Conflicts and Film

When I reached the beginning of chapter IX I felt as if the book had finally reached a point of conclusion during which I keep wondering what else could possibly happen. The goal that had occupied Dagny and Rearden’s minds had been achieved, public opinion had been proven wrong, and yet there were still just under 800 pages left in the book.

It is exhausting thinking of what will come next, and I believe that this is exactly what Rand wanted her readers to feel. She wanted her readers to feel the same exhaustion that Dagny and Hank feel as they keep having to fight for their businesses and the same exhaustion that Atlas, from Greek mythology, feels as he struggles to hold up the world.  I feel as if the book has restarted, as Dagny has found a new project to focus all her energy and motivation on and even though the issues that had been the cause of all torment for the last 230 pages have been resolved, new problems caused the Bureau of Economic Planning and Resources have been foreshadowed. Rand is refusing to give her readers closure the same way a cliffhanger works at the end of a movie.

            Rand’s previous profession of writing screen plays shines through throughout the novel. I believe that she fully understood the expression that a picture is worth a thousand words, taking up tens of pages describing a scene that would have taken only a few seconds on film. And when she begins every section and chapter by describing the environment of the characters she’s about to introduce, I can almost seen the camera panning from right to left. Although sometimes monotonous, Rand's extensive amount of detail does allow for greater insight and understanding of the characters and settings in Atlas Shrugged.