I have come
to realization that Rand may be portraying herself through Dagny. Throughout
the story, there has been so much emphasis on Dagny’s role as an independent,
hard- working female. It is clear that Rand is a full-hearted supporter of
capitalism and independence; therefore selecting Dagny to display her own
values was ideal. I also believe Rand may have created Dagny out of a desire to
be like her. Dagny is clearly popular among the men, and although she does not
have many “girl friends”, she is admired and idolized by many. Truthfully, I
think Dagny’s luck with men is a little too unrealistic and optimistic,
considering almost all of the important male figures have ended up falling her
for. I am also both amazed and disappointed at how quickly she moved on from
Hank to Galt. I truly thought Hank and Dagny were meant to be but then again I
really can’t anticipate much in this book. I think Dagny’s sudden love for Galt
will be short termed, only because she is in this fog of infatuation by him. In
reality, she has not known the man long, and although he seems to share similar
morals, she should not be so eager to declare her love for him.
One
character that I have not shown any attention to in my blogs is James. Although
it made sound idiotic, I think I subconsciously avoid writing about James
because of my passionate hatred for him. From the beginning, he has been an
arrogant, hotheaded a**hole, who clearly does not know how to run a business. I
am surprised that only two people throughout the book have given him hell,
Cherryl and Dagny. When James appears through various scenes, I feel like
jumping into the book myself and screaming at him. Mainly, he needs to learn take
responsibility for his foolish mistakes and hop off his high horse. Also, if he
would stop yelling at everyone and possibly take it down a notch it might ease
up tensions. I’m not even in the novel and I can hear him screaming at Dagny
and Cherryl. His egotistical persona makes him the most uncharismatic person in
the book, by far.
Other than
an analyzing my favorite and least favorite characters, I am actually enjoying
the novel thoroughly again. Like mentioned in my previous blogs, Atlas
Shrugged has become more of an adventure than an ordinary book. Except now,
I’m not quite sure I want to end the book just yet.
-Morgan Mills
I agree with morgan on the idea that Dagny may be what Rand hopes to be. She is strong, independent, and above all else is loyal to her railroad. Anyone in the novel who is "against her" is perceived as simply being jealous of a woman who is clearly superior to her peers and once we reach this part of the novel even the looters have realized her value and how superior she is to them, even if she does turn any conversations they have into a jumbled mess. Morgan is right in saying that her love life is unrealistic, but it is more then that, Dagny is truly to perfect in the way that she lives by the ideals expressed in this novel. She is the precise example of the person who lives for himself, even abanding the man she says she is in love with in favor of her railroad. She represents everything that Rand admires, while her brother, who is her complete opposite, represents everything she is against, which is why we all hate James so much and root for Dagny to succeed. Rand has written James in the most unflattering light because of what he represents, while Dagny is made to look strong because of what she represents.
ReplyDeleteI can’t help but agree with your post. I feel, just like you, that Rand is demonstrating who she is and her beliefs through Dagny. I read up on her past and it makes sense that after her upbringing in a socialist government that she would be someone who is a full supporter of capitalism and independence, and she uses this novel to instill those beliefs in not only Dagny but in other characters as well. I can’t agree more that I am so upset and annoyed that she moved on from Hank so quickly. I couldn’t help but feel bad for him as I was reading. Here he is, flying looking for her wreckage every day and very upset over he disappearance while she is in this valley falling in love with another man. I also agree on your viewpoint of James. I hate him with a passion. He’s stupid and annoying and he is the complete opposite of Dangy and if something happens to him I will not feel bad at all because he most definitely deserves it.
ReplyDelete**Dagny (sorry)
ReplyDelete