How we cite our quotes: (Volume.Chapter.Paragraph.)
Quote #1
Something was growing in him with each new building, struggling, taking shape, rising dangerously to an explosion. The explosion came with the birth of the skyscraper. (1.3.66)
Sometimes a skyscraper isn't just a skyscraper. In The Fountainhead skyscrapers act as a metaphor for America's explosion into the twentieth century and the modern age.
Quote #2
Roark glanced through the paper. The front page carried the picture of an unwed mother with thick glistening lips, who had shot her lover [....] (1.5.104)
The Banner is depicted as a tawdry tabloid here, and it's something that Roark and Cameron hold in contempt. Cameron seems to think The Banner represents America, sadly, but the always-cool Roark doesn't seem to care one way or the other.
Quote #3
"Look at those who spend the money they've slaved for - at amusement parks and slide shows." (1.12.72)
Dominique puts on her monocle and proceeds to judge "the rabble" for their stupidity. Modern America is a corrupt Pleasure Island in Dominique's mind.