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Atlas Shrugged
Started by Teqlump at 03-19-2006 12:11 AM. Topic has 10 replies.
  
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 03-19-2006, 12:11 AM
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Teqlump
Joined on 03-19-2006
Posts 3
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On page 62, the second to last page of Chapter 3: The Top And The Bottom, Dagny is talking to the newstand owner, and their conversation is as follows: Newstand Owner: Oh well, who is John Galt? Dagny: He's just a meaningless phrase. I don't like that empty piece of slang. What does it mean? Where did it come from? Newstand Owner: Nobody knows. Dagny: Why do people keep saying it? Nobody seems able to explain just what it stand for, yet they all use it as if they knew the meaning. Newsstand Owner: Why does it disturb you? Dagny: I don't like what they seem to mean when they say it. Newsstand Owner: I don't, either Miss Taggart.
When Dagny says: I don't like what they seem to mean when they say it, exactly what are people trying to say when they say "Who is John Galt?"? Any description as to what this means would be greatly appreciated. Thank you and have a good day.
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03-20-2006, 4:16 PM
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Clarence Hardy
Joined on 01-09-2006
Posts 18
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Excellent question. When the average person in the novel uses the phrase “Who is John
Galt?” it means much more then simply “I don’t know.” They use it in a way that means not only do they don’t know but
also that they can’t know or that the answer is to difficult to find out. That is the sentiment that makes Dagny so upset
even though at that time she couldn’t quantify those feelings.
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03-20-2006, 11:07 PM
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Teqlump
Joined on 03-19-2006
Posts 3
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"Dagny: I don't like what they seem to mean when they say it."
Does your reply apply to this quote as well? She doesn't like that people always talk about John Galt as if they can't know or that the answer is difficult to find out?
Thanks for the reply. Much appreciated.
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03-21-2006, 9:35 AM
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Clarence Hardy
Joined on 01-09-2006
Posts 18
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That was exactly what I was responding to. On one hand she didn’t like the phrase
because no one knew where it came from and on the other she didn’t like it
because of the way people were using it and how they gave it meaning.
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03-21-2006, 6:14 PM
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Teqlump
Joined on 03-19-2006
Posts 3
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04-04-2006, 11:36 AM
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Ed Hudgins
Joined on 12-08-2005
Posts 18
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Good point about Galt's message. Of course, he'd say the message is that producing in this particular society and country under the prevailing conditions is futile and contributing to your own suicide. Thus you should try to find a place to go -- Galt's Gulch -- where your actions will not be futile. So metaphysically, life on earth is not inherently futile. With the right ideas and moral code, we each can succeed and flourish!
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04-07-2006, 5:08 PM
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mikelanyard
Joined on 04-07-2006
Posts 8
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In the context that you quoted, in addition to what others have said here, the question, "Who is John Galt?" is used by the general populace in the novel, to indicate resignation, hopelessness, and futility. They do not know who John Galt is, feel it is an unanswerable question, and are saying in effect, "Who is to know?, Who knows the answer to the state of the world?",etc.
Of course, it is also a literary device used by Rand to create curiosity in the reader and to build up to the point where who John Galt is, and what he stands for, is made crystal clear.
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04-25-2006, 8:45 AM
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rishidixit
Joined on 04-25-2006
Posts 2
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In addition it could also mean that the people are just being
indifferent. They really don't care for who is John Galt or rather
specifically, which direction the world is headed towards. They are
growing accustomed to accepting things without working hard for them,
which in turn is making them believe that they are entitled to it.
They do not seem to realise this even with all the mayhem surrounding
them. The realisation dawns when all the able men retreate to Galt's
Gulch and there is no one left to let people taste success or
satisfaction without working for it. Fittingly, when John Galt delivers
his message, an uprising of sorts happens and people slowly realise the
folly of their own false beliefs.
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06-05-2006, 10:05 PM
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layintrax
Joined on 06-06-2006
Posts 1
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does anyone want to follow how the question got started? They asked "who is John Galt?" in response to his outrageous claim he would stop the world as he left his original employment (trying to generalize so as not to spoil). I think the question started more literally as who the hell does this guy think he is to actually have ambition... as it bounces forward in time and away from that moment, people start to say it as who the hell are you to think you can change things?
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The Atlas... » Ayn Rand's Nove... » Atlas Shrugged » Re: Who Is John Galt
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