonstrated an air of confidence in support of his own attributes, along with contempt of what he was unable to achieve or qualities of those he already despised. Paired with a gift for eloquent speaking, he was able …show more content…
Along with this, Gail sought to tear down the people who threatened him most throughout his life, while Ellsworth helped others rise to the top, simultaneously breaking them in the process. Ellsworth wore a benevolent facade to help even the most incapable individuals reach unknown heights of achievement to leave them lost and crumbling without his presence. Gail, however, never hid the often malicious intentions of his writings and held on as long as possible to justify the means he executed for the ends he met leading the