PLOT
James Taggart, Orren Boyle, Paul Larkin, and Wesley Mouch have drinks in an exclusive bar in NYC. Wesley Mouch is Rearden's Washington man. Orren says the reason he couldn't deliver the rail is he doesn't have access to enough iron ore, while people like Rearden have all the iron ore they need. The group is counting on Paul Larkin to convince his "friend" (Hank) to help everyone else. The conversation turns to the San Sebastian Mines, which all four have invested in heavily. Francisco d'Anconia, a man who NEVER fails at a business venture, is running the project. James learns Dagny is using inferior equipment on the San Sebastian Line. James learns from Dagny she has reduced the runs to one passenger train everyday and one freight train every other day because the railroad can't pay for itself and TT has desperate needs elsewhere. Dagny believes the Rio Norte Line will pay for the other lines.
SUBPLOT (loose ends)
Cigarettes - In all of Ms. Rand's books, the positive side of the scale smokes. She gives the reason in the speech by the cigarette man. Notice, alcohol is a depressant and nicotine is a stimulant. Don't make me write more…
Nat Taggart Background - An explanation of circumstances behind the Nat Taggart Legend is given.
Halley - "She (Dagny) loves the music of Richard Halley. Outside the railroad, that's the only thing she loves." Eddie Willers
COMMENTS
This chapter actually gives away the book to a second time reader in much the same way "The Sixth Sense" is given away early the second time its viewed. I'm going to flesh out a couple points for clarity and that's it. There's too much in this chapter and it's too early.
Confessional - Eddie (humanity) needs to deal with his struggle "in the middle" of the scale by going to confessional. Yes, it's a device. The plot will get more complex and this device helps order the importance of events. For the sports fans among us, it reminds me of the "Game Reset (Summary)" used in a TV broadcast of a basketball game. Eddie goes to a day laborer at TT whenever he's stressed. He can trust this person because they are on the same side and the guy's job is insignificant. "He could talk as he did not talk anywhere else, admitting things he would not confess to anyone, thinking aloud...” Think of this person as Eddie's priest or God. I can't resist one more quote (from Eddie): "Motive power -- you can't imagine how important that is. That's the heart of everything.... What are you smiling at?" Eddie, I think God knows all about that!
Dagny Background - The only subject she loved in school was math, she felt excitement in solving problems, and she was eager to meet another, harder test. She did the work long before she was granted the title. She felt talent was becoming rarer every year. She had fits of torture longing for a friend or an enemy with a mind better than her own. She did not have time to feel pain. For this she was called conceited and selfish. Clearly, her side of the scale is focused on challenges, not comfort. "He (the statue of Nat) held his head as if he faced a challenge and found joy in his capacity to meet it. All that Dagny wanted of life was contained in the desire to hold her head as he did."
Scale - Paul Larkin is somewhere in the middle. He likes Hank, but he also hangs around James and Orren. "The proper course is always, in my opinion, in the middle. So it is, I think, the duty of society to snip the extremes, now isn't it?" This statement is hypocritical on its own merit for using an extreme word ("always"). However, this group does a good job of being in the middle and focusing on blame. Just a sampling:
"The only justification of private property is public service."
"Afterall, private property is a trusteeship held for the benefit of society as a whole."
"On the other hand, there's the blight of unbridled competition."
"Now he (Orren) headed an enormous concern which had swallowed up many smaller companies."
"Since I hold the purse strings, I expect to get my money's worth and at my pleasure."
"It's private property, the last piece of it left in Mexico, and that does seem to make a difference."
"All of them had invested heavily in the stock of the San Sebastian Mines."
When the San Sebastian Mines are a success, how much are they going to share with society? Wouldn't nationalizing benefit "society" more? Why are they against nationalizing? My favorite...
Orren (agreeing with James): "It's my absolute opinion that in our complex industrial society, no business enterprise can succeed without sharing the burden of the problems of other enterprises."
James: "I wish they'd fire that bartender."
PRACTICAL APPLICATION (worth rereading)
This chapter is worth rereading just to refocus the mind on the core themes, because they are all linked here. To that end, I will save the examples for when they are explored in the following chapters.
One technique mentioned in this chapter is the sole topic of a best selling book "First Things First". When James tells Dagny to run more trains on the San Sebastian Line, Dagny replies with: "Which runs do you wish me to cut and on which of our lines -- in order to get the Diesels and the steel coaches?"
This comes from a realization resources are finite and must by prioritized. Despite what James' side of the scale believes, "you can't do everything" and "you can't do something from nothing". Until the line can make money, it can't justify itself. Accomplishing a task implies I'm not working on something else. What do you want me NOT to do? THAT is the most effective way to deal with people (bosses) that overburden you. People who overburden you are not in touch with reality. They flee from reality. Your making them decide "what not to do" makes them face reality. If they are on the positive side of the scale, they will make a decision. If they are on the negative side, they will evade and ultimately leave you alone. Most likely they will find someone else to overburden.
Also, there are three sections in this chapter. Each section involves a meeting. Look at how they differ:
Section #1
Jim, Orren, Paul, and Wesley (Rearden's man) give us an example of passive aggressive people talking to passive aggressive people. Consequently, the discussion is filled with contradictions.
Notice the setting: "The ceiling was that of a cellar, so heavy and low that people stooped when crossing the room, as if the weight of the vaulting rested on their shoulders. There were no windows..."
The symbolic representation of the entire conversation is given with this description of the setting: "The place was entered by way of narrow steps that led down, as if descending deep under the ground."
In reality: "This was the most expensive barroom in New York and it was built on the roof of a skyscraper."
Four passive aggressive people have a contradictory conversation in a setting that required narrow steps that seemed to lead underground when in reality they were as exposed as the roof of a skyscraper.
Section #2
Jim initiates the conversation with Dagny. The last time they talked, Dagny initiated it and won. This time Jim initiates and still loses. So now we know it doesn't matter who initiates the conversation between a passive aggressive person and an excellent person, the excellent person will always win if they remain excellent. All she did was answer his questions! If she avoids his questions, she loses.
Notice the setting: "She had always felt that the concourse looked like a temple. Glancing up at the distant ceiling, she saw dim vaults supported by giant granite columns, and the tops of vast windows glazed by darkness. The vaulting held the solemn peace of a cathedral, spread in protection high above the activity of men."
This room is physically at ground level, yet it is filled with active people and the ceiling gave the room the feeling of a cathedral. The first setting was physically in the clouds, but filled with inactive people who were appeared to be supporting the weight of the ceiling.
Furthermore: "To look at that statue whenever she crossed the concourse, was the only form of prayer she knew."
"The statue was of a young man with a tall, gaunt body and an angular face. He held his head as if he faced a challenge and found joy in his capacity to meet it. All that Dagny wanted of life was contained in the desire to hold her head as he did."
This is Dagny's "worldview" or "religion".
Section #3
Eddie talks to a day laborer who he treats like a priest or God; it is Eddie's confessional. We see an "average" person talking to an abstract person who seems to just ask questions. So, the conversation is one-sided and not adversarial. This is the most middle of the road conversation possible; it is completely factual.
The setting: "The cafeteria lay underground. It was a large room with walls of white tile that glittered reflections of electric lights and looked like silver brocade. It had a high ceiling, sparkling counters of glass and chromium, a sense of space and light."
This room is physically underground, yet had a high ceiling, and a sense of space and light, everything the first setting should have had but didn't.
This is the exact opposite of the first section in every way...
SUPPLEMENT
Some say AS shows exaggerated examples, what I've been calling a -5 or -6. In reality, these examples are the logical end of anyone who starts venturing down the negative side of the scale. Like the group in the bar, they are full of excuses. Deep down, these people know it and try their best to hang out in the middle because it's comfortable in the short term. In reality, this only delays the inevitable: the need to pick a direction (positive or negative) and pursue it. That is, demonstrate integrity. The middle is ALWAYS evil. Out of all the Biblical references regarding the dangers of not pursuing a direction, this is the most famous: "I (God) know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." (Bible)
"Then he (Nat) pledged his wife as security for a loan from a millionaire who hated him and admired her beauty." This is strangely familiar to a situation in "The Fountainhead". While "The Fountainhead" is a great book, it is a junior version of AS, in my opinion. Reading both made me realize Ms. Rand was not fully attaining her goals in "The Fountainhead". Consequently, I believe she didn't quite attain her goals in AS. She got an order of magnitude closer, but things can ALWAYS be better.
Table of Contents
Next Chapter: The Immovable Movers
No comments:
Post a Comment