Popsugar Reading Challenge
Read a book that is more than 500 pages long
The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand
Wow. What can I even say about this book? I can say with certainty that this book was the most confusing literary challenge I have ever faced. It is hard to figure out where I stand on this book and I'm not sure that I'll ever come to a solid conclusion. On one hand the plot was pretty dry and boring. At 720 pages, it was also pretty bloated. However, this book contains such overwhelming ideals and quotes that it cannot be dismissed as simply "boring".
This isn't my first rodeo, as one would say, with Ayn Rand's philosophy of Objectivism. In recent years I have also read 'We the Living' as well as 'Anthem'. I highly enjoyed both of these titles in terms of plot but I have to say that 'The Fountainhead' takes the cake when it comes to explaining Objectivism.
I'm ashamed to admit that until recently I had never bothered to look up Ayn Rand's ideas on Objectivism. If you are to listen to all of the twaddle about her philosophy you would think that she is simply the worlds worst egotist. In reality, her opinions are such that all of us should listen and take note. For example, Ayn Rand does not advocated for the type of selfishness that is usually thought of. Quite the contrary. She is not saying that people should be selfish in the way that they step on others and harm whoever is necessary to get to where their going. Instead, Objectivism simply states that a person should be concerned with his own self and how to make his own self happy, without stepping on the toes of others. This is an admirable idea. It seems that many people (myself included) want so badly to live up to the expectations of a specific person or society that we forget what we want out of life. It would certainly be nice to be free of the impositions of parents, friends, teachers, etc and simply do what we want for a change. The book also has a comedic way of teaching lessons about society. For example, the book makes a huge point about how unsavory it is when people like a book, movie, play, or really anything in life just because someone else likes it or tells them they should like it. I don't know why this concept reminds me of todays concept of being what some people call a 'basic bitch' but it does. The same principles are at work either way. The moral seems to be that one should always think for oneself and not be to heavily influenced by society.
Well that was fun! haha. I don't like getting to overly serious in my blog and most books I read don't require me to do so. Obviously though I got a little wrapped up in the themes of this book and just had to share my opinions! :-) I'm pretty excited to learn more about the philosophy of Objectivism and I am going to want to get my hands on some of Ayn Rand's nonfiction works pretty soon.
After all that talking, I'm going to give the book a 4 star rating. Yes, it was semi-boring at times and yes it was LONG! However, I feel like the ideas presented in this book, the characters, and just the way this book makes me feel will stay with me for a long time to come.
**Update: I have since read more about Ayn Rand's philosophy and I cannot say that I don't agree with her on much at all. I love her thoughts in this book about individualism but that is about all we can agree upon. It seems that Ayn Rand is a huge supporter of a small government, so small in fact that it is almost non-existent. I will not go into particulars on why I think that is notion is an unrealistic one.
"That's the sort of thing I want you to understand. To sell your soul is the easiest thing in the world. That's what everybody does every hour of his life. If I asked you to keep your soul--would you understand why that's much harder?”
“Have you noticed that the imbecile always smiles? Man's first frown is the first touch of God on his forehead. The touch of thought.”
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