Atlas Shrugged: Flat Characters and Flawed Philosophy
Uploaded by AtillaThaHun on Jun 19, 2005
At a suspenseful point in the novel an Errol Flynn-esque character comes crashing through a window to save the day. Rand was a screenwriter before (and even after) launching into a successful career as an author, but I wonder if her screenplays had the same Hollywood dramatics as a few moments in "Atlas Shrugged".
I had to raise an eyebrow at the actions of this misplaced pirate in her novel, along with a few other scenes that left me unintentionally amused. Some of them include: the heroine falling madly in love, becoming mistress to a man's values (it couldn't have been the man himself could it? I'll leave this vague for the sake of those who haven't read the book), the countless references to characters exchanging glances loaded with emotionlessness (do Rand's heroes feel anything?), and the smug attitude of her heroes when they are leaving New York City at one point in the novel, confident that because they are leaving there is no one else of value left behind. Hmm...
"Atlas Shrugged" can be critiqued through the lens of a novel or a philosophical work. Continuing with the former, I felt the elitist attitudes of the characters (as a result of Rand's philosophy) were difficult to swallow. The character's attitude about leaving the people of New York behind, as mentioned above, is written within the context of the story. But because it is within the context of the story, as part of the author's premise, I had big problems with it. Egoism is extolled as virtue for Rand. But the characters I read about with their unfounded conceit (with the exception of Hank Rearden and maybe one or two others) made me say out loud: Please...
As characters in a novel go, Rand's fall flat. The men and women of "Shrugged" are either for her (Rand) or against her. Without hyperbole, the characters are either a bumbling, fearful, unctuous idiot or a courageous, idealistic, intelligent, beautiful, and emotionless amalgam of stereotypical wonder. In Dagny Taggart's persona, Rand seems to put herself on the page. Needless to say, the characters often come across as either larger than life (which could be ok) to totally unbelievable (which hurts the story).
Her style of describing the fools as "fat" and "toady" is blatant and manipulative. I would have loved to see John Galt (Rand's "perfect man") have at least one vice to...