Any idea about "The Fountainhead" by Ayn Rand?
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This is a must read book.  Whether you agree with Ayn Rand's philosophy or not, it is intriguing to view the world from this perspective.  Ayn wrote a number of books to further her philosophy of objectivism.  Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead are the most commercially succesful.  If you have to choose one, read The Fountainhead (it is easier to get through, and a little more entertaining).  As with most things, I can find nuggets of truth in objectivism, and some things I believe are far from true.  Regardless of whether you agree or not, the book will make you think, and it is entertaining.
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John Galt is the main character in Ayn Rand's epic novel "Atlas Shrugged."  In the book, he represents individual achievement and the power of man's rational mind.\n(P.S. "Don't just shrug and look it up in an atlas"...nice pun!)
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I think it sounds pretty good:). I would just brush up your grammar on some of it, rearrange some of your sentence structure, otherwise it is really well done! I read Lord Of The Flies my freshman year of high school, and it was one of the only ones I could read without hating it. The only question I have is-are you sure Golding is giving the early forms of living a bad rep? or is he maybe looking into what he sees may be the future of civilization if we cannot live by our morals and our rules???? Think about it in that sense and you may get a different view on it:). Good luck!:)
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I believe that the only way to fully understand Plato's meaning here is to first read "The Allegory of the Cave" -- found in Plato's Republic. Here, Plato gives an analogy of life that depicts chained folks in an underground cave to represent the masses. They are all facing a wall and can only see shadows of things, mistaking them for the things themselves. Meanwhile, one "prisoner" breaks free. He, of course, is the philosopher. He sees the things for what they really are and tries to tell the others that they have only known shadows, but they only mock him, saying he must surely be mad. Please understand, this is a very shortened view, and it doesn't quite explain the above quote, (which I have never heard), but I will give it a shot.\n\nPerhaps Plato is trying to say that we are better off if we are able to laugh at ourselves than at others. In other words, if we can laugh at ourselves once we emerge from the cave and see that we have been mistaken our entire life -- well, that is better than just yelling down the hole, "Hey all you business majors -- you still don't get it!"\n\nSomething like that.
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From The Meaning of Life, the Universe and Everything by Douglas Adams ---\n\n42
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Hi Chris, given the restrictions I'm not sure if this will be of help, anyway have a look and see what you think.\n\nFahrenheit 451 - Ray Bradbury\n\nI have found  9 summaries for you to look at, via the links below. \n\nhttp://www.antistudy.com/search.php?title=Fahrenheit+451\n\nhttp://www.freebooknotes.com/results.php3?title=F\n\nhttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/\n\nThese links will give you a summary of the book, character analysis, plot and much more, so that you will be able to answer literary questions. A short extract is included as an example of what you can expect from the summary\n\nIn the last two years, however, a growing discontent has grown in Montag, a “fireman turned sour” who cannot yet name the cause of his emptiness and disaffection. He characterizes his restless mind as “full of bits and pieces,” and he requires sedatives to sleep.  …..\n\nhttp://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/id-106,pageNum-31.html\n\n1984 by George Orwell\n\nI have found 18 summaries for you to look at, click a link below. I have included a short extract to give you a taste of what the reviews have to offer and they’re FREE..!!!\n\nhttp://litsum.com/1984/\n\nhttp://www.freebooknotes.com/book.php3?id=1\n\nhttp://www.antistudy.com/free_book_notes/1984_.php\n\nPlot Overview\n\nWinston Smith is a low-ranking member of the ruling Party in London, in the nation of Oceania. Everywhere Winston goes, even his own home, the Party watches him through telescreens; everywhere he looks he sees the face of the Party’s seemingly omniscient leader, a figure known only as Big Brother. The Party controls everything in Oceania, even the people’s history and language. Currently, the Party is forcing the implementation of an invented language called Newspeak, which attempts to prevent political rebellion by eliminating all words related to it. Even thinking rebellious thoughts is illegal. Such thoughtcrime is, in fact, the worst of all crimes.  More…..\n\nhttp://www.freebooknotes.com/page.php?link=http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/1984/&book=1\n\nAdditional Resources\n\nWelcome to Charles' George Orwell Links\n\nOn this site you'll find the best of Orwell's essays and books as well as reviews, news articles and images. In addition, there are hundreds of links to other Orwell web sites.\n\nhttp://www.netcharles.com/orwell/\n\nBiographies and Bibliographical Information on George Orwell\n\nhttp://www.netcharles.com/orwell/bio.htm\n\nGeorge Orwell Biography\n\nhttp://www.netcharles.com/orwell/articles/george-orwell-biography.htm\n\nEssays on George Orwell\n\nhttp://www.netcharles.com/orwell/ctc/essays.htm\n\nTIME MAGAZINE\n\nGeorge Orwell\n\nhttp://www.time.com/time/covers/0,16641,1101831128,00.html\n\nOrwell Up Close\nOn the 100th anniversary of his birth, a clutch of new biographies explores the wintry genius of George Orwell — a hero claimed by left and right\n\nhttp://www.time.com/time/europe/magazine/article/0,13005,901030630-460190,00.html\n\nGood luck.\n\nKevin, Liverpool, England.
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brave new world. its a book about a utopian society. its really good.
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It's a great book, one which inspired the American Revolution (repudiated the Divine right of kings to rule without consent of the governed).\n\nAlso, to do good with all one's wisdom and strength is the highest religion.  And the doctrine of a savior is unjust: no honest man can accept another's dying for him.\n\nThese were (and are) revolutionary concepts which helped change the history of our early republic.
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We are talking Ibsen here, right? OK, how about this.\n\nIn A Doll's House, Henrik Ibsen raises the question of happiness still relevant in our time. The author presents a situation where one of the female protagonists is forced by society to sacrifice her personal fulfilment on the altar of social conventions.\n\nThat was so far the formulation of the question. Now we proceed with the analysis. \n\nFrom the first pages of the book, the reader witnesses the efforts of the female character to follow her duty. Yet no matter how hard she tries, she fails. At the end, she finally comes to the realization that her misery stems from misapplication of her talents. Expected to be a mother and a wife, the woman forgets about her own happiness. This is not the way, the author seems to tell us. The young woman's depression creates an unpleasant atmosphere in the house which affects even the well being of the little children.\nThis is essentially the reason for the mother leaving her children at the end. Only by declaring her independence from the patriarchal society, can she find her own happiness. And only then, will she be able to give her offspring what they deserve, a peaceful atmosphere in the house, genarated by the contedness of each individual.\nAs Ibsen  unequivocally shows us, one has to follow his won dreams and raise the new generation according to similar ideals of self fulfillment and independence. This, according to the author, is the key to happy society in general, and family life in particular.\n\nOk, this is the gist of it. You can change what doesn't fit your thoughts, and add, to present your own opinion.\nHope this helps.
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You ask: <So is the sanctity of life just a human invention based on self interest to protect itself?>\n\nYes. Probably. It's odd, isn't it that life is sacred for the unborn, but once you're born, you're fit to kill, particularly if you're not American. So, the idea is not a human invention, but probably an American invention (of a particular political group) to advance it's own interests. Like all political principles, this principle is filled with contradictions. Instead of principle, I should have said "slogan".
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OK, here it is in a brief synopsis:\n\n1984 warns of the terrifying dangers that man may create for himself in his quest for a utopian society.  It warns that people might believe that everyone must become slaves to the government in order to have an orderly society, but at the expense of the freedom of the people.
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Yes, I read it. Objectivism is absurd, we live in a society and depend on society for our substistence, we can not turn our back to society as she proposes.
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Yup, basically just that a well written book (or other published article) can help you to know about or understand something that either you haven't or may never be able to experience firsthand.\n\nInteresting...  I found two different supposed sources of this quote.  One source credits the quote to a Russian author, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, while another source credits it to Ray Bradbury, used in his book "Fahrenheit 451."  Perhaps Mr. Bradbury was simply borrowing the quote for his book since it was relevant to the storyline.  *shrug*  Oh well, the origin doesn't change the clear meaning of the words.  :)
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It's a great book and you should read it.\n\nhttp://www.annefrank.com/1_life.htm\nHere's a summary of it and I'm not going to answer all those questions.\n\nhttp://www.gradesaver.com/classicnotes/titles/frank/fullsumm.html\n\nhttp://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/annefran.htm
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Read 1984 by George Orwell. Then you will understand. Also read On Liberty, By John Stewart Mill, especially the section on the tyranny of the majority. You might also check up on John Simpsons description of pre revolutionary Romainia. In short, if you agree with absolutely all the Government does, Big Brother is your friend, but if you agree with everything the Goverment does, then you wouldn't have that many friends anyway.
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Ads, tv shows and the news according to my 16 year old daughter who did read the book this year for school. I recommend you do that, too. It is not very long and it is very interesting.\n\nhttp://www.sparknotes.com/lit/451/summary.html\n\nthe above is an online Sparknotes guide to the book which should help you to get to the important parts more easily. \n\nNow get to work!! LOL.
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It is all about the loss of innocence and the struggle to remain innocent.  It was written at a time in this country when we were experiencing a lot of turmoil.  I mean think about it, Great Depression, World War I, World War II, and for the first time the nation had to ask itself not "how should I help my citizens" but "should I help my citizens".  You see, before FDR, there really wasn't much in the way of helping a citizen if he or she was in need short of police officers and fire fighters.  When the Great Depression occured, everyone assumed that because it was the citizens' fault, they would naturally fix it.  It was the same economic system that the country had been working off of for a hundred years, everyone thought things would just fix themselves.  Unfortunatly, they did not, and the governmnt was faced with the crisis of completely redesigning itself and its economy after it loss of innocence.\n\nThe title refers to a rye field near a cliff.  I believe it is described in detail somewhere in the novel.  It isn't uncommon to have rye fileds near cliffs or large ditches and sometimes there would be a "cathcer" at the end of the field to grab the kids running around and playing before they fall to their deaths.  Early on, you are lead to belive that Holden is represented as the catcher character, as he is trying to protect his sister from the harshness of the outside world.  Later on you learn that his sister is actually the catcher because she is the one who leads him back onto the path.  This can be viewed as looking to the youth or the future for the right direction to go when refering to the societal implications of the novel.  Rather than assuming that the system set in place by our fore-fathers will work for an eternity, we have to be flexible and able to change with the future as our safety net.