To my surprise, I enjoyed reading Atlas Shrugged. I will actually miss reading the thousand page book
that prevented me from having fun weekends because I had to stay home and read
a hundred pages a day. I felt accomplished to be able to read one of the longest
books in the world. I found online that Atlas Shrugged has about 645,000 words
in it. This was the first time in a long time that I actually thoroughly read a
novel in an English class.
The
main aspect of the book that I enjoyed most was Dagny Taggart. In a world
dominated by men, Dagny shows that she is smarter and better than every man
except for one, John Galt. Rand includes a female protagonist to show that
being successful does not matter with gender; females can just be as successful
as males. Dagny teaches the readers that there is a way to solve a problem even
if it seems impossible to solve. She shows us that there is nothing wrong with
doing what you love.
Obviously
there were parts in the novel that got me bored or angry. For example, I was
annoyed at the repeated times Dagny somehow saved the company when it seemed
like the company was completely doomed. I also had a lot of difficulty
remembering who the many characters were. I did not remember that Wesley Mouch
was Hank’s Washington man until Ayn Rand reminded the readers much later in the
novel. I thought Ayn Rand could have shortened the novel and it still would
have had the same impact. The main aspect of the book I did not like was the
fact that Dagny and John Galt seemed too perfect. They could solve anything and
were superior to everyone. In real life, no one is that perfect. Everyone has
faults and in the story I cannot find a huge fault with either character.
Many
of my peers did not like the insertion of the Project X weapon. However, I
enjoyed it because it showed how dangerous people become in moments of
desperation. Ayn Rand inserted Project X because she wanted to show the readers
how far people are willing to go to protect their view and demolish the
opposition. I think Rand includes this part to warn readers that there are
people out to destroy you and that the readers should always be ready for
disasters.
After
finishing the novel, I am still left with many questions. My main question was
why did John Galt leave Eddie Willers behind? I felt that Eddie was a hard and
honest worker. Even though Dagny did boss him around most of the time. Eddie
used his intelligence to fix many problems with the Taggart Transcontinental.
He went to California to stop the one of the fighting factions from holding
trains for ransom. Even though Ayn Rand constantly talks about how dedicated
Dagny is to her railroad; I think Eddie was more dedicated to the railroad than
Dagny. Long after Dagny abandons the Taggart Transcontinental to live in
Mulligan Valley, Eddie Willers is still fighting for the company. He refuses to
leave the comet behind when everyone ditches it. Even though Eddie was not as
intelligent as the other industrialists, he was still as hardworking as they
were and I feel that he deserved to be able to go to Mulligan Valley.
I
was also wondering what happened to Jim Taggart and the other looters.
Throughout the novel Ayn Rand makes it a point that the world cannot prosper
with looters running the world. It is also Galt’s goal to get rid of the
looters. However, at the end of the novel Rand never mentions what happens to
Jim and his gang. I felt that Rand should have included a final destruction of
all the looters. Some may argue that the destruction of the looters was Jim’s
breakdown and the power loss of New York. I think that it was not a sufficient
destruction. Maybe Rand did not include a complete destruction of the looters
because she feels that there will always be looters in life.
Atlas Shrugged has taught me many
things. It has given me a different insight on how I should live my life. I can
admit that I am a pretty lazy person when it comes to working. This novel has
taught me that people who are lazy do not become successful in life. I need to
solve my own problems and I cannot expect other people to solve them for me. I
need to use my intelligence more often because it is the best weapon at my disposal.
The novel has taught me that being selfish is not a sin and that it is in fact
what I should be in order to become successful.
Atlas Shrugged has become my new bible.
It has all the information I need to become successful in business. I know in
the future, wherever I will be; I’ll have a copy of Atlas Shrugged with me.
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