Part 3 is very different from the rest of the book. At the
beginning, I thought it was interesting and unpredictable. I had a slight suspicion
that all the businessmen would be together, but did not realize John Galt was
the one who organized this secret town. As part three progresses and Dagny
returned, I was somewhat sad to see that Rearden and her would not work out. I
am glad he did not go back to Lillian. This gave me a sense of respect that
Rearden still obtained. I also had this same sense of respect for d’Anconia.
The fact that he killed Rearden’s attacker and has been working at the mills
secretly was completely unexpected. I thought he would go to the secret town
because they did say he disappeared. I still do not understand why he would
work in the first place. He set his copper mines to explode and ends up working
for Rearden. Something does not feel right. But then we get to Jim Taggart, who
I have officially lost all respect for. I could not believe how he handled situations
with Cheryll, leading to her suicide. I knew that he did not marry her out of
love and she was no longer in awe with him because she learned the truth. I
respected that she apologized to Dagny, and he just ended up cheating on her
with Lillian. Out of all people, Lillian, probably the one character that I
cannot stand at all. I knew it would happen eventually, but it was completely emotionless
and they each had their own agendas to fulfill. Too bad Rearden did not care
when she admitted it to him, and convinced him that he should leave while
trying to do the exact opposite. He knew his family was using him, but he finally
came to terms with it. Respect is something that everyone has to earn. Some
people continue to prove they deserve it throughout their lives, while other
prove no one should have resect for them at all. This novel shows this clearly
and Rand is brilliant in the way she portrays it. As of this point in time, the
reader has respect for Dagny, Rearden, and Francisco. They have proved to do
the right thing for their company against the looters. We have lost all respect
for Lillian and Jim because of the way they have handled each situation
portrayed to them.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with what you wrote completely. The one part of your post that I liked a lot is the idea of respect. I especially like your line, "Respect is something that everyone has to earn." That line is so true and relevant to this story. Some characters in Atlas Shrugged should be respected because of what they do and because they deserve it. However, some are just cruel characters and only care about themselves and those characters should not be respected. I agree with you that Lillian and James are two of that characters that should not be respected. They are just so cruel and I dislike both of them greatly. Both of their intentions are never for the good of other. They always just hurt others to make themselves feel better. However, on the other hand, Dagny and Hank are two characters exactly opposite from James and Lillian. Dagny and Hank are two of the last characters in the book that are still fighting in the world against the looters. They have put so much into the world that they do not want to give up just yet. I respect them so much for this. They don't just give up and leave, like the rest of the people in the valley when the work gets hard. They come together and try to work even harder than they did before to save the world. Overall, I agree with your post and have a lot of the same ideas about the book as you.
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