John Galt is a hero representing the best of modern civilization — its science, its medical research, its technological progress, and its application of intellect in service to human life. He embodies the novel's essential theme: Only by means of the mind can human beings achieve prosperity on earth.
Because of the towering achievements of his intellect, it's easy to overlook the other aspects of Galt's life: his light, effortless way of moving; his passionate love for Dagny; the tenderness and concern he shows for his lifelong friends, Francisco d'Anconia and Ragnar Danneskjöld; and his respect for his teacher/spiritual father, Hugh Akston. The special bond that Galt shares with these four people shows Rand's rejection of the conventional split between reason and emotion, which holds that an individual can be either rational or emotional — he cannot be both. The poignant, understated intensity of Galt's relief on seeing Ragnar after a year of ceaseless dangers is a simple but eloquent example of a rational man's emotional life. Because Galt values the mind and its achievements, he must give his love to exalted individuals. A man of reason cannot look unmoved upon such noble souls as Francisco, Ragnar, and Dagny. A true man of the mind experiences the most intense emotional bond to such individuals because he is a man of the mind. In the character of John Galt, Ayn Rand shows that reason and emotion can and should be integrated in the human being's life.
