The Fountainhead
by Ayn Rand
by Ayn Rand
"What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world,
and lose his own soul?"
DIRECTIONS: By Monday, 3/9, read Part II (p. 201-390) and answer on your blog page in two-three paragraph responses at least five of the following questions.
1.) At the granite quarry, Dominique is deeply attracted to the red-headed worker who stares at her insolently. She pursues him aggressively, but resists him in the moment of her triumph. Given that Dominique is eager to make love to Roark, why does she physically resist? Ayn Rand once stated regarding this scene that, if it is rape, “ then it is rape by engraved invitation.” What does she mean? Is this actually rape, i.e., is Dominique an unwilling victim?
2.) Though strongly attracted to Roark, Dominique both pursues and fights him. Is this inner conflict regarding her love representative of some deeper aspect of her character? How does this ambivalence relate to her destruction of the Greek statuette that she loves? To joining forces with Ellsworth Toohey in an effort to wreck Roark’s career? To refusing to pursue a serious career in spite of her great intelligence? Are Dominique’s motives for thwarting Roark the same as Toohey’s?
3.) At this point of Roark’s career he is hired by Roger Enright, Anthony Cord and Kent Lansing to construct major buildings. What kind of men are Enright, Cord and Lansing? Do they share some fundamental characteristic in common with each other and with Austen Heller? What does Lansing mean when he tells Roark that “ the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line--it’s a middleman?"
4.) At Kiki Holcolmbe’s party, Keating gives advice to Roark. He says: “ Always be what people want you to be.” What is the meaning of such a statement? Why does Keating believe this? What does such an approach to life reveal about the soul of Keating and of people like him?
5.) At the same party, Dominique thinks of Roark’s as “ the face of a god.” What is she responding to in Roark? In seeing such beauty in Roark’s face, an evaluation not shared by the rest of society, what does Dominique reveal about her own soul?
6.) Dominique begins to write about Roark’s buildings in her column. She words them in such a way as to give the appearance of criticism while actually offering extravagant praise. Why does she hope that Roark’s buildings will be destroyed in a future air raid? What is her view of human society, and of the possibility of great men succeeding in it?
7.) Toohey convinces Hopton Stoddard to hire Roark to build the Stoddard Temple. What is Toohey’s purpose? Why does he seek to brand Roark an enemy of religion? What is Toohey’s deeper reason for attempting to end Roark’s career?
8.) Though Dominique testifies for the plaintiff at the Stoddard Temple trial, she praises the building and criticizes both Toohey and society. Why does she want the building torn down? How do her motives differ from Toohey’s? In what way is the trial Dominique’s worst nightmare come true?
9.) Roark hires Mallory to do the sculpture for the Temple, but Mallory, despite his youth, is already bitter and disillusioned. What is the cause of Mallory’s nascent cynicism? What does Roark do that helps Mallory overcome his disillusionment? Are there similarities between Mallory’s early career and the life of Henry Cameron?
10.) After the trial, Dominique accepts Keating’s earlier proposal and marries him. Given her undying love for the integrity of Roark’s buildings and person, and her recognition that Keating is the antithesis of everything she reveres, it is appropriate to ask what Dominique seeks in such a marriage. For what purpose does she marry the man she considers society’s most despicable representative?
11.) At the end of Part Two, Roark’s career is again at low ebb and it appears that Toohey’s scheming has been successful. Toohey seeks him out to ask what Roark thinks of him. What does this question reveal about Toohey’s soul? Roark answers in simple honesty that he does not think of him. What does such an answer reveal about Roark’s soul? These two characters represent the fundamental antipodes in the universe of the novel. What is the primary difference between them?
