The Fountainhead
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Ayn Rand has herself admitted that she has primarily used her novels as a way of conveying her philosophy, Objectivism. Objectivism is a philosophy that attaches itself to the notion that one must never compromise. In short, it presents the world as very black and white. So it not too surprising that throughout the novel, there is really only one main character that she wants us to like and respect: Howard Roark. Every other main character is either portrayed as despicable from the very beginning or with a certain flaw that keeps the reader from respecting that character as much as we respect Roark. Seeing as how none of them ever stand up to Roark as a bastion of Rand's philosophy, they serve as rivals or foils to emphasize the fundamental differences between them, or in a broader sense, the different views of society aside from Rand's and the reasons that they are inadequate. That fact can be rather hard to swallow as you first start reading the book but, nonetheless, the novel turns into a very thought-provoking read.
Howard Roark is the undisputed hero of the novel and carries it all the way till its end. Roark's struggle throughout the book is with society and their seemingly staunch refusal to accept Roark's innovative architecture. But as the novel moves along, the reader begins to insinuate that the mainstream public might be able to handle Roark's ideas and that it is a select few who wish to restrict Roark's genius and continue to hold him back from gaining any real foothold...