I must say that I am beyond pleased
to have finally witnessed Hank Rearden evolve and finally stand up for himself. One
of the most frustrating aspects of Atlas
Shrugged for me was reading paragraph after paragraph of both his family
and the public badgering him, for what exactly? Being successful?
In Part Two there are many
incidents that demonstrate how Rearden no longer allows himself to be
victimized. I mainly saw him stand up for himself against his family and
politicians. In Chapter 4, Rearden begins to see how disturbing his family
dynamic really is. At their Thanksgiving dinner, Rearden finally confronts his
brother Philip, who earlier in the novel accepted a donation from Rearden but
then asked for it in cash in order to not be associated with him (I mean, who
does that?). He essentially tells him that he no longer cares about him, which
just shows to me how he has finally come to realize that his family is
not really a family, but just another group of people who enjoy condemning him.
Shortly after in the same chapter, we get to see Rearden stand up for himself
once again against politicians but in a more public manner. His refusal to
apologize for wanting to make a profit from his creation and for his overall
success, and the applause that followed was a slap in the face to all who tried
to put him down. Also, I am beginning to believe that Francisco's side conversations and advice have acted as a catalyst for Hank's new attitude.
I find this change in Hank Rearden to be really exciting. In
Chapter 4 alone I have seen him evolve from a man who allowed himself to be
victimized to someone who will no longer allow that sort of treatment toward
him.
No comments:
Post a Comment