He goes to new york to seek a position with the recently eminent but now reviled modernist designer henry cameron. The fountainhead, hightech, juicy and full of pulp. As the story opens, twentyoneyearold roark is expelled from the stanton institute of technology for insubordination. While the fountainhead made me consider my ethics, it also altered them. The revolutionary literary vision that sowed the seeds of obje. This lesson will introduce characters, provide a summary, and. Rands unique philosophy, objectivism, has gained a worldwide audience. And one of my happiest moments, about two years later, was given to me by the look on his face when he came home, one day, and saw the pageproofs of the book, headed by the page that stated in cold, clear, objective print. But only now do her devotees hold sway around the world. The fountainhead hardcover edition is published by penguin usa under centennial hardcover edition. This instant classic is the story of an intransigent young architect, his violent battle against conventional standards, and his explosive love. The fountainhead celebrates the heroism of the men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision. Ayn rand the fountainhead book discussion is about to. It falls short, as do so many modern novels, in the apparent inability of the author or editor to be a ruthless surgeon.
It was with the publication of the fountainhead 1943 and atlas shrugged 1957 that she achieved her spectacular success. The fountainhead is the story of howard roark, an architect with unbending principles. The novels protagonist, howard roark, is an individualistic young architect who designs modernist buildings and refuses to compromise with an architectural establishment unwilling to accept innovation. Rand did extensive research while writing the novel. Buy the fountainhead book online at low prices in india. Roarks schoolmate, peter keating, moves to new york and goes to work for the prestigious architectural firm. The fountainhead by ayn rand pdf download ebookscart. In the fountainhead, why does dominique francon marry peter keating. The fundamentals of her philosophy are put forth in three nonfiction books, introduction to objectivist epistemology. In her novel, the fountainhead, ayn rand explores the struggle between the individual and society. Howard roark, a brilliant young architect, is expelled from his architecture school for refusing to follow the schools outdated traditions.
Pdf the fountainhead book by ayn rand free download 720. On the surface, it is a story of one man, howard roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, peter keating, and a newspaper columnist, ellsworth toohey. Frank that i would dedicate the fountainhead to him because he had saved it. Born february 2, 1905, ayn rand published her first novel, we the living, in 1936. The main characters of this philosophy, non fiction story are.
A development of this theme is the case of the manhattan bank building. Written in 1943, the fountainhead introduced new views on rands philosophy, objectivism. Because of this book, i now proudly claim to be a republican. From this simplest necessity to the highest religious abstraction, from the wheel to the skyscraper, everything we are and we have comes from a single attribute of man the function of his reasoning mind. At the personal level, he acquires a legion of followers who blindly obey his every command. The story would have been faster paced, the characters more sharply limned, had whole episodes, repetitive and tautological, been eliminated. The fountainhead is the mystery, literature, fiction, thriller, romantic and epic novel which plot the story of a person who lost everything in revenge. In spite of this excess of verbiage, the novel is a telling one and original. Ayn rands the fountainheada free book discussion series for students, open to all. In howard roark, she presented for the first time the uniquely ayn rand hero, whose depiction was the chief. Out of ayn rands literary works, its the best popular thing shes written. The fountainhead studies the conflict between artistic genius and social convention, a theme ayn rand later developed into the idealistic philosophy knows as objectivism.
Find books like the fountainhead from the worlds largest community of readers. The fountainhead, which became one of the most influential and widely read philosophical novels of the twentieth century, made ayn rand famous. Having been previously warned of this somewhat insane, entirely selfish philosophy, i entered the book with an indisputable bias. A writers life lexicon creators a core tenet of ayn rands philosophy, objectivism, is the importance of a central, productive purpose in an individuals life.
So if you are in love with the fountainhead and want to collect it then go for this edition. The manuscript of the fountainhead was shunned by twelve publishing houses and when finally published, went on to sell in excess of six and a half million copies globally. When i rate the characters as onedimensional, that. When the fountainhead was first published, ayn rands daringly original literary vision and her groundbreaking philosophy, objectivism, won immediate worldwide interest and acclaim. Buy a cheap copy of the fountainhead book by ayn rand. Free download or read online the fountainhead pdf epub book. This is one of the cardinal reasons of the fountainheads lasting appeal.
It was also the subject of a 1949 film, the screenplay of which was written by rand. It chronicles the struggles of the innovative architect howard roark in his effort to achieve success on his own terms. What is the book the fountainhead by ayn rand about. On the surface, it is a story of one man, howard roark, and his struggles as an architect in the face of a successful rival, peter keating, and a. Ayn rand showed in the living macmillan, 1936 an ability to handle groups of people and shifting impacts convincingly, with implicit drama. The fountainhead is the fiction, thriller, literature, romantic and mystery novel which describe the story of a man who lost his way in revenge. On the surface, it is a story of one man, howard roark. The main characters of this fiction, classics story are howard roark, peter keating. It chronicles the struggles of the innovative architect. The fountainhead, ayn rand the fountainhead is a 1943 novel by russianamerican author ayn rand, her first major literary success. There are 5 characters about whom a lot is written, and these are the main characters of the book. Fountainhead definition is a spring that is the source of a stream. The fountainhead tells the story of a few people in new york of the 20s30s.
The fountainhead contains an undeveloped form of rands philosophical beliefs. Peter keating graduates with top honors and goes to work for a hotshot firm in new york, headed by a dude named guy francon best name ever, in our notsohumbleopinions. The fountainhead is a 1943 novel by russianamerican author ayn rand, her first major literary success. To hunt, he needs weapons,and to make weapons a process of thought. The fountainhead has become an enduring piece of literature, more popular now than when published in 1943. This free synopsis covers all the crucial plot points of the fountainhead. At the outset of ayn rands the fountainhead, howard roark and peter keating depart from the stanton institute of technology in very different ways. Dominiques marriage to peter keating is one of deliberate selftorture. As fresh today as it was then, rands provocative novel presents one of the most challenging ideas in all of fictionthat mans ego is the fountainhead of human.
Fountainhead definition of fountainhead by merriamwebster. It made me realize that man could be as great as he wants to be, and how acheivement is our ultimate goal. Part i shows roark in contrast to his classmate, peter keating. The fountainhead the fountainhead, part i, chapters 18. The fountainhead book discussion is about to begin. This book reads like a novel, but it was intended to be more than thatto present an idea in an engaging way.
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to. With characters that are gripping, settings that are par excellence, and dialogue that displays incredible depth, the book is a well rounded synthesis about the nature of individualism and what it means. This disagreement is crucial to an understanding of the fountainhead, for the books central conflict is between people who are realitycentered and people who are centered instead on other people. In various ways, he attempts to gain control over the lives of other men. Back in the 1920s, two dudespeter keating and howard roarkfinish architecture school and embark on their careers. While keatings career is successful, thank in part to roarks help, roark is forced to close hi. However, when reading the first chapter of the book, i began to feel a connection with the characters. Rands hero is howard roark, a brilliant young architect who wont compromise his integrity, especially in the unconventional buildings he designs. Howard roarke is essentially a man who lives according to his own standards and own ideals. Her novel the fountainhead is one of the few works of fiction that donald trump likes and she has long been the darling of the us right. The book was published in multiple languages including english language, consists of 176 pages and is available in paperback format. The first edition of this novel was published in 1961, and was written by ayn rand. The revolutionary literary vision that sowed the seeds of objectivism, ayn rands groundbreaking philosophy, and brought her immediate worldwide acclaim.
The fountainhead has been described in many ways, but at its core it is about the individual vs. He goes to new york to work for henry cameron, a disgraced architect whom roark admires. The first edition of the novel was published in 1943, and was written by ayn rand. Howard roarke stands as the embodiment of ayn rands objectivist philosophy, or at least the individualist idea. Howard roark, ellsworth toohey, dominique francon, gail wynand, peter keating, henry cameron, catherine halsey, guy francon, stephen mallory, alvah scarret, mrs. Goodreads members who liked the fountainhead also liked. The fountainhead centennial edition hc by ayn rand. Howard roark is expelled for his refusal to complete exercises in classical design. An impassioned proponent of reason, rational selfinterest, individualism, and laissezfaire capitalism, she expressed her unique views in numerous.
While thats a low bar, the fountainhead as a novel isnt all that bad, and if theres absolutely nothing else at all lying around and youre really bored, its worth a r. The fountainhead takes place in the united states, mostly in new york city, during the 1920s and 1930s. The fountainhead can be difficult to follow and one has to be patient to get to the very meat and bones of ayn rands objectivist philosophy. Her first major literary success, ayn rands the fountainhead is an exalted view of her objectivist.