The Significance of the Question “Who is John Galt?” and the Attitude it Represents (Monica Rodriguez)

While reading the first few chapters of Atlas Shrugged, I found myself just as frustrated as some of the characters were whenever someone answered a question with the slang “Who is John Galt?” To me, it seems to be a pointless expression, purely meant to avoid really answering a question and about as conversationally useful as a silent shrug. It seemed to me that the characters that used the fraise simply didn’t care enough to answer the difficult questions that surrounded them in such an economically trying time. They used it in the same way that James Taggart kept saying “nobody can blame us,” during his conversation with Eddie Willers, as a bail out. When they use the fraise they just prolong having to answer a question. What those characters fail to realize is that no matter how long they avoid answering a question, the question will still be there and the problem will continue to grow and cause more harm.  It doesn’t matter if Taggart isn’t blamed for the delay of his railroad construction, what only matters is that his company will go under if the railroad is not fixed. The fraise seems to represent an attitude of avoidance that may have contributed to the economic depression. I believe that the continual avoidance of the issues will lead to more economic troubles further in the novel, and that characters, like Eddie Willars and Dagny Taggart , who despise the fraise, and what it represents, will be the ones most capable of handling the economic crisis they will face.