Fountainhead Analysis

The Fountainhead

“You’ve gone beyond the probable and made us see the possible, but possible only through you. Because your figures are more devoid of contempt of humanity than any work I’ve ever seen…I came for a simple, selfish reason…to seek the best.” In Ayn Rand’s novel The Fountainhead, society is portrayed as having a herd mentality, and individuals must act selfishly in order to be free.

In Rand’s novel, a brilliant young architect, Howard Roark, is expelled from architect school for refusing to follow the school’s traditions. His schoolmate, Peter Keating, graduates with honors and enters into the notable firm of Francon and Heyer. While Keating becomes popular by stealing ideas from other architects, Roark struggles to make ends meet while creating his own unique work. Keating falls in love with Dominique, Guy Francon’s daughter. She is a unique, strong individual who does not give in to temptation. However, while on a vacation away from the city, she meets Roark and instantly falls in love with him. They do not make their relationship known publicly and they meet in secret. Meanwhile, Keating is creating a relationship with Ellsworth Toohey, an architect critic who works for Gail Wyand’s newspaper. Toohey centers his life on destroying others. Dominique marries Keating to punish herself for loving Roark, and later when Wyand meets her, he falls for her and buys her from Keating. She introduces Wyand to Roark, who ends up building a house for him. Wyand does not

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know that Dominique and Roark know each other. In the end, Toohey destroys Keating, Roark is found not guilty for blowing up a building, Wyand’s company falls because he supported Roark while society did not, and Dominique leaves Wyand and marries Roark. Wyand asks Roark to build one last building for him, a skyscraper that will testify to the supremacy of man.

Rand’s characters are very peculiar. Her main character and hero is Howard Roark. He is a tough, determined character....