Howard Roark

My Favourite Character
and
Is it possible to be like Howard Roark ?



“I don’t wish to be the symbol for anything. I’m only myself.”
~Howard Roark
“The Fountainhead”

Ayn Rand’s “The Fountainhead” which was published in 1943 had a lot of new things to offer – from architecture to Objectivism, everything was lapped up the cult following it generated. For me, the best part of the book is its protagonist-
Howard Roark – Architecture.

Roark is the kind who wonders why ineptitude should be allowed to exist. He is the sort who would rather struggle in obscurity than compromise on his artistic and personal vision. He is from the rare species who in shrugging off a compliment manage to keep their integrity and self-respect perfectly intact. He denies all references to his inherent selflessness, instead declaring himself as selfish as humanly possible and referring to Peter Keating a selfless man. He denounces his kindness while at the same time helping a man face through his most troublesome projects. It is the same man who later refers to him “a failure, a flop, an incompetent”.

Ayn Rand, in descibin’ the character of “Mike” Sean Xavier Donnigan,
has given us an inside view of Roark as well-
“…People meant very little to Mike, but their performance a great deal. He worshipped expertness of any kind. He loved his work passionately and had no tolerance for anything save for other single-track devotions. He was a master in his own field and he felt no sympathy except for mastery. His view of the world was simple: there were the able and there were the incompetent: he was not concerned with the latter. He loved buildings. He despised, however, all architects.”

After reading the book I believe that each man has the moral obligation to defend what is good and true- to stand for every man, woman and child who can not be stood for.
I believe a man should stand for himself.
To the sheep and the second-handers, I have only one thing to say – Learn to swim.

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