Research Paper On Night Of January 16th

Night of January 16th Essay

What would you do if you were so wealthy you couldn’t spend enough of your wealth? Money is versatile and beneficial. For many people money is a cushion that provides freedom and power in their life. But in some cases money is the root of all evils. In the play Night of January 16th, by Ayn Rand, Bjorn Faulkner is found dead outside his penthouse. Mr. Faulkner was a man that had more money that you can even imagine. With that, money led the characters in the book to complete actions that he should have never done. Everyone wants to be powerful and one way to achieve that is with money. In the play, money symbolizes power and death and is portrayed in a way that shows the extremes people will take to gain high social

This is what people saw on the outside. Nobody knew of the dire situation he was really in with his business and enterprises. Money symbolizes death in the play. Money led him into a deep depression and fear that may have resulted in his death not long after. Mr. Jungquist was called to the stand and said this about Bjorn Faulkner’s financial situation. “I heard what he said one day Herr Faulkner was desperate for money and Herr Whitfield asked him, sarcastic-like, what he was going to do if his business crashed. Herr Faulkner shrugged and said lightly: ‘Oh, commit suicide.’ Herr Whitfield looked at him, very coldly.” (Rand 77) Faulkner is so caught up in his financial life and worried about his wealth that he is having thoughts and saying out loud to friends that he is debating committing suicide if his business were to crash. If he loses his business then he would lose his wealth and social status. Being wealthy and established as an important figure in society, he couldn’t see himself being like most other citizens in society. Money was such an important object in his life that he would rather die than be without it. This is where money symbolizes death. As this man would rather commit suicide than be without it. Many people view money as a great benefit before they have it. But it is only when they have it that they see the evil things it leads people to

Bjorn Faulkner had all the money in the world. He was making millions of dollars and was so wealthy that he had zero worries about money. With this extreme wealth brought power. Money brought him the power that he loved, and when he finally lost all his money he felt powerless in society.

“For 10 years. When we made our first million kroner, he took me to Vienna. We sat in a restaurant where the orchestra played ‘Sing, Gypsy.’ When we made 10 million, he took me to Delhi. We stood on the shore of the Ganges, on the steps of an old temple where men had been sacrificed to gods… When we made 25 million, he took me to New York. We hired a pilot to fly a plane above the city and the wind waved Bjorn’s hair as a banner over the world at his feet.”

Faulkner had lived all his life with luxury and power. He could do anything he dreamed of doing with the money he had. The money was a symbol of his power and the grip he had over the rest of society. It was not until he lost all of his money that he felt like he had lost all of his power with it. And with his losses he felt like he had nowhere to go. This is where his loss of money and power connects with his death. These symbols connect to the play as it reveals not just how Bjorn Faulkner experiences but how people are in life. Money symbolizes not only great things in life but can lead people to do things that are not