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"For twelve years, you have been asking: Who is John Galt? This is John Galt speaking. I am the man who loves his life. I am the man who does not sacrifice his love or his values. I am the man who has deprived you of victims and thus has destroyed your world, and if you wish to know why you are perishing–you who dread knowledge–I am the man who will now tell you."
There are two novels that can change a bookish fourteen-year old's life: The Lord Of The Rings and Atlas Shrugged. One is a childish fantasy that often engenders a lifelong obsession with its unbelievable heroes, leading to an emotionally stunted, socially crippled adulthood, unable to deal with the real world. The other, of course, involves orcs.
It's Twenty Minutes Into The Future. The government is evil and stupid, intent on draining the decent, productive, people dry. The average Joe is clamped hard on the government teat, and happy about it. The people are Les Collaborateurs, busy gaming the system for every drop before it crashes, or self-deluded fools certain they can fix everything with just a LITTLE more control. There is no resistance.
Worse, the few people who are still productive are disappearing, one by one.
Welcome to the world of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged.
In case you don't get the title, in Greek mythology Atlas carried the celestial sphere on his back; as Hank and Francisco discuss during the book, if he ever tired of carrying that weight on his shoulders, all he needed to do was shrug, and it would fall off. Of course, the myth actually describes Atlas as holding the sky on his back, and Zeus would probably stick a bolt of lightning up his ass for dropping either, but whatever.
It's a wee bit controversial. It's also a fertile source of both inspiration and mockery, and a prime target of literary " Take That" ever since its publication:
- The video game Bioshock riffs on the themes of Objectivism (although whether or not Bioshock is in fact a Take That is debated).
- The famous Dorothy Parker quote, "This is not a novel to be tossed aside lightly. It should be thrown with great force," is in reference to Atlas Shrugged. (Or to Benito Mussolini's The Cardinal's Mistress, nobody seems sure of that.)
- South Park "Yes, at first I was happy to be learning how to read. It seemed exciting and magical, but then I read this: Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand. I read every last word of this garbage, and because of this piece of shit, I am never reading again." However, this line is stated by a very stereotypical, ignorant redneck police officer, so whether or not this is good or bad publicity is debateable.
- Terry Goodkind incorporated many themes from it in his later work.
- Anton LaVey cribbed snippets of it wholesale (whilst significantly altering the moral message of the book, as well as adding a whole bunch of Enochian mysticism) to write the Satanic Bible.
- A number of prominent Republicans (many of whom
are also claim to be Evangelical Christians), have begun to publicly embrace the values in this and other Ayn Rand books.
- As have a number of prominent Democrats, such as Camille Paglia. In the cases of both Democrats and Republicans that have voiced support for some ideas promoted in Atlas Shrugged, their agreement on these points should not be construed as agreement with the whole package of Objectivism.
- The list goes on.
The book is most widely known for its condemnation of altruism and support of free-market capitalism, those being the parts that set off flame wars before there was an Internet. Less controversial themes include its celebration of the individual and the argument that suffering is not a necessary part of the human condition.
For those that are interested in the technical details of Rand's ideas, there is a Useful Notes page on Objectivism.
To be clear, this page is about describing Atlas Shrugged. If you wish to evaluate it, please feel free to contribute to the review section. No complaining about philosophies you disagree with, please.
Spoiler-font is off for this work. Five year rule.
This book provides examples of:
- Alternate History - A possible explanation that has been proposed for importance of radios, trains, and the lack of post-WWII technology is that the timeline splits around the '30s when FDR is elected, resulting in decades of stagnation, and major events such as World War II never happened in this universe.
- America Saves The Day - Averted in that in the world of the novel, the USA is well on track to becoming just like the People's States it regularly sends government aid to (and, by the end of the novel, American society has indeed collapsed). Present in that the restoration of industrial civilization depends on people who embrace what the strikers refer to as American values.
- Anvilicious - Whether or not you agree with the anvils, it's clear that the book would be nowhere near as successful without them.
- Applied Phlebotinum - John Galt is a Gadgeteer Genius with cast-iron lungs; Galt's Motor, Galt's Gulch's Invisibility Cloak, Galt's Cool Plane... There's also
Rearden "Miracle" Metal, and Project Xylophone(which also contains Explodium).
- Arc Words - "Who is John Galt?"; "How am I to know?", "Who are you to judge/think?", "He'll do something!"
- Atlantis - John Galt's preferred nickname for
Galt's Gulch Mulligan's Valley.
- Author Filibuster - If not the Trope Namer, the Trope Codifier.
- Author Tract - Ditto.
- Balance Between Good And Evil - Actively subverted: Rand's view was that evil is a parasite on the good of the world, which cannot survive without willing virtues to loot.
- Beauty Equals Goodness - All of the protagonists and members of Galt's Gulch are described as being exceptionally attractive, while the villains are generally described as pudgy and watery eyed. To be fair, however, Rand might have been trying to say that being talented, hard working, and passionate makes you attractive, and not the other way around.
- Betty And Veronica - Hank Rearden and Francisco D'Anconia, with John Galt as Cheryl Blossom.
- Rand also deconstructs the trope with the actress who joined the strike because she was typecast as the Veronica — she was tired of having to play characters who were more interesting than the Betties in formula films while always losing to them in the end.
- Big Good: John Galt.
- Broken Pedestal - Dr. Robert Stadler, brilliant and idealistic scientist who becomes just another part of the looters' machine.
- Cain And Abel - James and Dagny Taggart; Phillip and Hank Rearden.
- Character Filibuster - A three hour long speech appears verbatim, right before the climax. After that, the rest look like zingers.
- Corrupt Corporate Executive - Various villains, notably James Taggart and Orren Boyle. The heroes have also been accused, both in-universe and in real life, of embodying this trope.
- The Dark Side Will Make You Forget - Dr. Stadler
- Deconstruction - The chapter detailing the fate of the Twentieth Century Motor Company is a deconstruction of the Marxist slogan "From Each According to Ability, To Each According to Need." Ultimately, the plot of the novel is intended to be a deconstruction of traditional (i.e. altruistic) moral principles.
- Despair Event Horizon - Cheryl
- Do Not Adjust Your Set - Your radio set, anyway.
- Dont Think Feel - Deconstructed. The villains of the piece base their economic policies on emotionalism and feelings and (what they call) 'love for others'. This is not merely a convenient rationalization for their actual, nihilistic motives, but it causes a massive case of failing economics forever that impoverishes the United States.
- Door Stopper - It's nearly as long as the Bible, and is one of the longest fiction novels in English.
- Add the various essays by associates and it beats the motel-room deskwarmer soundly.
- Driving Question - The Arc Words.
- Electric Torture - Project F. Subverted in that once the machine breaks, none of the torturers know how to fix it. Galt calmly explains how to repair it, and a Eureka Moment ensues; They can't even hurt Galt without his assistance, and the Ubermensch does not want to play anymore! Cue the Villainous Breakdown!
- Evil Counterpart - Hank Rearden and Orren Boyle. Also Hugh Akston and Robert Stadler, to some extent.
- Fallen Mentor - Dr. Stadler was one of Galt, Danneskjold, and d'Anconia's mentors in college.
- Family Unfriendly Aesop - Moral Guardians from all over the political spectrum flew into utter outrage at the content of this book (note: this does not imply anything at all about whether or not the aesops presented in this book are true or false). Gore Vidal (leftist) said Rand's philosophy was "perfect in its immorality," and the National Review's Whittaker Chambers (former Communist who became a Christian conservative) said that from every page in this book he could hear a voice calling "to a gas chamber, go!" Thus, regardless of whether or not one agrees or disagrees with the aesops presented in Atlas Shrugged, they clearly fall under the category of "family unfriendly." Ayn Rand was no ally of traditional moral beliefs, after all.
- To be specific, the novel is very much anti-religion and anti-altruism.
- Fake Ultimate Hero - James plays this to Cherryl after they meet.
- False Flag Operation - The siege of the Rearden Steel plant, which was planned to be passed off as a workers' riot to encourage Hank to accept the Steel Unification Plan.
- Fetish Fuel - Dagny Taggart's relationships may have a certain element of BDSM overtones (related to Rand's own kinks for The Red Sonja and bodice-ripper style ravishment sex), depending on your mileage.
- Good People Have Good Sex - Dagny's affair with married man Hank Rearden is portrayed as an exalted, beautiful and fulfilling relationship, wheras Hank's wife (a villain) believes Sex Is Evil and uses Hank's guilt over his fondness for sex to control and manipulate him.
- Gotterdammerung - Rand saw the "men of the mind" as Gods...
- Hannibal Lecture - John Galt, when he's held captive by the looters.
- Heel Realization - Taggart has one, then goes nuts, after realizing that he wants to break Galt's spirit even if it kills both Galt and himself.
- Hero With Bad Publicity - Intentionally.
- Holding Out For A Hero - One of the central themes of the book, the looters can't get anything done on their own. At one point, the government asks John Galt for help. He says no.
- Honor Before Reason - Eddie Willers' last-ditch expedition to re-establish transcontinental rail service. Dagny tries but fails to talk him out of it. This results in what may very possibly lead to a downer ending for Eddie, which can be considered a Family Unfriendly Aesop.
- Hidden Elf Village - Galt's Gulch
- Ho Yay\Bromance — Hank Rearden and Francisco d'Anconia. "Greatest conquest" indeed.
- Humanity On Trial - Averted. John Galt claims in his speech that humanity itself is not being tried - but its moral code is. And how.
- I Just Want To Be Loved - Deconstructed and gender-flipped via James Taggart. He doesn't want to be loved for his money, his skills, the pleasure of his company... no, he wants to be loved for himself. Not for any benefit he can bring into one's life (after all, that would be selfish!). He wants to be loved for himself, or ultimately he wants to be loved for no reason at all.
- Inferred Holocaust - Actually stated. When the lights of New York go out, Galt's Gulch is the last industrial power on Earth.
- Insult Backfire - Midas Mulligan, banker and striker; he legally changed his name from "Michael" when his enemies gave him the nickname.
- Its All Junk - Hank Rearden, when he realizes and accepts that his company, Rearden Steel, is a lost cause.
- I Want My Beloved To Be Happy - Deconstructed, but still played straight; Rand defined Romantic love as a capitalist exchange of values like any other; affection for affection, gratification for gratification. Under this definition, a Yandere would be just another Looter, gratifying themselves with their "beloved's" pain — better to break it off cleanly. And one vertex of a love triangle breaking away before things are settled will only leave everyone bitter about what could have been.
- I Was Just Passing Through - This trope is virtually a way of life for the strikers.
- Just Before The End - The entire book is the fall of industrial society.
- Just Like Robin Hood - inverted with Ragnar Danneskjold.
- Karma Houdini - A lot of minimally bad people die horribly, but quickly. Worse people take longer to die, but even more horribly.
- Kick The Dog - Dr. Stadler admitting to Dagny that the State Science Institute is launching a smear campaign against Rearden Metal because it makes them look incompetent.
- King Incognito - John Galt spent his time out of the Gulch as an unskilled laborer at Taggart Transcontinental — the same one Eddie Willers exposited to regularly.
- Lost World - Galt's Gulch, where industry produces miracles like it used to.
- Love Dodecahedron - Revolving around Dagny.
- Love It Or Hate It - In a questionably representative 1991 survey, it was rated the second most influential book in America, closely following the Bible but with more or less the opposite message. Naturally, reactions tend to be... mixed.
- Love Redeems - Subverted by James Taggart's courtship of Cherryl Brooks from the dime store.
- Mary Sue OR Escapist Character (Your Mileage May Vary) - Dagny Taggart
- Meaningful Name - In addition to the character last names being a sign of their personality, companies with the names of people strapped to them are usually good, while companies with names like National, United or Amalgamated are Obviously Evil™.
- Memetic Mutation - "Who is John Galt?"
- Moral Event Horizon - Dr. Robert Stadler starts out accepting the use of government force to establish the State Science Institute because he believes that most people would never value scientific research for its own sake voluntarily. He makes various concessions to the looters in the attempt to preserve the Institute, such as refusing to condemn the smear job on Rearden Metal, but the moment he truly crosses the line is when he agrees to read a speech, sold to the public as his own words, praising Project X as a project of great benefit to the nation.
- Nice Job Breaking It Hero - Dagny accidentally leads the Looters to Galt.
- Nuclear Weapons Taboo - Nukes may have not yet even been around when the idea behind Project Xylophone came together.
- Pirate - Ragnar Danneskjold, who is also an Alternate Character Interpretation of Robin Hood that walks like a man.
- Propaganda Machine - The press, as seen starting with the campaign to slander Rearden Metal.
- Protection From Editors - The reason for its length.
- Railroad Baron - Dagny and James Taggart.
- Redemption Equals Death - Tony the "Wet Nurse"
- The Red Sonja - Dagny Taggart
- Rich Idiot With No Day Job - This is Francisco d'Anconia's Obfuscating Stupidity.
- Sadistic Choice - The Tunnel Disaster is a series of these for everyone involved who was paying attention.
- Science Marches On - Trains and radios being impressively important, a copper-iron alloy is set to replace steel, palm-activated locks are popular...
- Screw The Rules I Have Connections - The bonds of "friendship" among the looters, a.k.a. the "Aristocracy of Pull".
- Screw The Rules I Have Money - Hank Rearden resorts to this when he finally decides to divorce his wife Lillian.
- Screw The Rules I Make Them - The looters frequently resort to "public-spirited" laws with huge loopholes meant to hurt their enemies, like the "Anti Dog-Eat-Dog Rule" or Directive 10-289.
- Self Made Man - Hank Rearden, John Galt.
- Francisco d'Anconia abandons his wealth and secretly works at a copper mine for ten years, rising to run it, just so he can prove he could be one.
- Serious Business - A whole philosophy and cult of personality sprang up around Ayn Rand and her literature. The philosophy itself is still going; the cult of personality has significantly waned.
- Smug Snake - If you're not a Striker or a Muggle, you're a Looter and smug about it. But especially Dr. Floyd "Why Do You Think You Think" Ferris.
- Strawman Political - Pretty much all of them, including the good guys.
- Take That - Earns more than a few, and throws more than a few at Franklin D Roosevelt and similar politicians.
- Taking You With Me - Oil tycoon Ellis Wyatt sets his fields ablaze as a parting shot before disappearing.
- Talking The Reader To Death
- The Reason You Suck Speech - John Galt's Speech, three whole hours of uninterrupted castigating that no one can escape from.
- Title Drop - Unintentional, with the novel being renamed as publication neared.
- Too
Kinky Confident To Torture; He is John Galt.
- Ubermensch - John Galt.
- Unlucky Childhood Friend - Eddie Willers; Francisco d'Anconia.
- Unobtainium - Rearden Metal
- Utopia Justifies The Means - The government, the public,
arguably the heroes. Pretty much everybody. Done intentionally.
- The Vamp - Lillian Rearden, who we discover married Hank just to drive him to have an affair and break his spirit.
- Villain With Good Publicity - The looters in general.
- Wall Banger - If you can get through the Tunnel Disaster and the 60-page, three-hour speech without knocking a hole in the wall, more power to you.
- We Can Rule Together - The looters try to make this offer to Galt at gunpoint after the speech. By the end, they're torturing him to force him to become their leader.
- Ye Goode Olde Days - The Looters look at the collapse of industrial civilization with a degree of satisfaction as a return to these; Dagny is present as they comment on the stability of newformed Indian feudalism, and is horrified when none care about how many are suffering and dying for lack of modern
necessities luxuries such as drinkable water.
- You Fail Physics Forever OR Rule Of Cool (Your Mileage May Vary) - John Galt's generator which converts static electricity in the atmosphere to usable electric power.
The controversy over this book provides examples of:
- Caustic Critic - Whittaker Chambers is inarguably the most infamous, but by no means the only one.
- Complaining About Books, Authors, Characters, Philosophies, and Political Systems You Don't Like
- Did Not Do The Research - Sufficiently bad levels to necessitate a Useful Notes page on Objectivism. Examples include Whittaker Chambers not even remembering a main character's frequently-mentioned last name in his National Review
 review, making a reference to "Francisco Domingo Carlos Andres Sebastian dAntonio". He arguably did not read the book.
- In certain cases pertaining to academic philosophical criticisms of Rand's ideas, the trope is justified because Rand used an idiosyncratic vocabulary which led philosophers like Robert Nozick to misinterpret her argument.
- Edit War - On this very page.
- Fan Dumb - Some of the more fanatical Objectivists consider this book infallibly true.
- Fan Hater - If you like this book and dare mention it, or even worse defend it, prepare to be accused of infanticide and cannibalism.
- Flame War - On any discussion page dealing with Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand and The Fountainhead.
- Godwins Law - To an absurd degree. Whittaker Chambers most famously argued that from every page in this book, he could hear a voice, crying out from painful necessity "to a gas chamber! Go!" Ties in with Did Not Do The Research above; Rand's political, ethical and epistemic philosophy is literally the opposite of that of Adolf Hitler.
- Hollywood Atheist - Many religious critics of this book cast Rand as one of these.
- Jerk Ass - Plenty. On both sides. No examples please.
- No Such Thing As Bad Publicity - Every time someone denounces this book as pure evil, another copy is more likely to be sold.
- Serious Business
- Straw Critic - Chambers. A former Communist spy who became a conservative Christian. It's hard to think of someone who's intellectual history is more reminiscent of Atlas's villains.
- Straw Feminist - Some going so far as to declare Ayn Rand a traitor to her own sex.
- Trope is thankfully averted in Feminist Interpretations of Ayn Rand, the majority of which consists of supportive essays by scholars of Feminism and Objectivism.
- Values Dissonance - And how!
- With Us Or Against Us - You either Love It Or Hate It.
- You Fail Economics Forever - A not-insignificant portion of this book's haters still believe that wealth is zero-sum.
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