Atlas Shrugged Review

Atlas Shrugged left me with mixed feelings.




First off: if you are someone who values realistic characters and a superior grasp of language, then this is not a book for you. Not that her language is bad, it's that this book is more about her philosophy than plot.

The thing that stood out to me the most was that it sort of plays "devil's advocate" against the whole "equal opportunity" and "feed the poor" argument. It really challenged my beliefs on the morality of taking from the rich who have more than enough, and giving to the poor who have barely enough to survive. Basically, my interpretation of what Rand says in this book is that rich, successful people have earned their wealth have the burden of being ostracized because of their ability and their mind. Less-well-off people don't have the mental and physical capabilities of being leaders and entrepreneurs and therefore need the rich, successful people to manage them. When rich, successful people remain rich and successful, they can use their abilities to create job opportunities, better pay, and motivate less-well-off people. I know that most people reading this will probably think something along the lines of "That's not true! Just because someone is rich doesn't mean they are better than everybody else!" And I agree. But Ayn Rand presents the argument in such a way so that at times you can't help but think, "Yeah, I can see why he would be upset that the government is controlling his profit." That's partially where the mixed feelings come from.

Luckily, there's an actual plot to this book where Ayn Rand lays out her philosophy. The premise goes: What if all the presidents of major companies and corporations decided to go on strike?

There's Henry Rearden, a seemingly cold-harded a steel developer, Dagny Taggart, the pretty vice president of Taggart Transcontinental Railroad who runs the company better than the actual president, James Taggart, an older-looking man who prefers to stick to an unrealistic moral compass when making decisions that seem to drive the railroad to bankruptcy. Later, new socialist reforms start to cripple the companies' production, and when an economic slump comes around James, who supported the socialist government, begs Dagny and the "people of mind" to fix it. They say they can't until they are given the means to, ie, more freedom in their business. In retaliation to the socialist government stifling their business, telling them how much they are allowed to produce, by what means, and to whom they are permitted to sell their products, all the company owners leave and refuse to contribute to their businesses. The less-well-off people and the socialists go crazy, because now they don't know how to successfully run the businesses. Trains stop working, there is not enough electricity and raw materials being shipped out, poverty increases, and chaos in the government ensues.

Tess of the D'Ubervilles by Thomas Hardy

Forget Jane Austen's Elizabeth, Tess Durbeyfield is a proper herione, granted a tragic one.

This review is basically a summary of the book, and includes spoilers and mild sarcasm, just to let you know. What I liked about Tess is that she was very active and made decisions, even though her decisions were often not the best ones. Also, the only two men she got to know were scum.

Review starts here:

I loved this book. First thing, Thomas Hardy knows how to write. If no one else in the world knows how to write Thomas Hardy does.

Tess is one heroine you can feel sorry for. She is young, innocent, pure, naive, and apparently everyone can see it. Her father hangs on to his pride above all else and is convinced that he is a D'Uberville instead of a Durbeyfield, while her mother mistakes how naive she really is while sending her to "claim kin" where she me meets Alec D'Uberville who rapes her. She has his baby that dies soon after birth.

She goes away to become a milkmaid and meets the well-off Angel Clare who falls in love with her "purity", asks her to marry him when she says that she is not right for him, and keeps asking until she says yes. When her mother hears of the marriage she warns Tess not to tell Angel about the rape and baby, but Tess has so much faith in Angel that on their wedding night she tells him everything after he reveals his darkest secret. She forgives him, he says that she is now no longer the woman he fell in love with, and abandons her for over a year.

During that time she goes back to her parents to find that they are sick. Her dad dies and they are about to be evicted from their house. Tess meets Alec again, who is now a preacher, but he abandons his faith after meeting Tess again because she has tempted him like the Whore of Babylon. He says that he regrets the suffering he caused her and offers to give Tess and her family economic help. Tess tries to refuse and hold out for her "husband" but seeing no other option accepts his help and becomes his mistress.

Angel, who was on a soul searching trip in Brazil, decides that he has a conscious and comes looking for Tess. He finds her with Alec and begs her to come back to him. She says no, and tells him to go away. Then she is so distraught that she kills Alec for making fun of her marriage with Angel, goes back to Angel and gets arrested for Alec's murder at Stonehenge. She is convicted and sentenced to death.

All in all, pretty depressing towards the end.

Reader's Journal

Title: Le Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo

Why I Decided to Read this Book: It looked interesting and pretty big, and my mom said I would be able to relate to it more than Dostoevsky.

Plot: It spans about a generation and a half, the main story is mostly about Marius and Cosette and how they're trying to be together, but the orchestrator of the whole book is Jean Valjean who rescues both Cosette and Marius at some point, Cosette because he made a promise to her dying mother, and Marius because he was going to get himself killed in the French Revolution.

Themes: Hugo was very active in standing up for the poor and abandoned. He said that it is the fault of the masters and people in power when the poor and weak are suffering. (paraphrased) Le Miserables means misery in French so a lot of the book does cover the number of miseries people go through, but there is also redemption, mainly the redemption of Jean Valjean who is often likened to Christ throughout the novel. Hugo also talks politically about the French Revolution.

Recommendation: For everyone that loves to think, it isn't all that sad, and makes you appreciate what you have to an extent.