Thoughts on the Similarities Between Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden (Meagan Adler)

            In reading chapters one and two of Atlas Shrugged I saw a parallelism made between the characters of Dagny Taggart and Henry Rearden; I think both individuals ultimately sacrifice a genuine connection to family and society in their pursuit to become wealthy industrialists.  Socially, the two characters are disconnected from society and do not understand the need for human compassion; to communicate this idea, Rand contrasts Dagny and Henry to their brothers, as Dagny’s brother is concerned with catering to the human element and Henry’s brother is concerned with donating his time to charitable organizations such as Friends of Global Progress. Both brothers act as foil characters that emphasize Dagny and Henry’s preoccupation with money.  Also, Rand makes reference to a train when describing both characters; when Dagny is on the train to New York she hears the “even rhythm” (pg. 20) of the wheels that puts her at ease and when Henry reflects back on his ten year struggle to create a metal alloy he refers to his struggles as “stops” (pg. 37) and compares the process as “a streak of speed” (pg.37).  Both metaphorical comparisons communicate a sense of continuity in the character’s lives as they make self-serving decisions that keep them “single-tracked” (pg. 39).  When confronted about their self-defined purposes, Dagny states, “‘I’m not interested in helping anybody.  I want to make money’” (pg. 29) and Henry confirms money “‘is my only goal ‘” (pg. 44).  Lastly, I think we can compare the roles that Eddie Willers and Paul Larkin play in Dagny and Henry’s lives, for they both act as figures of support in a society that seems to reject their selfish intentions.  Overall, I think both characters are potentially vulnerable to societal attack, as they are both seen as apathetic individuals whose sole purpose in life is to make money.