The Fountainhead Philosophical Views: Individualism Quotes

How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph.)

Quote #1

Guy Francon, its designer, had known how to subordinate himself to the mandatory canons which generations of craftsmen behind him have proved inviolate [....] (1.4.3)

There are two harmful ideas here that Roark has to battle against the entire novel: the idea that people need to "subordinate" themselves to the crowd, and the idea that the past is always right. Guy Francon fails from the start.

Quote #2

He winced a little when he was addressed as "Hey, Modernistic." (1.9.15)

Snyte embraces nicknames in his workplace, but not in a cool way. Here Roark must deal with having his identity effaced, or erased, by Snyte's insistence on identifying his workers by their "style" as opposed to something like, oh, their names.

Quote #3

"This is the time to merge his self in a great current, in the rising tide which is approaching to sweep us all, willing or unwilling, into the future." (1.9.57)

Toohey uses a lot of water imagery when he speaks about mankind. Here he uses water to represent both the passage of time and the collective group of people that all individuals should "merge" into.