Environment of Atlas Shrugged

From the first pages of Ayn Rand's novel, Atlas Shrugged, she sets the tone of the dreary environment, painting a gray haze that has fallen over the entire country.  Every character seems to be experiencing the same helplessness that is caused by the uncertainty of the future. In the three circumstances that the phrase “Who is John Galt” is used it has an unspoken affect on characters across the country. It represents the hopelessness that has not only affected one area or city but an entire nation. It is only in the past that we see hope and growth. Eddie Walters and Dagny are reminded of the past by the infrastructure of the city and causes Walters to think back to his childhood, during which we learn of the tree that represents the city’s infrastructure. Just as the tree whose bark hid the fact of its decay, the city’s infrastructure gives the city the ability to appear healthy and strong. It is the decay of the nation that occupies many of the character’s minds, leaving no room for emotions, and therefore causing the gray haze spanning the nation. They are overcome by the inability to grasp control of what they had once relied upon, as represented by the Taggart Comet’s, the train that is never late, failure to show up on time. Situations that the Taggarts had once relied upon are not longer consistent, and after a history of prosperity and growth, they seem to be confounded as the business world falls down around them. People have become desperate for happiness, as evident in Walters not wanting to spoil his childhood memories. I believe that Ayn Rand expertly describes the frustration and helplessness of the characters of Atlas Shrugged as they are forced to face the dim and unknown future.