“Who is John Galt?” is the first line uttered in Ayn Rand’s 1957 novel Atlas Shrugged. It sums up much of the book’s theme as it is a cry of despair in the face of some unknown force at work in the world stopping its motor. But just as every shadow must have an opposing light, there is another question that provides hope in the face of despair. You see, “Who is John Galt?” may be the most famous question in Atlas Shrugged, but it is not its most important question.
There are so many thought-provoking questions the book asks more than once. “Who am I to know?” “By what right?” “What are we going to do?” “What do you want of me?” “What can you do when you have to deal with people?” All of these contribute to the overall theme of the book of man’s eternal struggle for self-fulfillment, but they don’t get to the heart of the matter. There is only one question that does that.
That question is “What for?”
“What for?” is sometimes cried out in despair by a character as the verbal equivalent of throwing their hands up in the air in futility. But it is also often asked as an honest question. After all, understanding the motive behind someone’s request can help us to decide whether or not it is worth our while to engage in the activity they are proposing.
I propose that we understand the use of “What for?” in Atlas Shrugged because it is such a prominent part of the book and yet it is hiding in plain sight. It provides answers to mysteries that characters grapple with and even give their lives to understand. So it’s worth our while to seek the answers behind this question. Continue reading →
Deja Reviewer 