Posted on 01/17/2009 11:27:40 AM PST by Publius
Ping to Chapter 1.
A few observations:
RE the oak tree of Eddie's memory - “He felt safe in the oak tree's presence; it was a thing that nothing could change or threaten; it was his greatest symbol of strength.” When lightning struck the tree and he found that the trunk was only an empty shell, he felt deeply shocked and betrayed.
Right after this passage, he arrives at the Taggart Transcontinental building. He smiles at the sight of it and thinks about how it will always be there. Entering the building gives him a sense of relief and security. Could Taggart Transcontinental be his rotted tree? He knows that the rest of the world is falling apart - businesses are closing, things are going wrong and no one seems to care. But he does still have faith in the railroad.
The scene with the train crew (”I don't intend to stick my neck out.”) reminds me of the attitude I see more and more in my own dealings with people. No one wants to take initiative, no one wants to take a risk, no one wants to be held responsible if something goes wrong. I think our increasing concerns about liability and the threat of lawsuits has had a profound effect on how we live our lives. Everyone, from doctors to thrift shop owners, has to worry about covering his butt these days.
The psychological terms “learned helplessness” and “external locus of control” also come to mind. Learned helplessness is when an individual comes to believe through experience that no matter what he does, it will be wrong, or punished, or ineffective - so he gives up and does nothing. When incompetence is rewarded and success is punished, the feeling of “Why bother?” becomes more and more pervasive.
In Atlas Shrugged, as in life, it seems that the producers (and the conservatives) show an internal locus of control - they perceive themselves to be in control of what happens to them and they take responsibility for their own lives and choices. The liberals show an external locus of control - they believe their environment, unseen forces, or other people control their decisions and their lives. The conversation between Dagny and Jim is an excellent example - Jim blames everyone else for his problems, letting his metaphoric canoe drift where the current takes it, while Dagny takes charge and paddles her canoe where she wants it to go.
Why do we seem to be turning into a country of “externals?” Could it be that our educational system discourages risk taking and entrepreneur-ism, while it teaches helplessness? John Taylor Gatto (author of Dumbing Us Down) would say yes. But even in my own homeschool, I struggle with this. My 10 year old came to me this week with an idea to make and sell a product for kids online. All I could think of was the new CPSC bill and lead testing and product liability insurance and it just didn't seem worth the effort and the risk. It made me so sad to have to explain this to my young son, who still sees the world as a place of unlimited possibilities. I want to encourage them to reach for their dreams, but I'm becoming jaded by the direction the country has taken.
This occurs with large corporations in major industry enduring layoff-after-layoff over several years. So many of the best employees are RIF'ed that those left sink into a malaise, partly because of survivor guilt and partly due to foreboding that they may be the next to go.
Concur re: Road.
Possibly the most important book written during the 20th century.
I’ve given away more copies than I can count.
First book I ever loaned Jerry Agar.
Interesting thought. I had thought of the tree as a metaphor for the entire society, but your answer makes me think harder. When you look at the people who work at Taggart Trans, only Dagny, Eddie and Kellogg have any pride in their work and an overriding competence. The rest of the employees have caught the virus, no doubt from Jim.
Even back in '73 I had that attitude about school. A sea of mediocrity, it dared not challenge and woe be upon anyone who dared challenge the status quo (I have learned tenure has a way of doing that to a system). That was my impression of it then, and I bugged out at 15 to come back and take the certification exams at a later time, after learning the skills needed to support myself through other means.
Indifference is projected by leadership and reflected back to it, be it at home, work, or school - and it becomes the norm. Instinct, I believe, is to do no more than is necessary to survive, but that is not enough to maintain our complex societies. So other behaviors must be learned, and it is the personal responsibility of each individual to rise above regardless of the barriers placed before them, and keep trying no matter how many times they fail.
Thank you for an amazing post!
“When you look at the people who work at Taggart Trans, only Dagny, Eddie and Kellogg have any pride in their work and an overriding competence. The rest of the employees have caught the virus, no doubt from Jim.”
I disagree. I don’t want to jump ahead, but we are shown later some employees that still care and want to do a good job. (think: the engineers that volunteer....) However, Dagny is starting to express her disappointment in finding “good men” when she decides to promote Kellogg a year or two early, since there is no one else.
The unions have a lot to do with that, also.
But it also applies to students. One teacher referred to the kindergarten thru senior-in-high-school period as "the sentence". Check out any American public school and American prison, and you wonder what's the difference.
Good point. The virus pervades society, and Taggart Trans is only one more victim of it. This puts Dagny in the position of swimming against the current with a small band of people who still care.
Many of the characters in Atlas Shrugged are painted as either highly moral (Dagny, Hank Rearden, d'Anconia, et al), or highly evil (Jim Taggert, Oren Boyle, Lillian & Philip Rearden, Wesley Mouch, et al), as defined by Rand's objectivist philosophy. There are few characters in the middle.
But then there's Eddie Willers, Dagny's assistant, and lifelong friend. Eddie doesn't have exceptional talent, but moralistically, he's aligned with the "good guys" in the book. He's not a moocher. He plays a significant part in the book, nonetheless.
Who are examples of the Eddie Willers character, in today's world? What is Rand's opinion of people like him? Why is his character necessary?
I noticed that. The book is designed as a morality play. We lack characters trying to find a level of morality. You're either a visionary, a worker or a moocher.
Who are examples of the Eddie Willers character, in today's world?
I've pointed out in a few posts on this thread that every good Commanding Officer has an Executive Officer, someone who helps keep things on track. These people are the managers who do the work the visionary doesn't have time to do because it gets in the way of the vision.
Go into every well run company, and you'll find somebody who absorbs the load of minutiae to keep the visionary from having to worry about the mundane.
What is Rand's opinion of people like him?
You remember what happens to Eddie at the end. Rand didn't grant him admission to Valhalla. Only the visionaries who could make it all work got in, not the Executive Officers of the world.
Why is his character necessary?
Eddie's relationship with Galt is part of the answer because of the way it advances the plot. Eddie is the guy who has no equity stake in things excspt for the salary he draws. He is an honest man and keeps Dagny on the major issues while he handles the minutiae. Sometimes it's a thankless role. But Eddie is more important to the running of Taggart Trans than Jim Taggart is.
Pinging you to Chapter 1.
Thanks!
Looks like I’m a little late to the party, but please add me to the ping list. I’m working on my first read through AS.
Pinging you to Chapter 1.
I haven’t finished the book yet, but I’m guessing that Eddie is important - he is, after all, the first character that we meet. I think of him as representing the audience for whom she is writing the book - he is not one of the movers and shakers, but he is rooting for them, and is not one of the looters, nor is he apathetic as to what is going on.
You think after working in Hollywood, she could’ve managed to bring Eddie and Cheryl together somehow...
And once Dagny replaced Jim at the top, Eddie would have had the operating division running like a well-oiled machine.
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