character analysis: Gail Wynand

In Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead Gail Wynand is described as a ruthless man who gains power by what ever means necessary, even if that means selling out. Wynand comes from ghetto New York and he is self taught in every thing. His goal was to become powerful in order to rule the corrupt, but he ended up just like the people he set out to control. Howard Roark is the first man to restore Gail Wynand’s lost integrity. For a long while, Wynand became Roark’s good friend until betraying him later. Gail Wynand is a powerful man who is in complete control of the cities printing center. Wynand is a lot like Roark in characteristics, however his success is due to his ability to sell out and manipulate the general public. This character flaw leads to the destruction of the only true friendship he has. Ayn Rand describes Gail Wynand as “The Man who could have been.” Wynand sells his soul by utilizing his publishing company in order to give the people what they want while reaping all of the financial benefits. Wynand falls in love with Dominique Francon. However, she does not love him in return. A reader could interpret Wynand’s story as somewhat of a Faustian story be claiming that he sells his soul to remain in power and to remain successful. Wynand’s entire career is based off of lies. He is told that he is only giving the people what they want. He is also convinced that he can manipulate or perhaps hypnotize others to think as he does and support him. These lies ultimately lead to the public turn against him.    

character analysis: Howard Roark

Howard Roark is the protagonist of Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead. He is a very smart man and a great architect of absolute integrity. Roark is a young and egger architect. Roark believes that not anyone can create art. He believes one must be what is known as a “prime mover” to become an artist. This person is not helped by others. Howard Roark is an individualist. He is not into architecture for material or personal gain, but rather he does it to express himself and his individuality. Throughout the novel, Roark is depicted as a rebel. One might say he answers to no one. He was expelled from his school of architecture for what was described as “drawing outside the lines” and for refusing to do what he was told. Roark does associate himself with his friends but does not rely on them for work as did Peter Keating.  He is tall, gaunt, and angular, with gray eyes and distinctive orange hair. Roark was born poor but he supported himself in high school and college by working various jobs around construction sites. Roark expresses an egger attitude in every job he is assigned. Roark was a very tall man that when he looked down at people, he made them feels as if they didn’t exist. He was also a very well built man. His hair colour however, was rather strange. His hair was orange. Roark was an insecure yet charming man who was more “to the point” as opposed to his colleague Peter Keating.  He is always true to his beliefs and offers to help others a lot. He was also quite rebellious but he also made a good leader.

character analysis: Peter Keating

Peter Keating is one of the few aspiring architects in Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead. Peter is almost the exact opposite of Roark in almost every way. He lives for fame and wealth and could care less of how poor his work actually is as long as he got money. His original goal was to become an artist however; his mother told him that an architect would be a better line of work with better pay.  Keating is mildly successful which is mostly because of Howard Roark. Keating was unable to create designs so he had Roark help him with his less inspired designs. In fact, all of Keating’s good ideas are stolen from Roark. Keating steals all of the credit while Roark is left almost completely broke. At one time in part one, Keating offers five hundred dollars to Roark for his help in the designs which Roark refuses. To Roark, his creations are not about the money but rather about the art he created. This is a mindset that Keating does not have. Keating is willing to do anything to become successful. He lies, steals, and flatters his way to the top while creating a bad name for himself. However, his mother is partly responsible for his lust for material things. His mother pushed him to become an architect in pursuit of material things rather than artistic creation. Had his mother not planted the idea that money is everything into his brain, Keating might have pursued his artistic career and gone much further in life. In Ayn Rand’s novel, Keating is described as a man with a warm smile and a strange voice. He also seems fairly unconfident towards his colleague Howard. He also seems very dependent on others, especially Howard which results in Keating’s current attitude towards Howard.