Atlas Shrugged

CliffsNotes on

Atlas Shrugged

Search this CliffsNote

About the Author

Personal Background

Career Highlights

Rand’s Philosophy: Objectivism

About the Novel

Introduction

A Brief Synopsis

List of Characters

Character Map

Chapter Summaries and Commentaries

Part One: Chapter 1—The Theme

Part One: Chapter 2—The Chain

Part One: Chapter 3—The Top and the Bottom

Part One: Chapter 4—The Immovable Movers

Part One: Chapter 5—The Climax of the d’Anconias

Part One: Chapter 6—The Non-Commercial

Part One: Chapter 7—The Exploiters and the Exploited

Part One: Chapter 8—The John Galt Line

Part One: Chapter 9—The Sacred and the Profane

Part One: Chapter 10—Wyatt’s Torch

Part Two: Chapter 1—The Man Who Belonged on Earth

Part Two: Chapter 2—The Aristocracy of Pull

Part Two: Chapter 3—White Blackmail

Part Two: Chapter 4—The Sanction of the Victim

Part Two: Chapter 5—Account Overdrawn

Part Two: Chapter 6—Miracle Metal

Part Two: Chapter 7—The Moratorium on Brains

Part Two: Chapter 8—By our Love

Part Two: Chapter 9—The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt

Part Two: Chapter 10—The Sign of the Dollar

Part Three: Chapter 1—Atlantis

Part Three: Chapter 2—The Utopia of Greed

Part Three: Chapter 3—Anti-Greed

Part Three: Chapter 4—Anti-Life

Part Three: Chapter 5—Their Brothers’ Keepers

Part Three: Chapter 6—The Concerto of Deliverance

Part Three: Chapter 7—“This is John Galt Speaking”

Part Three: Chapter 8—The Egoist

Part Three: Chapter 9—The Generator

Part Three: Chapter 10—In the Name of the Best Within Us

Character Analyses

John Galt

Dagny Taggart

Hank Rearden

Francisco d’Anconia

James Taggart

Critical Essays

The Role of the Mind in Human Life

The Role of the Common Man in Atlas Shrugged: The Eddie Willers Story

Study Help

Quiz

Discussion Questions

Practice Projects

Cite this Literature Note