The Fountainhead (Magill’s Survey of American Literature, Revised Edition)
At a glance:
- Author: Ayn Rand
- First Published: 1943
- Type of Work: Novel
- Genres: Long fiction, Philosophical realism
- Subjects: Values, New York, North America or North Americans, Northeast, U.S., United States or Americans, Power, personal or social, Love or romance, New York City, 1920’s, 1930’s, Individuality, Trials, Ethics, Success or failure, Conformity, Architecture or architects, Public housing
- Locales: New York, NY
The Fountainhead's major theme is the need for integrity and independence as exemplified in the career of Howard Roark. Roark is the fountainhead, or productive force, in the novel. To develop this theme, Rand places Roark in contrast with three other men, Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey, and Gail Wynand.
The novel begins with a jarring contrast. Howard Roark is expelled from the Stanton Academy on the same day that Peter Keating graduates with honors. Roark is the true architect, making a building's design fit its purpose, while Keating's practice of architecture seeks...
[The entire page is 1244 words long]
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