I enjoyed the philosophical type breakdowns in this portion
of the novel. There are many comparisons made between man and science, and how
each influences each other. My favorite thought-provoking point in the novel
was when Francisco d’Anconia gave his perspective on money and its tendency to
be related to evil. I have always heard the saying “money is the root of all
evil” and the fact that Francisco challenged that thoroughly grabbed my
attention. To some extent I agree with his argument that money is ironically
the root of most good. I agree that money revolves around creativity, and it is
creativity that allows us to compete and bring out our instincts, which is a
positive type of drive for humanity. Unfortunately, with competitiveness and
creativity comes corruption, as exemplified many times by Rand when portraying
the deceitfulness and fraud of the steel industry. By focusing only on money,
men become lazy and want instant gratification; they lose sight of how the
willingness and drive for success is more important than the actual success.
Characters like Dagny and Rearden embody the type of people who are willing to
risk their success because they are so motivated to make more of it. Jim, as we
know, embodies the typical example of one who has allowed greed to get in the
way of creativity.
I thoroughly enjoyed
observing Dagny and Rearden’s relationship flourish, especially when Rearden
realized and accepted that he loves her not solely in a physical way. He has
realized that she puts meaning in his life. I believe the climax of Dagny and
Rearden’s relationship occurred when Rearden shockingly and openly defended
Dagny during an argument between Dagny and Lillian. We see how important a
figure Dagny is to Rearden now, since he is clearly willing to destroy his
personal life for her.
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