Fountainhead Individualism

Submitted By hhungate
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Throughout The Fountainhead, Rand emphasizes that integrity is one of the distinguishing qualities between men who have retained their sense of self and men who have completely destroyed their egos, subordinating themselves to the ideas of equality and altruism. A principle that suggests being independent and self-reliant, a social theory favoring freedom of action for individuals. What we know as “Individualism”, is taking over our society as we dare to face it. In Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead we observe the complexity of the characters Howard Roark and Lois Cook’s individualism, which is apparent and prominent throughout the novel. A representation of his Ayn Rand’s romantic ideal, Roark is tall and strong, all straight angles, like the structures he builds. Roark’s buildings reflect his personality, for they are innovative and austere. Roark presents individualism, and is a prominent tool of it throughout Rand’s novel. In Roark, egotism exists purely as the notion of self, not as the ideas of others. Roark never compromises or deviates from his principles, he never elevated the minds of others above his own. If he was in a position to understand something himself, he did it himself. He never ignored his own thoughts in order to accept someone else's views, as many second-handers do, suggesting stronger evidence of his individualism. Nonconformity, failure or refusal to conform to a prevailing rule or practice. Lois Cook is an outstanding example of the nonconformity. Cook is an individual in the eyes of society, in the eyes of Peter Keating as well as the numerous automaton-readers of Ellsworth Toohey, because she is not the embodiment of society, but the negation of it. She looks to find the opposite or unseen in society, so as to present herself as an "individual." She defies social belief in beauty, attractive living quarters, and even personal hygiene. Which portrays equivalent characteristics of individualism. Lois Cook is not a second-hander, whose life is dominated by and dedicated to the people against who she rebels. Through Howard Roark, Ayn Rand communicates the premise of individualism, the very right on an individual to safeguard his wealth and hard work from the ‘second-handlers’ of society. “Men who took first steps down new roads armed with nothing but their own vision“, she describes her ideology in the perfect sense when enlisting the reason behind success of a man. Meanwhile, although she lacks moral reasoning, Lois Cook is in itself her own person. She may rebel against the general populace similar to Howard Roark, but she does not reject society’s lesser values like Roark does. Instead, she attacks its best values, such as personal hygiene. Howard Roark represents a force of creation, while Lois Cook represents a force of destruction. While Roark is a real individualist who rebels for honest reasons, Cook rebels to be a nonconformist, but in a way she is just conforming to the standards of what others say is nonconformity. Lois wants to be a "god," a divine
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