Introduction
In view of the comparative and contrastive analysis of literary elements, I have chosen the novel "The Fountainhead" for its elaborative analysis and interpretation. This novel was later transformed into a movie to add an escalated significance to its beauty and philosophy. This novel deals with the accountability of a person to remain conscious and disciplined to the fundamental needs of environment, human beings, and humanity. In my view, no one or nothing should be placed above the universal right of a person to live in a happy, healthy, progressive, noble, and ideal life, and lead a peaceful and an honourable life in this world. the novel "The Fountainhead" was written in 1943 that deal with an idea of romanticism and philosophy. In this, she makes her protagonist a victim of circumstances and shows protagonist’s struggle toward the challenges of life.
Background of Writer
Ayn Rand was an American novelist of Russian origin who had the distinction of being the philosopher, novelist, and movie screen writer. There have been many feathers to her cap during her long journey of literary life but the two novels that mesmerized the world with its aestheticism and uniqueness are "The Fountainhead" and "Atlas Shrugged." Her approach towards literary characterization and description in the novel "The Fountainhead" was coated with philosophical elements of objectivity. The philosophy of objectivity offers a choice of functional autonomy which is not controlled by the consciousness. In this, human beings are directly connected with reality through the active participation perception and conception. Using these elements of human minds, one can arrive at the conclusion objectively and pragmatically. Further, this metaphysical element is attached with ultimate aim of life to attain aesthetic happiness and emotional emancipation without compromising with morality and ethical values. Body: Philosophy of the novel "The Fountainhead"
Her philosophy in the novel deals with deep-rooted values and belief systems of reality with a broader perspective of defining the nature of a human nature and the universe in which we tend to exist and reside. She tries to understand the nuances for the concept of man and the essence of morality and happiness in order to lead an ideal and a noble life. Therefore, her philosophy and ideas has the origin of objectivity of human knowledge and values that are controlled and guided by nature of reality. Believe it or not, the beauty of life lies in commitment, honesty, true and simple living, integrity of character, and adherence to moral values. What matters ultimately in life is how honest one is to oneself. It hardly makes any difference how others perceive you or how you are to others. If one is true and honest to oneself in a true sense, everything falls in place with a passage of time. It is important to remember this fact that the way one thinks and behaves, is permanent, and the way others see or think anyone is, is temporary. So, time is ripe to change one’s attitude and approach towards life and try to believe in oneself, persevere in life, and attain success and character with one’s ability, thought process, and performance. And, there is no point thinking about past and planning about a prospective future if one does not do anything in the present time.
Background of Transformation from a novel into a movie
With a passage of time, her involvement against communist philosophy brought her closer to the league of people who were related with the Motion Picture Alliance in the USA. After lot of upheaval and challenges, the movie form of "The Fountainhead" came into being and was released in 1949. In the light of the aforesaid facts, it makes a good sense to carry out the comparative and contrastive analysis between the novel and movie form of "The Fountainhead"
Comparative analysis between a novel and a movie
The main character in the novel is Roark who is a talented and confident architect who has firm faith in individualism. He feels that one can grow high by following the principle of individualism, not collectivism. Therefore, he becomes a victim of his own thought and dares to develop a design of leading buildings against the norms and regulation of the establish rules and traditions. Such an eccentric attitude puts him behind the bar. But, he fights for his belief and design of works, and finally succeeds in winning in the case.
The other characters are Peter Keating who is also a talented architect, but of different sort. Dominique Francon is the female actor the novel "The Fountainhead." She has a candid temperament and is a daughter of the renowned architect. She criticises the design and arts what she feels, and this attitude is not appreciated by her father. In her father's company, Peter Keating works as an employee. On hte other hand, she is a perfectionist whose intelligence, innovation, insight, and fed up with her own perfection. This temperament gives rise to a feeling of frustration and makes her life pathetic. Finally, she becomes a careless and de-motivated person who lives life for herself, not for anyone else. So, her perfection and competence has made her suffer in life. At the end of the novel, it becomes clear that she has her own way of thinking and parameters of standards, and cannot compromise with the ideals of life.
The other characters are Gail Wynand, who rose from the rags to the riches, and Ellsworth Toohey, who is columnist who writes about the corrupt forces of Communism and Socialism. He is a kind of person who tries to show himself to others what he is not. Since he is not true to what he says, his motive is to discourage the excellence, promote sycophancy, and display the sense of selfless devotion to cause and principle. After some time, he quits religious responsibility to discover a path of social belief systems. As far as its movie form is concerned, the film "The Fountainhead" was the adapted form of Ayn Rand's novel and this film, directed by King Vidor, focus its theme on Howard Roark, an architect who succumbs to pressure of time and situations. So, there is a sharp struggle between obscurity and mediocrity. He fights against the odds and faces lots of challenges in life. In addition, his complex relationship with other actors of this movie adds a twist with a subtle layer of romanticism and philosophy. Here, the struggle of protagonist denotes the victory of individual belief system over a collective approach and theory of life. So, some of the actors who played the roles in the movie are as follows:
a) Gary Cooper acted the role of Roark,
b) Patricia Neal acted the role of Dominique Francon,
c) Raymond Massey acted the role of Gail Wynand.
d) Robert Douglas acted the role of Ellsworth Toohey
e) Kent Smith acted the role of Peter Keating
f) Henry Hull acted the role of Henry Cameron
g) Ray Collins acted the role of Roger Enright
h) Moroni Olsen acted the role of Chairman
i) Jerome Cowan acted the role of Alvah Scarret
Contrastive analysis between a novel and a movie
Contrastively, the novel “The Fountainhead” is a story of an actor named Howard Roark, who is one of the talented and unparalleled architect. He is a kind of person who wants to protect one's individuality by doing something in the way one likes. Further, he takes the risk of treading on the path where no one dares to pursue and walk. So, by his attitude and temperament, he invites the hostility of others and finally becomes the victim of his own thoughts and actions. So, this novel is a philosophical display of human soul where there is a continuous fight between individualism and collectivism. Using this contrastive and creative approach of novel, the writer has endeavoured to reflect the dignified views of personal character, integrity of behaviour, human potential to struggle and fight. In this backdrop of novel, socio-political environments of the world, and individual predicament of the writer, the presentation of movie is different from the novel. Some of the contrastive elements of movie are:
a) The plot is modified and doctored to suit the scene and storyline.
b) There is a compromise with the theme to ensure the flow of plot and characterisation.
c) A lot of editing and modification occurred during production and post-production stage.
d) The writer’s criticism for the film was for playing a thin layer of cosmetic beauty by editing, acting, and redefining the process of post-production design
e) There is an occurrence of ideological clash with literary clash
f) The ideological compromise is displayed to interpret the metaphysical elements of human souls, values, and life.
g) There is peculiar scenario when the different words such as “palace," "fortress," "treasury," and "temple” for “house” are selected.
h) There is a use of psychological theory and political principles in a novel but such things are not displayed.
i) There is a presence of the Americanness in the language, grammar, and tone in the movie.
j) There is a change in the plot, characterization, and settings between the movie and the novel.
k) The use of music and animation in the movie has totally altered the impact of thematic and philosophical values in the novel.
Based on the aforesaid contrastive and comparative analyses of “The Fountainhead,” it is now imperative to understand the significance of assessments.
Development of Assessment
These assessments are valuable tools to identify, analyze, and calibrate the assimilation and comprehension depth of this the philosophical subject-matter. Here is a list of some of the close-ended and open-ended questions to assimilate the purpose and objectives of the novel.
Close-ended Questions
a) Who was Ayn Rand?
b) Name the three main characters of the novel?
c) Who was Howard Roark?
d) Name the actor Who acted in the movie as Howard Roark.
e) Which of two themes are discussed metaphysically in this novel?
f) Who is the female actor who plays as a lead role in this novel?
Open-ended Questions
a) What do you mean by collectivism?
b) Distinguish between the terms “Collectivism” and “Individualism.”
c) Do you think that this novel displays the dominance of individualism over the collectivism? If so, why?
d) How do you visualize the character of Howard Roark?
e) How can you say that this novel has thick layers of philosophical elements?
f) Briefly explain the historical background of this novel.
g) How can you relate the life of the writer with the theme of the story?
The answers to these questions gauge the learnability quotient and help us understand the objective and subjective elements of the novel.
Conclusion
In the light of the aforesaid comparative and contrastive facts, interpretation, and analysis between the novel and the movie of “The Fountainhead,” it gives us an educative message as to what life is, what holds in human souls, how we should lead a life, what significance “individualism” and “collectivism” holds in life, and and many more. The predicament of the protagonist is the true reflection of the predicament of the time and region. But, in reality, all of us encounter the challenges in life consciously or unconsciously. This message is not just limited to the people of the USA but has a universal significance and relevance in human life and human soul. Therefore, time has come for us to learn positive elements of this novel in a rational manner, have courage to be different to be like a unique individual, and face the world boldly. I am of the opinion that being born as a human being is really a challenge before all of us. And, the challenge before everyone is to adapt oneself to the changing needs of hour and manage these changes rationally and efficiently. But, the modern challenge and demand of life are to cultivate our life in tune with the fundamental demand of life through inner engineering of minds through good thoughts, actions and behaviour. Now it is for us to groom and condition our life to meet the emerging demands of the challenging world. The only option left before us now is to remove the gap of soul that exists between the way “what you are” and “what you should be” as a human being. So, let us all come together to synchronize your knowledge of life with modern challenges of the world and become a happy and dignified soul of this world.
Works Cited
Rand, Ayn." The Fountainhead. New York: New American Library, 1996. Print.
Rand, Ayn." The Fountainhead.: Certain Private Conversations in Two Acts and a Requiem. Virginia: Lexington Books, 2006.
Michael Chiavaroli & Associates. Ayan Rand Institue: The Fountainhead. (1995 - 2012) Web. 6 Apr. 2012. http://www.aynrand.org/site/PageServer?pagename=objectivism_fiction_the_fountainhead/.
Sparknotes LLC. Sparknotes: The Fountainhead. (2012) Web. 6 Apr. 2012. http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/fountainhead/summary.html.
An amazon.com company. IMDb: The Fountainhead. (1990 - 2012) Web. 6 Apr. 2012. http://www.imdb.com/find?q=The+Fountainhead&s=all.
GradeSaver LLC. Gradesaver: The Fountainhead summary. (1999 - 2012) Web. 5 Apr. 2012. http://www.gradesaver.com/the-fountainhead/study-guide/short-summary/.
