Zane Van de Put's Reaction #2

Through my reading I think I have found the major conflict of the story, Dagney Taggart vs. Francisco d’Anconia. It is interesting how this conflict came to be considering these characters’ pasts. When they were little, Dagney and Francisco were best friends. Every summer for a month, Francisco would stay at the Taggart house to hang out with the Taggarts and Eddie. As years went by Francisco and Dagney grew close. Eventually, they started dating and were talking about getting married. However, Francisco’s dad dies and Francisco goes to take over the business. The two soon slowly grow apart, until eventually they split up. Their breakup is what leads to Francisco to being a playboy who would party every night.

After the San Sebastian mines disaster, Dagney goes to see Francisco. After their conversation Dagney discovers that Francisco purposely made James and himself lose a lot of money. She finds out that Francisco is planning to destroy the railroad industry. This is a conflict because Dagney is trying to improve and expand the railroad industry. So, Francisco is trying to ruin the entire industry in order to “beat” Dagney in life. What it seems to me is that Francisco is trying to take out all of Dagney’s major partners in order to ruin Dagney. Her major partners are Hank Rearden and Ellis Wyatt. There is evidence of this on page 139-142. In the conversation that Francisco and Hank are having, it seems that Francisco is studying Rearden and trying to find his weak points. Francisco will then utilize Rearden’s weak points and destroy Rearden’s career. Francisco even states on page 140 that he “wants to learn to understand him”. Francisco and Dagney are both fighting to have the most power in the world, one through destroying the railroad industry and another through controlling the railroad industry.