Changes in Character (Priya Dhairyawan)

                During this week’s reading, I have come to understand that many of the characters are not who they initially appeared to be. For example, Jim has a much more antagonistic personality than I had originally anticipated. I never really liked his character anyway, but I did not expect him to be as cruel as he was. His antagonistic ways are demonstrated when he deliberately moves his investments from Francisco’s company into a new account. Jim is fully aware that he will ruin Francisco, and I think this fuels his intentions. He is an extremely selfish man who is willing to destroy someone’s life in order to advance his own. Another instance that exemplifies his harsh behavior is during his encounter with Cherryl. Jim is able to viciously confess to Cherryl not only that he was unfaithful, but also that the only reason he married her was to provide some sort of charity for her. Also, Jim’s plan to trap Cherryl in their marriage further demonstrates his vindictive ways and his need for power. His malicious behavior and remarks characterize Jim as a villain. One other character who is represented differently than how I imagined is Cherryl. I had expected her to be somewhat of a bimbo who was just using Jim for his success; however, she is actually one of the few characters that has shown morality and strength. Cherryl is brave enough to apologize to Dagny and to stand up to her controlling husband. I did feel sorry for her after her encounter with Jim. Jim is such a controlling and deceptive man, so she was trapped in her marriage. Her suicide made me feel bad for her; it is sad that that was her only way of finding peace. Cherryl could no longer handle the stress, so suicide was her only way out. This event led me to feel even worse for her and made me dislike Jim even more. Another character who has demonstrated change is Dagny, but in a negative way. Dagny started off being an independent and strong woman who was determined to succeed for herself; however, she has become less rational. One occurrence that left me with a lower impression of her is when she went on the radio and confessed about her affair with Rearden. It bothered me that she did not consider Rearden; in other words, the confession is likely to affect him, yet she did not even consider him when making her statements. I think this week’s reading has left me with lower impressions of several characters.