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Atlas Shrugged

Atlas Shrugged

Ayn Rand

In Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, heroine Dagny Taggart fights to save her transcontinental railroad from collapse. Dagny's efforts prompt her to seek out the man who stopped the motor of the world and to hunt down the destroyer who's leading a strike of the great minds. She finds both in the person of John Galt, who asserts that the first right of human beings is the freedom to think and act independently.

Book Summary

Ayn Rand Biography

Early Life and Education

Career Highlights

Rand's Philosophy: Objectivism

About Atlas Shrugged

Introduction

The Cold War and Collectivism

An Appeal for Freedom

The Mind on Strike

Objectivism in Action

Summary and Analysis by Chapter

Part 1: Chapter 1: The Theme

Part 1: Chapter 2: The Chain

Part 1: Chapter 3: The Top and the Bottom

Part 1: Chapter 4: The Immovable Movers

Part 1: Chapter 5: The Climax of the d'Anconias

Part 1: Chapter 6: The Non-Commercial

Part 1: Chapter 7: The Exploiters and the Exploited

Part 1: Chapter 8: The John Galt Line

Part 1: Chapter 9: The Sacred and the Profane

Part 1: Chapter 10: Wyatt's Torch

Part 2: Chapter 1: The Man Who Belonged on Earth

Part 2: Chapter 2: The Aristocracy of Pull

Part 2: Chapter 3: White Blackmail

Part 2: Chapter 4: The Sanction of the Victim

Part 2: Chapter 5: Account Overdrawn

Part 2: Chapter 6: Miracle Metal

Part 2: Chapter 7: The Moratorium on Brains

Part 2: Chapter 8: By our Love

Part 2: Chapter 9: The Face Without Pain or Fear or Guilt

Part 2: Chapter 10: The Sign of the Dollar

Part 3: Chapter 1: Atlantis

Part 3: Chapter 2: The Utopia of Greed

Part 3: Chapter 3: Anti-Greed

Part 3: Chapter 4: Anti-Life

Part 3: Chapter 5: Their Brothers' Keepers

Part 3: Chapter 6: The Concerto of Deliverance

Part 3: Chapter 7: "This is John Galt Speaking"

Part 3: Chapter 8: The Egoist

Part 3: Chapter 9: The Generator

Part 3: Chapter 10: In the Name of the Best Within Us

Character List

Character Map

Character Analysis

John Galt

Dagny Taggart

Hank Rearden

Francisco d'Anconia

James Taggart

Critical Essays

The Role of the Mind in Human Life in Atlas Shrugged

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

Study and Homework Help

Full Glossary for Atlas Shrugged

Quiz

Essay Questions

Practice Projects

Cite this Literature Note

Take the Quiz What did Ayn Rand call her philosophy?
  1. Rational Egotism
  2. Socialist Realism
  3. Collectivism
  4. Objectivism
Quiz
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