Sunday, September 15, 2013

Characters Further Revealed (Priya Dhairyawan)

                This week’s reading revealed more about each of the central characters. For one, Dagny’s passion and dedication for her work is strongly emphasized. Even with the economy’s downfall and issues with the railroad, Dagny stands by her line and dedicates her time to improving it. It seems that many people do not respect Dagny or her decisions regarding the railroad, but she disregards the opinions of others in order to stand up for her hard work. In addition, Hank Rearden’s personality is further explained. After Lillian realizes that her husband is having an affair, I thought he would have felt some remorse or guilt for the pain he caused his wife, but he demonstrates the opposite. Hank hangs on to his feelings for Dagny and dismisses his wife’s opinion. These actions indicate that he truly does have a strong love for Dagny, even more so than he has for his wife, it seems. Also, Hank’s feelings for Dagny show that he follows his heart more than he follows his mind. It would be logical for him to apologize to his wife and try to fix their problem, but he values his love for Dagny more. This characteristic can also be seen through Hank’s passion for his work. He truly loves his company and all of the hard work that has led him there. Hank and Dagny are similar in that they both have strong passions for the things that they love. Although Lillian’s personality is not explained in great detail, she does not appear to have a strong passion for anything, unlike Hank and Dagny; this may be one factor that pulls Hank and Dagny together.

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