"If you saw Atlas, the giant who holds the world on his shoulders, if you saw that he stood, blood running down his chest, his knees buckling, his arms trembling but still trying to hold the world aloft with the last of his strength, and the greater the effort the heavier the world bore down upon his shoulders--what would you tell him to do?"
"I … don't know. What … could he do? What would you tell him?"
"To shrug."
Simply beautiful. I hope they are able to hang on to their present cast for the last film. Somehow, I have to find time to drag the book out again for a reread.
I might suggest to Atlas to recruit some more help...a burden shared is a burden lessened.
ReplyDeleteThe Randian viewpoint is a world of bleak loneliness. A world without families or friendships. A teenager's world.
BenT, simply beautiful!
ReplyDeleteBen has a decidedly dystopian view of Rand.
ReplyDeleteLay aside your prejudice; for the most part those on the Left dislike Rand because Beck, specifically, and the right in general, see parallels between "Atlas" and our current political and social climes; the Left feels it has to defend itself against a long dead author because the likes of Beck uses her work to castigate their philosophy. Atlas Shrugged has been considered a great work of "fiction" for decades. And it wouldn't surprise me a bit to discover that many on the Left have both read and vocally lauded it, when and where it was fashionable to do so.
Ben's suggestion that the "Randian" view is bleak and lonely, or devoid of family and friendships is erroneous, and bears no real relation to the truth. The book, at least, portrays none of that. Quite the opposite, in fact.