Literature Decade Essay: the 1950’s

           In analyzing an iconic book of the 1950’s one comes to question Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand, with her uses of figurative language, plot and character to show her philosophy throughout the story. The author shows her philosophy in building each element of evidence throughout the story interconnecting each other to support her main idea of the importance of being and individual thinker an not letting anyone else take that right from you.
            The author supports her philosophy through her use of figurative language, in symbols and metaphor throughout the story. From the very beginning she starts of with symbol of the hobo on the streets. The hobo is described as a “shadow without face” and with “eyes of intelligence” meaning that this hobo represents a greater truth for he knows what he is doing in escaping society. He symbolizes a truth that a few follow. Another example of the use of figurative language used to promote her idea would be metaphoric meaning behind the “motors” that are presented throughout the story as a form of limiting freedom once John Galt built them he slowly started taking over, by have the machines slowly taking over people’s work and power.
            The plot is one major way she shows her idea. As the factory slowly limited its freedom by controlling its worker with machines and having them paid based on the skills and slowly limiting their power as workers bring the whole community and the factory  destroyed due to greedy and mistrust instilled by a socialist government led by John Galt and the Strikes of  minds. The plot is based upon the fact of one set of individual mind set thinkers who infiltrated others and slowly corrupted them into destroying their own lives by taking away their own will to think.
            The story starts of with a motif that carried throughout the story “who is John Galt?” ,John Galt not only as a speculation brought upon to the  reader but also as character who lead the “strikes of minds” who slowly corrupted the minds of innocent people. On the other hand the character of Dr. Stadler he the only ones that comes to realize the cause for such destruction and comes to realize that the man who made the motors has had a reason for doing so and also that power of the mind not only can affect other but also life itself. The character of Dr. Stadler is  able to understand how such minds have come to take over people and corrupt them in such matter Rand use of character is not only important to her story but also to her idea.
           Rand shows us a story in which the lack of thinking and speaking out for freedom as their being slowing diminished away due to socialist beliefs all could have been stopped and changed if people would stand up for what they believe in and not let their freedom be taken and not be afraid to be different and to step out like the hobo in the beginning of the story.