Alex Williams Reaction 9

           This was a really interesting part of Atlas Shrugged for me and it made me see Rand’s philosophy more clearly. The month Dagny spent in Atlantis filled me in on even more stories of the beliefs of all the great minds there. However, it still seemed very repetitive to me. Every story is different, but pretty much all them say the same thing in different words. I just feel that Rand really likes to draw things out that can be said in much fewer words.

            A thing that I liked was the many parallels I saw between this story and George Orwell’s Animal Farm. Whereas, Animal Farm was a relatively short book, Atlas Shrugged is much more detailed and has many other elements in it. Atlas Shrugged, to me seems almost like a prequel to 1984. We don’t know exactly when this takes place, but I assume in the 50s and then the 60s as that’s when Rand wrote this. I see many things that could lead to 1984 such as the propaganda, scapegoating, and having to hide everything from those around you, only knowing hatred. In 1984, they have the thought police and in Atlas Shrugged, I am starting to see the government toward a trend of controlling people’s thoughts by convincing them that they have no thoughts. The “modern” philosophy, economics, and business tactics are very useful ways of controlling the population. Then Project X took it to a new level by introducing literal fear of death to the people rather than fear of employment or prison.

            I’m very curious to see how long Dagny and Hank will hold out. I think that with Dagny’s announcement on the radio, they are another step closer to Atlantis. However, I do not completely agree with this concept. Yes I do agree with them leaving the world they now call “hell” behind, but I do not think that everyone left besides Hank and Dagny should be damned. What about those like Eddie or Hank’s secretary? What about people that have taken a stand but just aren’t born brilliant like Dagny, Hank, or Francisco. They share the same views and work just as hard. What also interested me was the biblical parallel that I saw. The world became hell and the good escaped to heaven (Atlantis), and it does seem like the world is coming to an end. There is open violence and people feel nothing but hatred towards each other, definitely not the “brother love” that the government preaches.