Rand is given to overblown character portrayal, almost charictature.
I share your opinion. The conversations read like a 1950's-era stage play where all the characters overact. But, I guess her point does get across that way...
Rand does seem to see the novel as a proscenium. The characters are all archetypes and meant to be that way. They step out of the play to approach the audience and declaim and then step back into the story. I am not sure it is effective, but that could just be me. I once was discussing this with a classical liberal type and I said that I liked the thesis of the book, but couldn’t stand the writing or the characters. He looked puzzled and said it was just the opposite for him.
As to the $10k, Hank doesn’t seem to care about the money. He is a Creator Archetype and cares more about his own creation. He didn’t care about the cause, either, but the money was nothing to him (and was perhaps about $60k in today’s money, not inconsequential) and he just seemed to want to shut Phillip up by giving to his cause. Of course, Phillip, being a Limousine Liberal, had to petulantly carp about Hank’s motivations. I was wondering just how much Phillip had contributed, assuming he has an allowance or access to a trust fund. Or, just how much actual work any of his group had ever done for anyone’s benefit, let alone to survive.
BTW, has anyone else noticed that all the Heros are lean, angular, tall and fit and all the Looters are soft, fat and slouch?