Teacher’s Guide

INCLUDES: SUMMARIES, Study QUESTIONS,

AND SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING

The Fountainhead
By Ayn Rand
Teacher’s Guide by Andrew Bernstein, Ph.D.
For 11th – 12th graders

and

Anthem
By Ayn Rand
Teacher’s Guide by Michael S. Berliner, Ph.D.
For 8th – 12th graders
2 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 3

Table of Contents A Teacher’s Guide to

The Fountainhead Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead
About Ayn Rand....................................................................................................................3
Introduction.........................................................................................................................3
About Ayn Rand
Principal Characters........................................................................................................4
Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was born in Russia and educated under the Communists, experienc-
The Climax of the Novel.................................................................................................7 ing first-hand the horrors of totalitarianism. She escaped from Russia in 1926 and came to
Philosophical Themes in Roark’s Speech............................................................7 America because it represented her individualist philosophy.
Suggested Study Questions........................................................................................9 The Fountainhead, published in 1943, was Ayn Rand’s first great success. It was a best seller
Further Resources.......................................................................................................... 10 then and continues to sell very well today. It was made into a popular movie in 1949 starring
Gary Cooper as Howard Roark and Patricia Neal as Dominique Francon.
Essay Contests.................................................................................................................... 10
About the Author of This Guide............................................................................ 10
INTRODUCTION
Anthem The Fountainhead has achieved the status of a modern classic because it dramatically concretizes
About Ayn Rand................................................................................................................. 11 the theme of independence versus dependence, between following one’s own ideas or following
Theme......................................................................................................................................... 11 those of others. This is of particular importance to high school students who are eager to assert
their independence from their parents and need a code of ideas and values to guide them. The
The Value of Anthem to Young Students........................................................ 11 student needs to know to what extent he must follow his parents, when it is his right to assert
Summary of the Story................................................................................................... 12 himself against them, when and if he is being improperly influenced by peer pressure, and that
Utopias and Anti-Utopias........................................................................................... 13 it is his right to resist it. He needs to discover that social pressures pushing him toward unsat-
isfactory career and marriage choices are not irresistible forces defining his life—that he can
Philosophical Meaning................................................................................................ 13 oppose them successfully and often should. And he needs to discover that unthinking rebellion
Suggested Study Questions and Activities................................................... 15 against the standards of others—being different just to be different—is as abject a form of
Further Resources.......................................................................................................... 16 dependence on them as blind allegiance.

Essay Contests.................................................................................................................... 16 The Fountainhead appeals strongly to the young—and I have seen this appeal year after year,
with my own high school students—not only because its theme is independence but also
About the Author of This Guide............................................................................ 16 because it presents “a noble vision of man’s nature and of life’s potential” (from Ayn Rand’s
An Objectivist Bibliography..................................................................................... 16 Introduction to the novel). That Ayn Rand was able to integrate these issues into a plot structure
that crackles with conflict can be explained only by the school of writing to which she belongs:
Annual Essay Contests on Ayn Rand’s Novels............................................ 19 Romantic Realism. She is a Romantic in that she projects men as they might be and ought to be.
Although not many men may be currently living up to the ideal of independence, they have the
capacity to do so, and a reason why: their success and happiness depend on it. In this, she
Copyright © 2021 The Ayn Rand® Institute. All rights reserved.
fundamentally differs from the Naturalist school of fiction, which is content merely to present
men as they are. (For further elaboration, see Ayn Rand’s The Romantic Manifesto.) Ayn Rand
is a Realist in that her heroes are possible and deal with the crucial real-life problems of today;
This teacher’s guide is being published in cooperation with: her heroes are never relegated to historical costume dramas, other worlds, or flights of fantasy.
The Ayn Rand Institute For all the literary and intellectual achievements of The Fountainhead, it is but an overture to
aynrand.org/educators [email protected] Ayn Rand’s greatest achievement: Atlas Shrugged. For your advanced students, who appreciate
The Fountainhead and who are looking to go further, there is good news: Atlas Shrugged covers
For additional information and resources for teachers, in detail the sophisticated themes that The Fountainhead begins to explore.
visit https://penguinrandomhousesecondaryeducation.com
or email [email protected]
In Canada, please visit
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/academic
4 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 5

PRINCIPAL CHARACTERS give the public the impression of what they’re accustomed to.” (p. 196) Roark tries to explain
“why an honest building, like an honest man, had to be of one piece and one faith; what
An Overview constituted the life source, the idea in any existing thing or creature, and why—if one smallest
part committed treason to that idea—the thing or the creature was dead; and why the good,
Howard Roark is the main character in The Fountainhead. He is a struggling young archi- the high and the noble on earth was only that which kept its integrity.” (p. 197) The chairman
tect in the United States of the 1920s and 1930s. Roark is an early designer in the modern style. replies, “There’s no answer to what you’re saying. But unfortunately, in practical life, one can’t
He is an innovative genius, but his designs are often rejected by clients who want them to conform always be so flawlessly consistent.” (p. 197) Morality to Roark is practical. To the chairman,
to traditional standards. Roark’s refusal to compromise causes him to lose many commissions. practicality requires one to compromise one’s standards to be popular with others. Roark
While Roark struggles, Peter Keating, his rival, rises to the top of the architectural pro- refuses to change his design, on moral grounds, and loses the job. It is this point that eloquently
fession. He is a mediocre architect, but gives the public exactly what it is used to. Borrowing explains the personality of Peter Keating.
from other architects, including Roark, Keating sells out any standards he has ever held in
order to reach his goal of winning the approval of other people by any means. Peter Keating
Roark’s main antagonist in the novel is Ellsworth Toohey, who is the architectural critic Keating rises in his profession by two means: deception and manipulation. Keating is quite
of influence in New York. Toohey, the arch villain in the novel, denounces Roark for his genius willing to be “practical” in order to get commissions. He aspires to be successful as an archi-
and his integrity, but Toohey’s campaign to discredit Roark is not seen through by most people. tect—but the crucial point is that he does not aspire to do good work in architecture. Keating
Gail Wynand is Toohey’s employer. He is the talented publisher of the New York Banner, is a mediocrity, but that doesn’t matter to him, because he is able to convince the public that he
who uses his newspaper to pander to the lowest public taste and thereby gain popularity and is great. How people perceive him is Keating’s fundamental concern. For instance, he becomes
power. Meeting Roark, whom he admires, he is forced into the most agonizing decision of his an architect not because he loves to build, but because it will gain him “social respectability.”
life: to continue to curry favor with the masses or live instead according to his own standards. He works for Guy Francon, who teaches him how to impress clients by matching ties with
socks and wines with foods. He gives up Catherine Halsey (whom he loves) for Dominique
Dominique Francon is the brilliant, passionate woman who loves Roark, but who is
Francon (whom he fears) because Dominique’s beauty and connections will impress people.
convinced that Roark’s genius has no chance in a corrupt world. Roark is the catalyst for the
resolution of her conflict in the novel. He is an example of a man who never develops values. He is what Ayn Rand calls a “second-
hander”: he surrenders his capacity for judgment to other people, and therefore, he focuses not
on what he thinks, but on what others think. He designs by copying the masters of the past.
Howard Roark Further, he gets Roark to help him whenever he needs it, takes all credit for the designs himself,
Howard Roark pursues his vision of architecture with an unswerving dedication and morality and then repays Roark by publicly denouncing him. Keating is dependent, as a parasite is, on
that has made him an inspiration to readers. The action of the novel centers around the oppo- Roark, on the masters of the past, on the gullibility of the public. Keating rises because certain
sition to him from many people, all of whom are variations on the basic theme of the novel— people support him; and as with all parasites, he falls when the host organisms withdraw their
independence versus dependence. There are three major sources of opposition to Roark: (1) support. Toohey supports Keating for two reasons: (1) so that the leading architect in the
from the tradition-dominated elements of society (Peter Keating); (2) from the antipathy of country will be under his spiritual control; and (2), to help destroy Roark.
active powerlusters who reject his ideas about life and hate the independence for which he
stands; and, (3) from the two figures who love him but have unresolved conflicts which cause Ellsworth Toohey
them in different ways to oppose Roark (Wynand and Dominique).
Toohey is the antithesis of Howard Roark. He is the selfless altruist whose entire life revolves
At the opening of the novel, Roark is expelled from the prestigious Stanton Institute of Archi- around other people; specifically, he wants to rule others by preaching that the individual must
tecture. The scene between Roark and the Dean of the school establishes the conflict of tradi- sacrifice himself to the group. For example, as a vocational advisor at a New York college, he gains
tion versus innovation. The Dean views Roark as a rebel who opposes all the rules of control of his young charges by making them renounce their guiding passions, subsequently
architecture. He claims that all rules of design come from the great minds of the past, i.e., from filling their now-emptied souls with his own advice and guidance. He postures to the public as
other people. Roark disagrees, stating that “what can be done with one substance must never a saint of “humanitarian love”—while using this creed to help establish a Big Brother dictator-
be done with another. No two materials are alike. No two sites on earth are alike. No two ship, in which everyone selflessly obeys the State, with Toohey as the intellectual ruler behind
buildings have the same purpose . . . . Every form has its own meaning. Every man creates his the throne. With this end in mind, he schemes to gain control of the Wynand papers, worming
meaning and form and goal. Why is it so important—what others have done? Why does it his handpicked followers into key positions, preparing for the big showdown with Wynand.
become sacred by the mere fact of not being your own? Why is anyone and everyone right—so
long as it’s not yourself?” (p. 24) This disagreement is crucial to an understanding of The Toohey is consistently evil. He is a parasite like Keating, but he is worse because he is not after
Fountainhead, for the book’s central conflict is between people who are reality-centered and success in some career, but after power and the destruction of others. He has a vested interest
people who are centered instead on other people. in the dependency of followers. An independent person neither needs him nor will listen to
him. Therefore, Roark represents his greatest enemy. Roark cannot be ruled. This is the reason
A development of this theme is the case of the Manhattan Bank Building. The board hires why Toohey hates Roark and cannot stop him, cannot even touch him at a fundamental level.
Roark to design the building, then ruins Roark’s plan by adding a Classic motif. As the chair- For Toohey is master only of dependent personalities. All of Toohey’s scheming is powerless
man of the board explains: “In this way, though it’s not traditional architecture of course, it will against the independent judgment of the rational individual.
6 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 7

Gail Wynand THE CLIMAX OF THE NOVEL

Wynand rises out of the New York slums to a position of wealth and power through hard work, The climax of The Fountainhead is Roark’s dynamiting of the government-sponsored Cortlandt
determination, and brilliance. A man of tremendous creative drive, he is frustrated and angered Homes housing project, which Roark designed secretly at Keating’s request—on condition
by the incompetence he encounters in his rise. Since every good idea of his receives the response that his design be faithfully followed. But Keating allows government bureaucrats to deface
“you don’t run things around here,” Wynand sets out to make certain that he does indeed run and alter the design. The climax resolves all the major conflicts. For Roark, the dynamiting is
things. Believing that dominance over others is the only way that real values can be achieved in his assertion of the creator’s right to that which he creates versus the second-handers who wish
a world he regards as corrupt, he sets out to dominate public opinion through his newspaper to control his work—and ultimately his life. (Note that Roark had no recourse to the courts
chain—which is aimed at the lowest common denominator among men. He accepts the idea because he is not permitted to sue the government, and he dynamites Cortlandt to set up a test
that to be successful he must sacrifice his ideas and play to the prejudices of his readers. All of case, not as an act of anarchy.) For Keating, the Cortlandt affair means the final exposure and
his innovative talents are then devoted to making his scandal sheet, the Banner, the most collapse of his second-hand method of living. For Dominique, her choice to help Roark with
influential newspaper in New York. Wynand, the man of potential independence, becomes the dynamiting means she has finally understood that evil is impotent and cannot fundamen-
Wynand the demagogue, pandering to the mob in return for their support. tally hurt the good. For Wynand, his failed attempt to use the Banner to promote, for once, his
own values, to defend Roark, brings him face to face with the inescapable contradiction that
All of Wynand’s actual values and judgments are excluded from the content of his newspaper,
one cannot achieve noble ends by corrupt means. For Toohey, the trial is a test of whether he
finding expression only in his private art collection and in the selection of his wife, Dominique,
has succeeded in his lifelong quest to inculcate collectivism. Roark’s acquittal and Wynand’s
and closest friend, Roark. Wynand’s nature is such that he must admire and love Roark; but the
closing of the Banner leave Toohey helpless. Toohey cannot shackle the creators such as Roark,
Banner’s nature is such that it must oppose and denounce Roark. Wynand mistakenly thinks he
if they are willing to fight openly and proudly for their rights.
can use his power to support Roark, but he finds out otherwise. Wynand believes he must sacrifice
his integrity to gain power. One chooses to be either a corrupt success or an honest failure; to
Wynand there is no other alternative. This same assumption is shared by Dominique Francon in
PHILOSOPHICAL THEMES IN ROARK’S SPEECH
a different form. It brings her into desperate conflict with everything she loves, especially Roark.
Ayn Rand wrote in her letter “To the Readers of The Fountainhead”:
Dominique Francon “The Fountainhead started in my mind as a definition of a new code of ethics—the moral-
ity of individualism. The idea of individualism is not new, but nobody had defined a
Dominique is an impassioned idealist. She is capable of positive emotion only for the noble,
consistent and specific way to live by it in practice. It is in their statements on morality
the pure, the exalted. Unfortunately, Dominique regards the world, not as an exalted place that the individualist thinkers have floundered and lost their case. They had nothing
where greatness will flourish, not even as an indifferent place where greatness will occasionally better to offer than vulgar selfishness which consisted of sacrificing others to self. When I
rise only to be ignored, but as a malignant place where the rare instances of greatness will be
realized that that was only another form of collectivism—of living through others by
ruthlessly crushed. Hence, she throws down an air shaft a statue of a Greek god which she
ruling them— I had the key to The Fountainhead and to the character of Howard Roark.”
cherishes, and she joins with Toohey in an attempt to destroy the career of the man she loves.
Both are acts of mercy killing—the attempt to kill quickly and painlessly that which has no In analyzing The Fountainhead, it is important to see the ways in which this conflict between
place in a malignant world. Dominique is idealism combined with pessimism—love of the independent and dependent methods of cognition are manifested, both in the novel and in real
noble conjoined with the conviction that the noble has no chance in the world. She lives her life. There are many.
life in fear that the things she loves are in danger of imminent destruction. The first involves the false alternative between conformity and nonconformity. The conformist
Like Wynand, she believes that one must choose between corrupt success and noble failure. is the person who lives life in accordance with the judgment and standards of others. This
Unlike Wynand, she repudiates such a success, opting instead to take no value from a corrupt person’s attitude is: “if you believe it, then I believe it,” and his life is lived in order to satisfy
world. In effect she withdraws from the world, her first-rate mind unused in any serious the expectations of others. At root, this is a cognitive issue, for the essence of conformity is the
attempt at a successful career. After the agony of the Stoddard Temple trial, she removes herself subordination of reason to faith; of surrendering one’s own thinking and living via unquestion-
from active participation in the ongoing struggle. Only with the Cortlandt dynamiting, years ing obedience to the beliefs of others. The Dean is one example of conformity, but Peter
later, does Dominique once again take an active role in the conflict of the drama. Then she Keating is the best example. Real life provides a plethora of conformists: the religious believer
observes that Roark can make a success of himself on his terms, and that Keating, Toohey, and who embraces whatever religion in which his parents raised him, the child who allows his
Wynand ultimately fail. family to pressure him into or out of his own career choice or romantic involvement, the
teenager who sacrifices his own beliefs to win acceptance from his peers, the businessman or
politician who compromises his ideals and panders to the public; all of these, and countless
others, are variations on the theme of conformity.
The conventional view is that the opposite of the conformist is the nonconformist, when, in
reality, the nonconformist also is ruled by the judgment of other people. The nonconformist
lives in reaction against the judgment and standards of others. His attitude is: “if you believe
it, then I’m against it.” At root, the nonconformist surrenders his mind to others, for by living
8 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 9

in blind rebellion against their values, his life also is dominated by them. The drug-addicted is perishing from an orgy of self-sacrificing.” All the rest of the book is a demonstration of how
hippies of the 1960s, who lived their lives in rebellion against the values of their middle-class the principles of egoism and altruism work out in people and in the events of their lives.
parents, are a good example. The conformist is eager to discover the conclusions of others so he Howard Roark is an egoist—an exponent of rational self-interest. He thinks for himself, using
might follow them; the nonconformist is similarly eager to discover the conclusions of others his reasoning mind. Reason is that attribute that distinguishes man from the animals and the
in order to rebel. But both are primarily focused on the beliefs of others; neither is concerned proper egoist from the altruist. Ellsworth Toohey is an advocate of altruism, “the doctrine
with formulating his own conclusions, with thinking independently. which demands that man live for others and place others above self.” (p. 680)
The independent thinker is a third category, separate from the others. The Howard Roark type The egoist creates in order to survive and to flourish. “The creator’s concern is the conquest of
is neither a conformist nor a nonconformist but an individualist, one who lives on his own nature. The parasite’s concern is the conquest of men.” (p. 679) Ayn Rand chose architecture
terms. The source of the difference is cognitive: the individualist forms his own standards and as the career of her hero because, she says, “a builder is one of the most eloquent representatives
his own values by means of relying on his own judgment. He is a thinker, neither a follower of man’s creative faculty.” The antithesis of a builder is a destroyer, a dependent, a second-
nor a rebel. American history abounds with innovators who are perfect examples: Fulton, hander. Altruism demands unthinking dependency and obedience to the norms established by
Edison, the Wright Brothers, etc. others or by the ruler. Men who live by it must become parasites. Thus the historical struggle
The conformist and nonconformist are both psychological dependents, dominated by others, between the individual and the collective. Whether the collective is the church, the state, the
unwilling to stand alone. Only the individualist is psychologically independent, cognitively race, or the proletariat, the clash is always between the “common good,” which holds that it has
free of others, standing alone, forming his own conclusions by logical assessment of the a right to each man’s life and productive achievement, and the individual who holds that he has
facts. Truth, the individualist recognizes, is not a matter of the relationship between an idea a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
and the facts of reality. Truth is objective, not collective or intersubjective. An individualist’s Howard Roark states at the trial that “the only good which men can do to one another and the
commitment to the facts, not to the beliefs of others, is the source of his ability to stand alone. only statement of their proper relationship is—Hands off!” Now observe the results of a society
It is this ability to stand alone that lies at the heart of a second manifestation of the novel’s built on the principle of individualism. This, our country . . . . It was based on a man’s right to
theme. Rich in layers of philosophical insight, at one level The Fountainhead shows the struggle the pursuit of happiness. His own happiness. Not anyone else’s. A private, personal, selfish
of a great innovator against the entrenched beliefs of a conservative society. Roark and his motive.” (p. 683) The antithesis of our free society is one based on collectivism, such as Com-
mentor, Henry Cameron, are early designers in the modernist style, fighting against an munist Russia or Nazi Germany. Roark says, “Now, in our age, collectivism, the rule of the
uncritical adherence to traditional dogmas in the field of architecture. Historically, many who second-hander and second-rater, the ancient monster, has broken loose and is running amuck
had never seen buildings greater than two stories in height rejected the new skyscraper in fear; . . . . It has reached a scale of horror without precedent. It has poisoned every mind. It has
just as many rejected the steamboat, the airplane, the electric light; just as many today reject swallowed most of Europe. It is engulfing our country.”
nuclear power. The implicit thinking of this traditionalist mentality is: “Other people have The tampering with Roark’s design of Cortlandt homes is an example of altruism. Some face-
never done it this way; therefore, it’s no good.” Observe the slavish obedience to the beliefs of less men on an architectural committee decide to change his plans for no reason except that the
others that this way of “thinking” contains. individual, the creator who has done the thinking and the work, has no right to the product of
But the innovator is an independent person. he sees with his own eyes and thinks with his own his labor. This is sacrifice in practice. Once he has done his job, his work is considered public
brain. Because of this, he discovers new facts, invents new methods, explores new lands. If property, his rights are sacrificed to the collective. Roark fights these men by destroying his
Columbus had adhered to society’s beliefs, he would have stayed home. Similarly Edison, own creation on the principle that since he built it, then he must have the right to keep what
Fulton, Marie Curie, Frank Lloyd Wright would never have formulated new truths nor perse- he has built. To shackle creators, to count on them to innovate, design, produce, but then to
vered in the decades-long struggle to demonstrate them had they been followers of public taste. expropriate their creations for others who did nothing to earn it, is a great injustice. The
The innovator is a person of fiercely independent judgment; because of this, he fights a terrible independent minds, the Galileos, the Edisons, the Aristotles, carry the rest of mankind forward
struggle against those who cling to established standards; because of this, he carries mankind on their backs. This is the message of Roark’s speech and the significance of the title The
out of the caves into modern civilization. Fountainhead. The meaning is: the ego is the fountainhead of human achievement and prog-
ress. The ego is the individual man’s reasoning mind.
At this level, The Fountainhead is an impassioned defense of the free thinker against the stifling
restrictions of conventional norms. It is this struggle of the innovator, and his many successes,
that explains the meaning of the book’s title: independent judgment as the fountainhead or
SUGGESTED STUDY QUESTIONS
original source of all human progress and prosperity. “The great creators—the thinkers, the art-
ists, the scientists, the inventors—stood alone against the men of their time,” says Roark in his 1. Dominique Francon loves Roark and struggles to destroy him. Why?
climactic courtroom speech. “Every great new thought was opposed. Every great new invention 2. How does Howard Roark exemplify the fact that reason must be used to solve man’s
was denounced. The first motor was considered foolish. The airplane was considered impossible. problems, rather than relying on others’ judgments or one’s emotions? Why is the dyna-
The power loom was considered vicious. Anesthesia was considered sinful. But the men of miting of Cortlandt not an example of irrationality?
unborrowed vision went ahead. They fought, they suffered and they paid. But they won.”
3. Keating gives up art for architecture and Catherine Halsey for Dominique Francon. Why
The key statement to the whole conception of The Fountainhead is in Roark’s speech: “I wished are these major betrayals for him, necessitating his failure in life?
to come here and say that I am a man who does not exist for others. It had to be said. The world
4. What is Toohey’s ultimate purpose in trying to control the Banner?
10 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 11

5. How do Keating’s and Roark’s paths to success differ? Which one in the end is the real success?
A Teacher’s Guide to Ayn Rand’s ANTHEM
6. Why does Toohey ultimately fail in his manipulations against Roark?
7. What does Ayn Rand mean by the terms “first-hander” and “second-hander”?
8. Why does the courtroom verdict at the Cortlandt trial mean the psychological destruction
About Ayn Rand
of Gail Wynand? Ayn Rand (1905–1982) was born in Russia and educated under the Communists, experiencing
firsthand the horrors of totalitarianism. She escaped from Russia in 1926 and came to America
9. If you had the opportunity to meet Howard Roark, what would you ask him?
because it represented her individualist philosophy.
10. Is Roark a moral man, a practical man, both, or neither?
Anthem, written in 1937, is Ayn Rand’s novelette about the essence of collectivism. It was
11. What does Ayn Rand mean by individualism, and why are the Founding Fathers of the published in England in 1938, went into a limited American edition in 1946, and was then
United States individualists? published by New American Library in 1961.
12. Why does Roark say that refusal of the Manhattan Bank Building contract is “the most
selfish thing you’ve ever seen a man do”?
THEME
“It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others think and to put them down upon
Further Resources paper no others are to see . . . . There is no transgression blacker than to do or think alone.” So
Visit the Ayn Rand Institute’s website: aynrand.org begins Anthem, whose theme is, in Ayn Rand’s words, “The meaning of man’s ego.” Anthem
projects a completely collectivized society, a society in which the word “I” no longer exists.
Anthem is not just a story about the individual being swallowed by the collective. It is also an
ESSAY CONTESTS identification of how that can happen, what ideas people must first accept before such a
The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors annual student essay contests on Rand’s novels. Using the totalitarian society can take hold. And Anthem is not merely a story about the horrible, depress-
contests as an assignment is a natural extension of the classroom experience that: ing life of people in a collectivist society; it is also about the triumph of the individual’s inde-
pendent spirit, the triumph of those who reject the ethics of collectivism.
• Builds upon what students have learned
• Encourages critical thinking
• Awards cash prizes for winning submissions ($2 million awarded to date!) THE VALUE OF Anthem FOR YOUNG STUDENTS
For information on contest deadlines, eligibility, and prizes, visit aynrand.org/contests. Anthem contains many elements that appeal strongly to young readers. It is an exciting and
inspiring story, with heroic characters risking their lives for their ideals. It has mystery, carrying
students into a science-fiction world of the future. It portrays events with grand significance,
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THIS GUIDE challenging readers to decide not just what will happen to particular characters, but what the
The Fountainhead teacher’s guide has been prepared by Dr. Andrew Bernstein. Dr. Bernstein world should be like.
received his Ph.D. in philosophy from the Graduate School of the City University of New York. Anthem raises ethical and political issues at a time in the lives of young peo-ple when such issues
He has taught Philosophy at the State University of New York at Purchase, Marist College, Hunter are beginning to take on critical importance: Who am I? Is it possible to stand on my own? The
College, the State University of New York at New Paltz, and other New York-area universities. book asks basic questions about society: If we could choose what kind of society to have, what
should we choose? What is the moral and just society? Does my life belong to the group? Do I
have the right to pursue my own happiness? Can a society without freedom be productive?
Anthem serves as an introduction to what Ayn Rand called her Romantic Realist approach to
literature. Her fiction is Romantic because she portrays “not the random trivia of the day,” not
the folks-next-door, but “the timeless, fundamental, universal problems and values of human
existence.” Romanticism contrasts with Naturalism, which holds that people are crushed by
social forces and cannot control their own destiny. Ayn Rand’s fiction is Realist because she
deals with real problems of normal people (not monsters, superhumans or robots). Anthem
carries the same heroic view of the individual as her later novels, The Fountainhead and Atlas
Shrugged. Anthem also provides an introduction to the ideas she was later to develop into a full,
systematic philosophy, which she called “Objectivism.”
12 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 13

SUMMARY OF THE STORY UTOPIAS AND ANTI-UTOPIAS

When the story begins, sometime in the distant future, the hero (known only as Equality This type of fiction is often called “anti-utopian,” meaning that the world presented is the
7-2521) is a young man in his late teens or early twenties. Speaking in the first person plural world as it should not be. Other well-known anti-utopian novels, such as We and Brave New
(Anthem is his diary), he describes his society and his attitude towards it. World, present collectivism as the worst-possible society. In those books, the society is tyranni-
cal yet has a highly technological economy—a combination that Ayn Rand did not believe
The society is controlled by the World Council, which directs every aspect of every individual’s
possible. She held that economic progress depends upon freedom, that the uncoerced mind is
life. Each citizen’s life has been controlled from birth: he is conceived in the Palace of Mating.
the source of technology, prosperity and progress. Thus the collectivist society she depicts is
Instead of living with his parents, he first lives in the Home of Infants. As he grows older, he
stagnant and primitive.
moves to the Home of Students, then to a special home for those of his assigned vocation, and,
finally, at old age, to the Home of the Useless. Citizens are constantly barraged with propa-
ganda from the leaders, who preach the glory of working for one’s brothers and the duty of
PHILOSOPHICAL MEANING
fulfilling “the needs of society.” The alternative is death: “If you are not needed by your brother
men,” proclaim the Teachers, “there is no reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies.” Philosophical issues arise throughout the story, but they are dramatized in action—in the
It is clear that the citizens have accepted the morality of altruism, which advocates sacrifice to hero’s struggle against his society; they do not appear as philosophic speeches. In this union of
others. As a consequence, the leaders do not rule by physical force or even by the threat of ideas and dramatic action, Ayn Rand was unique: she was a philosopher, who wrote nonfiction
force: they don’t need to. The citizens have no personal desires—they have either given them works on a wide range of philosophic issues; but she was also a novelist, who wrote exciting
up voluntarily or never formed them. Citizens obey the leaders without question. Those who stories with profound philosophic content. In her novels, she dramatized her philosophy,
have any doubts about their society feel guilty that they do. making those issues alive, concrete and real, showing readers how that philosophy applies to
the events of men’s lives.
As Equality 7-2521 begins to describe his life, it becomes clear that the society he lives in has
no industry or technology. There are no factories, no machines, almost nothing at all that is
man-made. His days are filled with drudgery and routine. Although capable of great intellec-
Individualism vs. Collectivism
tual achievement, he has been assigned the job of Street Sweeper. This assignment was not the The principal political issue in Anthem—and in society at large—is the issue of individualism
result of bureaucratic incompetence; on the contrary, the leaders recognized his ability and vs. collectivism. The society depicted in Anthem is a collectivist society. “Collectivism,” Ayn
considered it to be a threat. Rand wrote, “means the subjugation of the individual to the group—whether to a race, class
or state does not matter.” In such a society, the individual is owned by the group; he has no
But he has come upon the remains of a subway entrance from the Unmentionable Times,
right to a private existence, which means no right to lead his own life, pursue his own happi-
many years in the past, when there was a prosperous industrial society. Even to think of these
ness or use his own property. The individual exists only as part of the group, and his worth is
times has been forbidden. His individuality still alive, he defies the rules and returns again and
determined by his service to the group.
again to the subway and to the fascinating technological remains from the past. Down in the
subway, he works on abandoned wires and equipment, and he eventually rediscovers electricity The alternative to collectivism is individualism, the view advocated by Ayn Rand. “Individual-
and reinvents electric light. ism,” she wrote, “regards man—every man—as an independent, sovereign entity who possesses
an inalienable right to his own life, a right derived from his nature as a rational being.” Indi-
He presents his light bulb to the Council of Scholars, believing that they will welcome such a
vidualism does not mean that one can do whatever he feels like doing; it means that every man
labor-saving, time-saving, life-saving device. However, the Council is frightened by his inven-
is an individual and has the same rights. “An individualist is a man who says: ‘I will not run
tion and by his daring to come up with something on his own: “What is not thought by all
anyone’s life—nor let anyone run mine. I will not rule or be ruled. I will not be a master nor a
men,” they cry, “cannot be true . . . . What is not done collectively cannot be good.” When the
slave. I will not sacrifice myself to anyone—nor sacrifice anyone to myself.’”
Council threatens to destroy the light bulb, he admits to himself that his society is evil.
Fleeing with his invention, he escapes to the Uncharted Forest. He knows that the leaders are Selflessness
afraid to venture into the unknown, either intellectually or physically. There he is joined by a
Anthem dramatizes Ayn Rand’s view that the self is destroyed in a collectivist society. How is
young girl with whom he had earlier fallen in love, despite the ban on personal love and
the lack of self—or selflessness—shown? No one has a personal name, for, under collectivism,
friendships. Now named “Prometheus” and “Gaea,” they find a well-preserved house from the
individuals are interchangeable. To prefer one person to another (as a friend or romantic
Unmentionable Times.
partner) is to commit the cardinal sin: the Transgression of Preference. As in Nazi or Com-
In the house is a library of books from those times, and they thus discover the ideas that made munist societies, it is wrong to disagree, to have independent thoughts, even to ask questions,
possible the freedom and prosperity of the past: man is a separate individual, with a self that is because to do those things sets one apart from others. Self-assertion is forbidden. All decisions
the source of creativity; it is wrong to live for others; conformity, obedience and sacrifice are are made by the Council in the name of the whole. Individuals have no rights. No individual
the cause of human unhappiness and destruction. It is, he now knows, “my eyes which see,” choice is allowed by the government: “everything which is not permitted by law is forbidden.”
“my mind which thinks,” “my will which chooses . . . . Neither am I the means to any end Anthem depicts what happens to a society that implements selflessness. The result, according to
others may wish to accomplish. I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. Ayn Rand, is a subhuman society: what makes human beings human is having a self, which
I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on their altars.” In these books, he means having a mind. A selfless individual is a mindless individual. To practice selflessness, one
has discovered the word he has been struggling to identify: the word “I.” must abstain from thinking and obey one’s masters. To practice collectivism, one must merge
14 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 15

himself into the group, and the only way to do this is to obliterate individual identity and Suggested Study Questions and Activities
individual thought. The result is the kind of society found in Anthem, a society of mindless
1. Why did Ayn Rand name her main characters “Prometheus” and “Gaea”? Look these
robots, people with no motivation, no ambition, no hope. They are unable to create anything,
names up in a book on mythology. Compare the myths about Prometheus and Gaea to the
and the society they live in has no room for creativity.
story of these two characters.
Egoism 2. In her Foreword to Anthem, Ayn Rand summarizes her political views. What laws that we
have today do you think she would agree with, and which would she oppose?
If lacking an ego means that one has become a robot, what, for Ayn Rand, is the exact meaning
of egoism? Egoism means “concern with one’s own interests.” It means that oneself, rather than 3. What might it be like to live in a society where there are no “selves” and “we” has replaced
others, is the proper beneficiary of one’s action. Equality 7-2521 is egoistic. He lives for his own “I”? In your classroom, construct the “ideal society” as envisioned by the Council of
happiness; he doesn’t sacrifice himself to others, nor does he sacrifice others to himself. The egoism Scholars.
he manifests is exactly what the leaders try to eradicate: ambition, wanting things for oneself, 4. Prometheus’s intellectual activities are illegal in his society. Throughout history, many great
wanting to learn, wanting a career that makes him happy, loving someone, thinking for himself. innovators, such as Copernicus, Galileo, Watt and Fulton have faced ridicule and even legal
Equality 7-2521 represents the unconquerable human spirit, the affirmation of life. In contrast, attacks. Research the struggle faced by one of these individuals. Write a dialogue between
almost all of his fellow citizens are gray, passive, nonentities; as such, they are the living dead. that person and Prometheus. How would Prometheus try to encourage that person?
Chapter 11 ends with “This god, this one word: ‘I,’” and the final words of the book refer to the 5. Why did Prometheus try to convince the Council of Scholars that his invention merited
“sacred word: EGO.” Does this mean that egoism is a religion, with the worship of God replaced their support? If a government council thinks that an invention will not benefit the com-
by the worship of self? No. Ayn Rand has said that she chose the title Anthem “because this is my munity, should the invention be banned? Compare the situation in the novel to such govern-
hymn to man’s ego.” For Ayn Rand, the self is like a god, but is not a god in the religious sense. ment agencies as the Federal Drug Administration and the Federal Aviation Administration,
The ego or self is a “god” in that it is one’s highest value, the source of what is good in life on Earth. which allow new products or new air routes only if they will “benefit the community.”

Free Will 6. For Prometheus, life in the Uncharted Forest is quite different from what he has known.
Write two brief messages that Prometheus might want to send to any two characters who
One of the oldest and most important philosophic issues is the problem of free will vs. deter- are still in the City.
minism. Those, like Ayn Rand, who advocate free will, contend that people can make choices,
can make up their own minds, can make decisions, can direct their own lives by the ideas and 7. Read about a “positive” utopia, such as in Plato’s Republic or Thomas More’s Utopia, and
values they adopt. Those who advocate determinism contend that people are by nature in the compare with Anthem.
grip of forces beyond their control, that their beliefs and values are the result of some force such 8. Read about a “negative” utopia, such as in George Orwell’s 1984 or Aldous Huxley’s Brave
as God, other people, the stars, economic conditions, instincts or one’s racial heritage. New World. Write a letter to Ayn Rand comparing the world of the future in one of those
Anthem shows what it means to have free will, and it does so in a particularly interesting way. It books to the world of the future in Anthem.
depicts a world where people’s lives seem to be determined but it’s actually a world where people 9. Compare the expulsion of Adam and Eve from the garden of Eden to the story of Pro-
have free will. Students often believe that in Anthem only the heroic characters have free will, metheus and Gaea. For what “sins” were each condemned?
that the masses are indeed brainwashed, with no power to control their own lives. However, as
10. Which nations do you think are the most like the society in Anthem? Which are the least
Ayn Rand presents them, even those who submit to the authorities have free will. They are
like it?
robots, but they are robots by choice: they were not forced to obey; they do so because they vol-
untarily abdicated the responsibility to think for themselves. They are depressed, without hope 11. What is “collectivism”? Which of our laws today are collectivist?
or ambition; they make no effort to accomplish anything; they merely obey and go along with 12. Is the world of Anthem more like the United States of 1776 or the United States today?
orders. Ayn Rand holds that free will means “the choice to think or not.” Most of the citizens
have chosen not to think, which leaves them no alternative but to do whatever they’re told to do. 13. Compare the idea of equality as used in the Declaration of Independence to the idea of
equality as practiced in Anthem.
How is free will manifested in Anthem? Prometheus relies on his own judgment rather than
take the beliefs of his leaders as automatically true. His rediscovery of electricity is the prime 14. The absence of industrial technology and other man-made inventions characterized the
example of free will: he himself initiates the thinking required to understanding the world society of Anthem. Compare this to the society aimed at by environmentalism.
around him; this is what makes him independent. Neither he nor his friends are bound by 15. Ayn Rand held that freedom is a prerequisite for economic progress. Is this view confirmed
tradition. That the past is “unmentionable” does not prevent them from mentioning it; that by the histories of the U.S.S.R. and the People’s Republic of China?
the forest beyond their city is “uncharted” does not prevent them from reaching it. And this is
the ultimate meaning of a free-will approach to life: the future is open to man; what you attain
is up to you; your values and your ultimate happiness are achievable. In Ayn Rand’s view, man
has the power to think and direct his life; he isn’t doomed to a life of despair and defeat. If he
is willing to rely on himself rather than be pushed by events, he can, like the hero-ic characters
in Anthem, achieve self-confidence.
16 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand 17

Further Resources Ayn Rand’s Other Fiction

Visit the Ayn Rand Institute’s website: aynrand.org Night of January 16th (1934): A courtroom play in which the verdict depends on the sense-of-
life of jurors selected from the audience.
The Early Ayn Rand (1984): A collection of stories and plays written by Ayn Rand in the 1920s
ESSAY CONTESTS
and 1930s, plus passages cut from The Fountainhead.
The Ayn Rand Institute sponsors annual student essay contests on Rand’s novels. Using the
contests as an assignment is a natural extension of the classroom experience that:
Ayn Rand’s Nonfiction
• Builds upon what students have learned
For the New Intellectual (1961): A collection of the key philosophical passages from her novels.
• Encourages critical thinking
The 48-page title essay sweeps over the history of thought, showing how ideas control the
• Awards cash prizes for winning submissions ($2 million awarded to date!)
course of history and how philosophy has served for the most part as an engine of destruction.
For information on contest deadlines, eligibility, and prizes, visit aynrand.org/contests.
The Virtue of Selfishness (1964): Ayn Rand’s revolutionary concept of egoism. Essays on the
morality of rational selfishness and the political and social implications of such a moral phi-
ABOUT THE AUTHOR OF THIS GUIDE losophy. Essays include: “The Objectivist Ethics,” “Man’s Rights,” “The Nature of Govern-
ment” and “Racism.”
The Anthem teacher’s guide has been prepared by Dr. Michael S. Berliner. Dr. Berliner taught
philosophy and philosophy of education at California State University, Northridge, where he Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal (1966): Essays on the theory and history of capitalism, dem-
served as chairman of the Department of Social and Philosophical Foundations of Education. onstrating that it is the only moral economic system, i.e., the only one consistent with indi-
He regularly used Anthem in his introductory courses to illustrate the meaning of indepen- vidual rights and a free society. Includes: “What Is Capitalism?” “The Roots of War,”
dence. He received his Ph.D. in philosophy from Boston University and is the former executive “Conservatism: An Obituary” and “The Anatomy of Compromise.”
director of the Ayn Rand Institute. Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology (1967): The Objectivist theory of concepts, with Ayn
Rand’s solution to “the problem of universals,” identifying the relationship of abstractions to
concretes. Includes an essay by Leonard Peikoff, “The Analytic-Synthetic Dichotomy.” The
An Objectivist Bibliography second edition (1990) includes transcripts of Ayn Rand’s workshops on her theory—contain-
ing her answers to questions about her theory raised by philosophers and other academics.
Ayn Rand’s Novels
The Romantic Manifesto (1969): Ayn Rand’s philosophy of art, with a new analysis of the
We the Living (1936): Set in Soviet Russia, this is Ayn Rand’s first and most autobiographical Romantic school of literature. Essays include: “Philosophy and Sense of Life,” “The Psycho-
novel. Its theme is: “the individual against the state, the supreme value of a human life and the Epistemology of Art” and “What Is Romanticism?”
evil of the totalitarian state that claims the right to sacrifice it.”
The New Left: The Anti-Industrial Revolution (1971): Ayn Rand’s answer to environmentalism,
Anthem (1938): This novelette depicts a world of the future, a society so collectivized that even “progressive” education and other contemporary antireason movements.
the word “I” has vanished from the language. Anthem’s theme is: the meaning and glory of
Philosophy: Who Needs It (1982): Everybody needs philosophy—that is the theme of this book.
man’s ego.
It demonstrates that philosophy is essential in each person’s life, and shows how those who do
The Fountainhead (1943): The story of an innovator—architect Howard Roark—and his battle not think philosophically are the helpless victims of ideas they accept passively from others.
against a tradition-worshipping society. Its theme: “individualism versus collectivism, not in Essays include “Philosophical Detection,” “Causality Versus Duty” and “The Metaphysical
politics, but in man’s soul; the psychological motivations and the basic premises that produce Versus the Man-Made.”
the character of an individualist or a collectivist.” Ayn Rand presented here for the first time
The Ayn Rand Lexicon: Objectivism from A to Z (1986): A mini-encyclopedia of Objectivism,
her projection of the ideal man.
containing the key passages from the writings of Ayn Rand and her associates on 400 topics in
Atlas Shrugged (1957): Ayn Rand’s complete philosophy, dramatized in the form of a mystery philosophy and related fields. Edited by Harry Binswanger.
story “not about the murder of a man’s body, but about the murder—and rebirth—of man’s
spirit.” The story is set in a near-future America whose economy is collapsing due to the inex- The Voice of Reason: Essays in Objectivist Thought (1989): Philosophy and cultural analysis,
plicable disappearance of the country’s leading innovators and industrialists—the “Atlases” on including “Who Is the Final Authority in Ethics?” Also “Religion Versus America” by Leonard
Peikoff, and “Libertarianism: The Perversion of Liberty” by Peter Schwartz.
whom the world rests. The theme is: “the role of the mind in man’s existence—and, as corol-
lary, the demonstration of a new moral philosophy: the morality of rational self-interest.” The Ayn Rand Column (1991): A collection of Ayn Rand’s columns for the Los Angeles Times,
and other essays.
18 A Teacher’s Guide to The Fountainhead and Anthem by Ayn Rand

Ayn Rand’s Marginalia (1995): Notes Ayn Rand made in the margins of the works of more
than twenty authors, including Barry Goldwater, C. S. Lewis and Ludwig von Mises. Edited Annual Essay Contests
on Ayn Rand’s Novels
by Robert Mayhew.
Letters of Ayn Rand (1995): This collection of more than 500 letters offers much new informa-
tion on Ayn Rand’s life as philosopher, novelist, political activist and Hollywood screenwriter.
Edited by Michael S. Berliner.
Journals of Ayn Rand (1997): An extensive collection of Ayn Rand’s thoughts—spanning forty
years—on literature and philosophy, including notes on her major novels and on the develop-
ment of the political philosophy of individualism. Edited by David Harriman.

Works by Leonard Peikoff

Leonard Peikoff, Ayn Rand’s legal and intellectual heir, is the pre-eminent authority on Objec-
tivism.
The Ominous Parallels: The End of Freedom in America (1982): The Objectivist philosophy of
history—through an analysis of the philosophical causes of Nazism, and their parallels in
contemporary America.
Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand (1991): This is the definitive, systematic statement of
Ayn Rand’s philosophy, based on Dr. Peikoff’s thirty years of philosophical discussions with
her. All of the key principles of Objectivism—from metaphysics to art—are presented in a
logical, hierarchical structure. For 8th–12th graders

For a complete bibliography, visit aynrand.org/novels

notes

For 11th and 12th graders For 12th graders and college students

More than $2 million awarded to date!

Thousands of dollars awarded
to students each year!
aynrand.org/contests
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