I slogged through Atlas Shrugged, but I gave up a quarter way through and skipped her long diatribes that pushed her philosopy and mostly stuck to the story.
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I slogged through Atlas Shrugged, but I gave up a quarter way through and skipped her long diatribes that pushed her philosopy and mostly stuck to the story.
Out of all of her books ive only read Anthem and The Fountainhead. If you want a quickie read Anthem but if you want the long and hard of it The Fountainhead. It is actually a really good book even tho it takes about forever to read it.
I found it much easier to look up her philosophy, Objectivism, poke holes through it (its easy enough) and then move on to something harder.
true it may have been easier to look up her philosophy and skim through it, but then that takes away from the challenge of reading her writings and truely understanding what she has to say. because no matter where you look up Objectivism its all going to point to the same definition, but by reading her writings you will get her philosophy as well as how she expresses her thoughts about it and such. as for the original question in this thread, I read "The Fountainhead" this year as a juinor in high school and i absolutely loved it. the reading may seem boring to some but it is all based on your comprehension level and i think, attention span.Quote:
Originally Posted by Countess
oh yeah i almost forgot ther is a ten thousand dollar prize for writing an essay on the fountainhead if you are a senior and another essay comp for juniors for reading anthem i think... so yeah just find the ayn rand institute web site and im sure it is ther
I adore the Fountainhead, although it is the only one of hers I've read. I'm shocked that some of you dismiss her work so lightly. I think she raises some very interesting points. In fact, after never having a "favourite" book, after I read the Fountainhead I decided this book was it.
I'm curious as to what holes you find in Objectivism. All it is basically saying is that each person should be free to do whatever they feel is right for them, so long as it doesn't have a negative affect on another. I don't really see what's so bad about that.Quote:
Originally Posted by Countess
I've read The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. As works of literature, I don't think there is much to commend in Ayn Rand's writing as her characters tend to be uni-dimensional and the plot is rather unrealistic...only serving to 'prove' her philosophy. But when I first read the Fountainhead, it did have a strong impact, though now, there is much that I don't agree with. The core of Atlas Shrugged is almost similar and would have been greatly helped if it had been (much) shorter. If you should choose to read Ayn Rand, I would recommend The Fountainhead or one of the other shorter works.
FWIW, I agree with Rand 100% on the above. Each person can do only what is right for his and herself; look after yourself, do not live for the sake of another (except insofar as this helps you look after yourself), and do not expect others to live for your sake. Accept personal responsibility for yourself and your destiny.Quote:
Originally Posted by Hazel-Ra
However I take a right turn at the point where Rand claims that the direct result of this premise is pure unabashed laissez-faire capitalism. The capitalist Utopia named "Galt's Gulch" described in Rand's "Atlas Shrugged" could just as well have been a commune, given that all of the parasites and "rotters" had been excluded.
I agree with Rand's premise. I don't agree with her conclusion.
Try We the Living.
I read a speech that Rand made, I think it was to West Point graduates, and I couldn't stand it. I found her to be condescending and her ideas hard to agree with. I've never read any of her books because of this, but maybe I shouldn't judge a writer by her speeches.
I just saw an episode of South Park where officer Barbrady is tricked into admitting he can't read by a sex criminal librarian. Barbrady learns to read, loves it, and goes on to crack the case. At what you think is the end, the criminal gives him a copy of Atlas Shrugged, followed by credits. The show starts up again so he can announce publicly that the book has convinced him that reading is, after all, a complete waste of time.
I'd recommend "We the Living." It's her only novel that's not completely about Objectivism--it's more focused on trashing an ideology (communism/fascism) than advocating her own.
We the Living is also her first novel.
I read once, somewhere, that Atlas Shrugged was second to the Bible as being the most influencial book. For what that's worth...
I noticed that there are no current threads on any of Ayn Rand's stuff or anything.
I'm just wondering does no body like her or something?
If anyone has an interest in her or her philosophy please discuss it, I would love to hear others opinions on her.
There are actually quite a few. Perhaps you can try searching the Forums for Ayn Rand.