Characters: MAJOR: 1. Howard Roark: The hero of The Fountainhead, Howard Roark is portrayed as an ideal man: independent, strong, and free. He is the struggling architect and hero of the story. Roark is an early designer in the modern style. He is tall, gaunt, and angular, with gray eyes and distinctive orange hair. He is a brilliant, innovative genius, but his designs are often rejected by clients who want them to conform to traditional standards. Roark’s refusal to compromise causes him to lose many commissions. While Roark struggles, PETER KEATING, his rival, rises to the top of the architectural profession. He is a mediocre architect, but gives the public exactly what it is used to. Borrowing from other architects, including Roark, Keating …show more content…
Peter keating A classmate of Roark’s who lives only for fame and the approval of others. Keating is good-looking and commercially successful, but he steals his only original ideas from Roark. Keating is Roark 's opposite as an architect. He does everything he can to please others and claw his way up the corporate ladder. He is of a truly collectivist mindset. He could never be as man should be (a true individual), but does not even know it. In The Fountainhead, character determines fate, and the moment Keating becomes dishonest as well as weak, he dooms himself to unhappiness. Minor characters: Mike: A master electrician, Mike loves to see mastery in others. He becomes completely devoted to Roark and to the kind of achievement he represents. He easily recognizes roark’s ability and how he starts playing a important role on the construction site. Austen Heller: Extremely educated and from an old and wealthy family, Austen Heller is now a widely respected social activist who fights coercion in all forms. Catherine Halsey: A young girl born in Stanton but then moves to New York after his father’s death to live with her uncle toohey. She passionately wants to marry peter keating and to help others. The Dean of