Selfishness In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

Selfishness, Right Principle

Howard Roark is the character that embodies Ayn Rand’s objectivism in her book “The Fountainhead”. An egoist, an architect, a lover, and a creator. He was an outcast in society’s eyes, he was always distant. There was something people didn’t like about others, and something others didn’t like about him. He was selfish, everyone else lacked spirit. He embodies selfishness throughout the book; Roark even explains to Gail Wynand that his motive is his own achievement.

Near the end of the book Roark goes on trial where he praises selfishness and denounces altruism. He explained that a human’s natural instinct is to be selfish; he uses as an example of a complete egotist the creator. A creator stands alone way ahead of his time, against men; he who has never wanted to serve others whose only motive is his truth, his work done his way, his own achievement. Roark says the secret of their power was that it was self-sufficient, self-motivated, and self-generated. After all, how could he not praise selfishness if it’s the right principle to live by? And, how could he not denounce altruism if it’s a lie told to manipulate men in order to get power?

“The egotist in the absolute sense is not the man who sacrifices others. He is the man who stands above the need of using others in any manner. He does not

Selfishness is the act of loving one’s self, one’s spirit; egotism, individualism, and independence. A man that doesn’t live for others, who lives for his own merit, who loves his work, who is motivated by his own achievement; he will be the creator people will eventually look up to. Artists nowadays love Van Gogh’s art, but the paintings he sold in his lifetime were bought by people that wanted to help him. People fail to recognize the genius, he is considered evil and usually thrown out of society. People are afraid of the great, of those who love their work and work only for their