John Galt
| John Galt | |
|---|---|
| First appearance | Atlas Shrugged |
| Last appearance | Atlas Shrugged |
| Created by | Ayn Rand |
| In-universe information | |
| Gender | Male |
| Occupation | Engineer, Inventor, Philosopher |
John Galt is a fictional character in Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged (1957). Although he does not appear in person until the last third of the novel, he is the subject of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover the answer.
As the plot unfolds, Galt is acknowledged to be a creator, philosopher, and inventor who symbolizes the power and glory of the human mind. He serves as an idealistic counterpoint to the social and economic structure depicted in the novel. The depiction portrays a society based on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries and a culture that embraces stifling mediocrity and egalitarianism, which the novel associates with socialistic idealism. In the novel's ideology, the industrialists of America were a metaphorical Atlas of Greek mythology, holding up the Earth, whom Galt persuades to "shrug," by refusing to lend their productive genius to the regime any longer.
Character biography
In the novel, Galt is the son of an Ohio garage mechanic, who leaves home at age twelve and begins college at Patrick Henry University at age sixteen. There he meets Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjöld, who become his two closest friends. Galt takes a double major in physics and philosophy, and after graduating, he becomes an engineer at the Twentieth Century Motor Company, where he designs a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity. When the company owners decide to run the factory by the collectivist maxim, "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need," Galt refuses to work there any longer and abandons his motor. These events all occur before the novel begins, but are revealed to the readers retrospectively as the novel progresses.
During the main storyline of the book, Galt has secretly organized a strike by the world's creative leaders, including inventors, artists and businessmen, in an effort to "stop the motor of the world" and bring about the collapse of the collectivist society. While working incognito as a laborer for Taggart Transcontinental railroad, he travels to visit the key figures that he has not yet recruited, systematically persuading them to join the strike. This strike is not revealed immediately within the story, but forms the backdrop of the novel as a mystery which protagonist Dagny Taggart seeks to uncover, with Galt as her antagonist. The strikers have created their own secret enclave known as "Galt's Gulch," a town secluded in a Colorado mountain valley, based on Ouray, Colorado. While in the valley, Dagny develops a romantic relationship with Galt, although she refuses to join the strike. After she returns home to New York, Galt takes over the airwaves, delivering a lengthy speech that explains the irrationality of collectivism and offers his own philosophy (Ayn Rand's Objectivism) as an alternative. Galt speaks against what he sees as the evil of collectivism and ideas of collective sin and guilt, and says they should be replaced by rational selfishness and respect for individual rights.[1] Seeking Galt after the speech, Dagny accidentally leads the authorities to him, and he is arrested. She and the strikers rescue Galt as he is being tortured by the government. They return to Galt's Gulch and prepare to build their own society as the collectivist government collapses.
"Who is John Galt?"
The book's opening line "Who is John Galt?" becomes an expression of helplessness and despair at the current state of the novel's fictionalized world. Before finding the real John Galt, Dagny Taggart hears a number of legends of Galt. After eventually joining his cause, she learns that all of the stories have an element of truth to them. Dagny Taggart named her line the "John Galt Line" which surprised many people. She was asked "Who is John Galt?" to which she replied, "A name I'm tired of hearing."
Interpretation
The Galt character has been compared to various iconic figures from literature and history. In the novel itself, he is compared with Prometheus from the Greek myths. In contrast to Prometheus, who suffered for bringing a great benefit to mankind, Galt refuses to suffer and withdraws the benefit instead.[2] Rand scholar Mimi Reisel Gladstein sees similarities to the figures of Arthur and Galahad from the Arthurian legends.[3]
Galt is not necessarily intended to be a rounded or realistic character; he has been called "more a symbol than a person"[4] and "two-dimensional."[5] Mimi Reisel Gladstein describes Galt as "more icon than character."[6] Rand's own notes indicate that she expected the character to have "[n]o progression" and "no inner conflict" because he was "integrated (indivisible) and perfect."[7]
Importance to Rand herself
After the publication of Atlas Shrugged, Rand fell into a "deep depression" and chided herself for not being more like her ideal man, remarking "John Galt wouldn’t feel this, he would know how to handle this. I don’t know."[8]
Origin
Literature professor Shoshana Milgram traces the origins of the character to adventure stories that Rand read as a child, including the French novels La Vallée Mystérieuse and Le Petit Roi d'Ys. Rand also owned a copy of a 1940 novel with characters named Jed and John Peter Galt. There was a 19th-century Scottish novelist of the same name, but Milgram says that any connection to the character is "highly unlikely." Milgram also notes that the name Rand originally picked for her character was Iles Galt.[9]
Author Justin Raimondo has found parallels between Atlas Shrugged and The Driver, a 1922 novel by Garet Garrett.[10] Garrett's novel has a main character named Henry M. Galt. This Galt is an entrepreneur who takes over a failing railway, turning it into a productive and profitable asset for the benefit of himself and the rest of the nation. The general population and government turn against him instead of celebrating his success. Raimondo also notes that in The Driver, some characters ask, "Who is Henry M. Galt?", similar to the question "Who is John Galt?" that plays an important role in Atlas Shrugged.[11]
At least two real people of Rand's acquaintance have been suggested as partial inspirations for Galt. Rand denied any connection to her friend John Gall, a conservative attorney, but did claim some inspiration came from her husband, Frank O'Connor.[12]
Rand is not the only famous author to invent a character with this name. Pulp fiction author Robert E. Howard, creator of heroes such as Conan the Barbarian, used a villain named John Galt – also a man of mystery missing for a long time and possessed of great wealth, trying to manipulate his world from the background – in the tale "Black Talons" in 1933, more than twenty years before Atlas Shrugged was published.
Cultural significance
"The book’s hero, John Galt, also continues to live on," wrote journalist Harriet Rubin in a September 2007 article about the influence of Atlas Shrugged. Rubin mentions John Galt Solutions (a software company) and the John Galt Corporation (a demolition company) as examples of companies named after the character.[13]
The use of Galt as a symbol in the context of political or social protest has taken root in some places. The phrase "going John Galt" or simply "going Galt" has been used[14] to refer to productive members of society cutting back on work in response to the projected increase in U.S. marginal tax rates, increased limits on tax deductions, and the use of tax revenues for causes they regard as immoral.[15] Some people who claimed to be "going John Galt" discussed their reasons on a PJTV program in March 2009.[16] "Who is John Galt?" signs were seen at Tea Party protests held in the United States and at banking protests in London in April 2009.[17] Ron Paul's American presidential campaign of 2008 included a play on the phrase, using "Who is Ron Paul?" on campaign T-shirts; his Congressional web site biography uses the same title.[18]
References
- ^ John Galt's Speech
- ^ Minsaas, Kirsti (2007). "Ayn Rand's Recasting of Ancient Myths". In Younkins, Edward W. (ed) (ed.). Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged: A Philosophical and Literary Companion. Burlington, Vermont: Ashgate Publishing. pp. 133–135. ISBN 0-7546-5549-7.
{{cite book}}:|editor-first=has generic name (help); Check|isbn=value: checksum (help) - ^ Gladstein, Mimi Reisel (2000). Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind. Twayne's Masterwork Studies. New York: Twayne Publishers. p. 58. ISBN 0-8057-1638-6.
- ^ Merrill, Ronald E. (1991). The Ideas of Ayn Rand. La Salle, Illinois: Open Court Publishing. p. 74. ISBN 0-8126-9158-X.
- ^ Branden, Barbara (interviewed) (1990). "The Liberty Interview: Barbara Branden". Liberty. 3 (3).
{{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter|month=ignored (help) - ^ Gladstein, Mimi Reisel (2000). Atlas Shrugged: Manifesto of the Mind. Twayne's Masterwork Studies. New York: Twayne Publishers. p. 65. ISBN 0-8057-1638-6.
- ^ Rand, Ayn (1997). David Harriman (ed.). Journals of Ayn Rand. New York: Dutton. p. 512. ISBN 0-525-94370-6.
- ^ Mrs. Logic by Sam Anderson, a review of Ayn Rand and the World She Made for New York magazine, October 18, 2009
- ^ Milgram, Shoshana (2009). "Who Was John Galt? The Creation of Ayn Rand's Ultimate Ideal Man". In Mayhew, Robert (ed) (ed.). Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. pp. 53–55, 76n.13. ISBN 978-0-7391-2780-3.
{{cite book}}:|editor-first=has generic name (help) - ^ Garrett, Garet (1922). The Driver. New York: E.P. Dutton.
- ^ Raimondo, Justin (2008) [1993]. Reclaiming the American Right: The Lost Legacy of the Conservative Movement (2nd ed.). Wilmington, Delaware: ISI Books. pp. 237–240. ISBN 978-1-933859-60-6.
- ^ Milgram, Shoshana (2009). "Who Was John Galt? The Creation of Ayn Rand's Ultimate Ideal Man". In Mayhew, Robert (ed) (ed.). Essays on Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged. Lanham, Maryland: Lexington Books. pp. 56, 76n.13. ISBN 978-0-7391-2780-3.
{{cite book}}:|editor-first=has generic name (help) - ^ Rubin, Harriet (September 15, 2007). "Ayn Rand's Literature of Capitalism". The New York Times. Retrieved 2009-06-24.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Smith, Helen (October 15, 2008). "Is It Time to Go John Galt?". Pajamas Media. Retrieved 2009-06-25.
- ^ ‘Going Galt’: Everyone’s Doing It!, The New York Times, March 6, 2009
- ^ "Going John Galt.", PJTV.com, March 11, 2009
- ^ ""Who is John Galt?" Protest Banner", The Guardian, April 1, 2009
- ^ Ron Paul biography, accessed June 24, 2009 [dead link]