Power Of Individualism In The Fountainhead By Ayn Rand

As children living in this American society, we are often taught to “stand up for what we believe in” and to “do what makes us happy”, and then we grow up as individuals that are contributing to a collaborative society, but what would it be like to take these individual ideas to the extreme? What would happen to our society if there was not collaboration at all if we simply lived for the sake of ourselves? In the Novel “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand, Rand expresses her views on the power of individualism. Rand believes that in order to reach true happiness, one must be devoted to only themselves, and work to find their own happiness in the world no matter what those means are. Although this idea may sound great, there are both positive points …show more content…
Roark proves that he is living for the sake of himself when he decides to go a work for Henry Cameron, a modernist architect like Roark who is running a failing architectural company due to the unpopularity and impracticality of modern style buildings. Roark did not want to become and Architect because he wanted to be famous or wealthy, but because it is something that makes him happy. He knew that he would not get many commissions if he went to work for Cameron, but he wanted to learn more about how to be a modernist architect from a man who has been working to overcome the popularity of the generic office building for a long time. Although there are a lot of positive things that could come out of working for the sake of being happiness, it also will also make it difficult survive in a world that thrives on monetary value. After Roark is hired by Erick Snyte to be the “Modernist” designer in his team of architects, he proves his extreme selfishness after throwing a fit when Snyte destroys his building design by adding other features from other building designs to the façade, completely “destroying” the beauty of the collectivism of the team. Roark is a staunch individualist, …show more content…
Dominique meets Roark and is immediately pleased by his self-righteous and cold demeanor, and she begins to write badly about all of Roark’s buildings because she believes that incredible art that Roark is creating is not ready to be embraced by the world. Dominique works for a newspaper company called The Banner, which is a tabloid magazine in the heart of New York City. In the order for the papers to sell, Dominique must be able to write an article that will please the audience, making her the servant to the customers of the paper. However, while writing these ruthless opinions about Roark, she is also getting Roark’s attention, because of the way that she is twisting her words. Dominique is making herself happy, but still pleasing others, which is soothing that she has never done before. . Dominique marries Peter Keating and then Gail Wynand because she does not want to be happy in a world that does not recognize how beautiful Roark’s mind and architectural designs are. Dominique is beginning to start living for the sake of herself which makes her happy, but she is not with Roark. Through her actions, she proves that she is not ready to be with Roark because she has not learned how to be an individual and live for the sake of her own happiness. This is a pivotal part of Dominique’s transformation into an