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John Galt In Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead

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Hank Rearden asked himself in the solitude accompanied with his achievements " who started him and kept him going?" --a question most people should indulge in- who was the ignition to the motors of our minds, the fuel that fed these motors, the blood that nourishes and provides life to our existence, who was John Galt?

By implication, John Galt is a feeling that burns inside one's soul, and idol that drives a person into a intellectual embarkment. It is an idea one lives by, that may be all one has left in a world capable of turning men into "sacrificial animals"(79) "Where one is punished for being good and penalized for ability." John Galt's name is used to fight against a sea of indifference, conformity, and second handers, a last …show more content…

John Galt is a prime mover: the source of energy directed towards a goal. The very saying leaves people unnerved or hopeless, but others in a pursuit to indulge in artificial means of life. It's the inner workings of one’s actions, one's duty to move the world. The meaning behind John Galt is conspicuous, and if one doesn't see that meaning, that person is just a drop in the sea of oblivion. The meaning of John Galt is entwined in the hearts of men disappearing on a quest of knowing, the stimulation of the mind. John Galt is the arsenal behind Francisco's idea that "there's nothing of any importance in life—except how well you do your work" (98) or the "code of competence". Money was the currency of his virtue or morality, on a "gold standard" that would suffice along with the things he had given up (power, love, etc) to serve as his admission into …show more content…

John Galt is a man on a quest that found he was looking for. He had found Atlantis once prohibited and unknown to others, carrying the secret of life as his admission. Others say he is an explorer searching for the fountain of youth but found it's not something that could be taken. These people who feign ignorance supports D'Aconia's speculation that "people are afraid to declare what is known by everyone"(377). In addition, these individuals perceive the sacrifices these voyagers make as tragic consequences; lost their lives and fortunes, considerably a ruin in the public eye, yet somehow this story is regarded as a legend, finding something people didn't think was possible, something people forced themselves to undermine. But more importantly the voyagers in the legends realized what they discovered would have much more meaning than what they lost in the process. Ones who don't appreciate or see value in their quest or even the treasure gained, reflect on how bad the world is waiting for this movement, this strike, to

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