Skip to main content

Atlas Shrugged


I've loved this book for over a decade. I've read it at least a dozen times, and it's finally time to write a book report.

Once upon a time, my husband took a philosophy class in college. They read a lot of good stuff, including Sophie's Dream, etc After reading Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, he suggested I might like it, too. I took one look at the tiny font size, massive amount of pages, and even went so far as to read the first page of the book, then shrugged and said something like, "yeah right."

Fast forward about ten years and my then-stagnant brain needed something to chew on. I'd taken a speed reading course at UNLV once upon a time, and it came in handy, because Holy Cow, there's a lot there. But after falling in love with the leading lady, I was captivated. 

Why I Like Dagny Taggart:

  • I'm not sure what I have in common with her. She runs a railroad, is tall and thin and angular and sleek; she wears grey business suits and works incessantly. I do none of those things. But maybe I like her ability to see things clearly, to cut through the crap, and to get things done against impossible odds. I like her grit and determination.
  • She has no children and she isn't married. So how can her story possibly be relevant to mine? She loves deeply. Over the course of the novel, she's attracted to three different men. She gives of her heart completely, to the best man she's ever found. She is attracted to hard work, to character, and to the drive or capability that she sees within.
  • She lives in a time when the government is falling apart. There are shortages in grapefruit, for example, because the supply chain is disintegrating. There are government regulations that cripple the economy; laws that are incredibly stupid; corrupt politicians; shortages of good men. It's nearly impossible to hire decent help. Where have they all gone? Every time she finds people with brains, they seem to vanish into thin air.
  • She has a vision of what the world might look like. She keeps ignoring and supporting the "looters" or freeloaders as long as possible, even while living in a miserable economy, running her railroad even when it's nearly impossible. She is determined to keep trains running until the bitter end. That's why I like Dagny, because she won't give up.

Who is John Galt?

  • In the earlier chapters of the novel, it's a recurring slogan or expression that means, "I give up," or "I can't explain it," or "Who even cares anymore?" It's a cry of despair or hopelessness.
  • He's a person with a brilliant mind and golden blonde hair, who works to build a motor that makes the world better. But he sees the writing on the wall and chooses to build a place off the grid, a place where he can live by his ideals and not be dragged down by the looters.
  • He typifies Atlas, the Greek god who carries the world on his shoulders. What happens when he decides it's not his burden to carry all that weight? He shrugs, meaning, he lets the weight of all the crap of the looters, just fall to the earth.

Who is Ayn Rand? 

  • She grew up in socialist Russia. She sees the downfall of a nation where everybody gets a handout.
  • Her written English is better than mine. 
  • This website here shares some of Ayn Rand's ideas, specifically objectivism. Her ideas challenge a lot of our commonly held ideals. For example: Life requires production. Today's standard of living, with our computers, cellphones and life saving machines, far outstrips the wildest dreams of the past. All this wealth had to be created by individuals -  and money is what enables production. "Money is your means of survival," a character in Atlas Shrugged warns. "The verdict you pronounce upon the source of your livelihood is the verdict you pronounce upon your life. Francisco taught this to Hank Rearden in the early chapters, explaining that money, in an of itself, is not a bad thing. (We've been taught that the LOVE of money is the root of all evil in the New Testament.) But money itself is not bad. Having enough money to meet needs is a beautiful thing.

Are there ideas in Atlas Shrugged that I don't endorse? Sure. Are there ideas of Ayn Rand's philosophy that I don't endorse? Sure. But was it enlightening for me to read her work again and again? Absolutely yes. Is this essay polished and perfect? No. But hopefully you get the idea. Hopefully I've shared just enough to make you want to read it.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Leaving Utah

Norm and I are at a crossroads.  It's time for our family to take the next step.  But first a quick trip down memory lane. We first came to Utah sixteen years ago.  We were young and cute and pregnant with baby #1.  Norm had been accepted as a student.  I had a lot of fun during my first two years of college, and I imagine the admissions board looked at my transcript and said something like, "yeah right!"  (More details about getting a D in organ lessons over  here .) So my first BYU application was rejected.  They let me attend classes as a visiting student, and one day an admissions officer called my phone.  It was a landline, and we were living in BYU married student housing.  He had two questions for me:  Is your husband a full time student?  Yes.  And you live on  campus?  Yes.  End of interview.  A few days later I got my acceptance letter. We finally graduated together in 2004. We bought our first home in Lehi, not too far from Willow Creek middle schoo

believe

  These four books are either written by or about some of my favorite authors of all time. Isaiah , Prophet, Seer and Poet, by Victor Ludlow. One semester during college we did a deep dive into this poet's literary works found in the Old Testament. Someday if I get bored, I want to learn Hebrew and read his stuff in the original language. Neal A Maxwell  is another favorite writer. My favorite book that he's written is called All These Things Shall Give Thee Experience, and is a masterpiece on human suffering and why it's necessary in the refining process. Highly recommend. The first time I read through it, it took about a year because I could only digest about a paragraph a day. believe  is such a fantastic collection of quotes on hope. Love it. Eliza  The Life and Faith of Eliza R Snow, by Karen Lynn Davidson and Jill Mulvay Derr. I love this lady so much and she's my favorite poet and pioneer woman. This biography is beautifully written. My favorite poem or quote by

2021 Christmas Card

December 2021  Dear Friends and Family, We love you and and miss y'all that are far away in WA and UT and other places!! This year we skipped our tradition of sending a Thanksgiving card and opted for a virtual Christmas card instead. It saved a ton of stamps and envelopes, but I definitely miss the glitter and sparkle. We hope you can feel our love even through a simple email or blog post. One tradition we couldn't skip was our gratitude tree, where the little leaves are a list of blessings. We are so thankful for God's goodness and mercy every day. Here's the highlight reel:  Cade graduated, made lots of Domino's pizza, read probably a thousand books, and is currently living in Provo, UT as a full-time missionary for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. He's heading to Helsinki, Finland in January. We are so proud of him and his hard work, we miss him but are excited for his opportunity to learn and serve. Shad spent a zillion hours with Marcus Ban

Thorns and gifts

We've been reading in the New Testament as a family lately, and Paul has some great advice and counsel that's still applicable today.  In his letter to the church in Corinth, he talks about a thorn in the flesh. 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 7  And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. 8  For this thing I besought the Lord thrice, that it might depart from me. 9  And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. It's kind of a moot point to speculate what Paul's particular thorn might have been, but I've often wondered. More importantly: what is God's purpose in giving his children such difficult stuff to learn? Why does life have to be so hard?

Twenty + One Month

You know how life gets kinda messy sometimes? My version of messy looks like this: Four kids including a teenager learning to drive; a kindergartner learning to get herself ready in the morning; a senior learning about adulting; a middle schooler learning to ride her bike to electives every other day, a mortgage husband's career VIRTUAL PLUS church service pandemic, civil unrest, election year my own personal need for friends and connection even when my schedule looks like a revolving door Our big anniversary was last month and we were lucky enough to celebrate together this past weekend. We managed to sneak away for 24 hours. First I need to give credit where credit is due. There was a very generous friend who volunteered to parent the children during our 'Nelson marriage offsite.' And there was a generous benefactor who donated Marriott points to spring for the fancy room. I won't mention either party by name, but thanks to their generosity we had a great time. I'

One More Syllable

It's been a year. One year ago we moved to Texas. One year ago I started asking people to call me Kristina instead of Kristy, thus adding one more syllable to my name. August is our anniversary. Last year we celebrated that anniversary by adding a cool new memory. That day we drove up to our house, found the keys and walked inside with the kids. We spent the night in our house without any stuff. Isn't it funny how places seem bigger when they're unfurnished? And that pool in the backyard? We knew nothing about pools and maintenance but just jumped in carefree. It was great. It was like being in a hotel but with room for everybody to spread out. Maybe it's time to explain the name change. For me, I had decided before moving to Texas that I wanted to quit using Kristy as my nickname. It served me well for many years and I still like it, but it's mainly for simplicity. When I'd first meet somebody, maybe I'd mumble or maybe I don't speak clearly enou

Happy Fall Y'all

Over the past year I've noticed a lot of fun and interesting things about Texas.  Call it culture shock or assimilation, but here's an outsider's view of my new home. Obviously I like saying "y'all," and I find it quite handy. From the vocabulary to the climate, from the school traditions to the local hotspots, I'm enjoying this new land even if I poke a little fun at some of the quirks. One of my favorite things about Texas is the people.  They are  nice.  The general default mode is to show kindness, warmth and hospitality. People go out of their way to help each other. I've seen this over and over again. The foundation of this town is built on people who are genuinely decent and friendly.  Language:  I love the west Texas drawl (or is it east Texas?).   At the elementary school, the sweet secretary lady is the nicest. When my son delivered something to his sister one day, she said, "Thank you baby," in a motherly, sweet way.

It doesn't matter where you live, but how...

Thoughts on Houses This is my first post from Texas.  The blog lives on.  August was a whirlwind, September we started settling in, and now it's October.  Most of the boxes are unpacked.  Just last week I found the box that had cookbooks in it, and that makes me pretty happy.  I still haven't made whole wheat bread or cookies since we got here, but maybe I'll do that soon. We spent a lot of time this summer thinking about houses, getting ready to sell our house in Traverse Mountain (in Lehi, on the northern edge of Utah County), and brainstorming on what we'd need in a house in Texas. On the way to Texas, we drove south through Colorado and spent the night at Mesa Verde.  We found the Far View Lodge inside the park and stayed up high on the mesa.  The night sky was pitch black away from the city lights, and the weather was at least ten degrees cooler up high.  I loved it.  The next morning we learned a lot about the Native Americans who lived there.  A man ga

Meek Warhorse

Norm's last church talk/sermon in Utah before moving to Texas July 2018, Lehi UT, Traverse Mountain 8th Ward Hello brothers and sisters, it’s my privilege to speak to you today.  I guess this is our good-bye address even though we haven’t moved yet, which I’m taking as a personal sign that the bishopric can’t wait for the next family to move in.  (that was a joke, guys) In my remarks today, I’m going to cover an alternative definition of meekness that really struck a chord with me.  Once I’ve introduced this idea, I’m going to share my supporting argument for meekness as a strength, and then I’m going to talk about how I believe we can develop this form of meekness in our lives. As Kristy told you, our topic is “being meek and lowly of heart” which, in the terms I normally think of meekness or lowliness, is a subject that does not come naturally to me.  I am not naturally what I consider to be meek, quiet or, as Kristy would tell you, all that well behaved.  While I

Companions - Notes on Home MTC

November 18, 2021 Most people know that missionaries run around in pairs. Some of my neighbors have seen this version of a companionship lately. Let me explain. During Covid, the church did a pivot and changed the missionary training experience from in-person to virtual. During this process they realized there were a few cool benefits that were worth continuing even after the pandemic. So the new version of missionary training begins  at home  with an Elder or Sister doing full-time training with a companion online. Then they transition to  in person  after a few weeks.  My oldest son began on November 8 with training at home. When they are in class or working together, they are meeting and making friends with other missionaries in their district. My son's cohort has four young women and four other young men, for a total of nine kids all going to Finland in January. BUT when they're not actively working or studying together,  I'm his companion . All of the places I'd no