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OfflineGunboat
At the bottom ofJudecca

Registered: 12/05/02
Posts: 173
Loc: Toronto, Canada
Last seen: 20 years, 5 months
Atlas Shrugged
    #1155317 - 12/26/02 06:25 AM (21 years, 3 months ago)

Hi folks.

Well, Christmas break is almost here, so here's the post. We're going to be reading Ayn Rand's gigantic book Atlas Shrugged, chapter-by-chapter online. The pace will probably be one Chapter per week, with discussions on Saturdays and periodically through the week. If you guys are really jonesing to talk about the book, I'm sure we can work out a chat room arrangement.

That's it for now, I guess. The first reading will be in about a week, the Saturday after this coming one.

If I missed anything, I'm sure Plato will fill in the gaps :smile:


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~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn't study Latin harder in school so I could converse with those people."
- J. Danforth Quayle

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Gunboat]
    #1156176 - 12/19/02 07:00 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

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InvisiblePhobos
Registered: 10/14/00
Posts: 435
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Gunboat]
    #1156179 - 12/19/02 07:01 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

how will this go down?

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Phobos]
    #1156197 - 12/19/02 07:06 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

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InvisiblePhobos
Registered: 10/14/00
Posts: 435
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: ]
    #1156201 - 12/19/02 07:07 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

i don't have it yet but my friend told me a week or two about that he would be giving me it coincidentally.. so maybe i'll join in! :smile:

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Phobos]
    #1156211 - 12/19/02 07:10 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

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OfflineSkikid16
fungus fan

Registered: 06/27/02
Posts: 5,666
Loc: In the middle of the nort...
Last seen: 18 years, 11 months
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: ]
    #1160983 - 12/21/02 06:32 PM (21 years, 3 months ago)

Great book, I just read it so long ago. This discussion is making me think about reading it again.


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Re-Defeat Bush in '04

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OfflinePhred
Fred's son
Male

Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 12,949
Loc: Dominican Republic
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Gunboat]
    #1188158 - 01/03/03 03:13 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

Okay, everybody up to speed? Who wants to go first?

pinky


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InvisibleRebelSteve33
Amateur Mycologist
Male

Registered: 05/28/02
Posts: 3,774
Loc: Arizona
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Phred]
    #1190475 - 01/04/03 02:13 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

I guess I'll go first because no one else has said anything yet.

I like Dagny.

I liked the sybolism with the oak tree thing.

The "Who is John Galt?" thing confused me at first, but the guy on the train explained it a little bit at least. I hope we do eventually get to find out the mystery behind the expression, though!

Oh yeah, did I mention I like Dagny? I think she's awesome.

So what do you guys think...?


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Namaste.

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OfflinePhred
Fred's son
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Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 12,949
Loc: Dominican Republic
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: RebelSteve33]
    #1190902 - 01/04/03 06:18 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

What is it about Dagny that you like?

Yes, the oak tree is a perfect metaphor for what will become clearer as the book progresses. You'll find yourself remembering it from time to time as the plot unfolds.

I must admit I am a little impatient at the limitation of a chapter a week. The first three chapters are fairly short and not hard to finish in a short time. However, to restrict myself just to the first chapter...

We are introduced to three characters: Eddie Willers, Dagny Taggart, and James Taggart. It is already apparent that the three are quite distinct.

We are also given a sense of the world in which the story takes place. There is a palpable sense of gloom and decay. To me, the more she describes things the more I get the image of the Gotham City in the first Batman movie... dark, crowded, yet empty of people in a way... or at least empty of human activity. It is simultaneously grandiose and shabby.

The phrase 'Who is John Galt?" is used as a sort of verbal shrug; "Meh... whaddya gonna do?" ... an expression of hopelessness or fatalism or an admission of the inevitability of life and the lack of anyone's ability to do much about it, like "Why is the sky blue?"

pinky


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InvisibleRebelSteve33
Amateur Mycologist
Male

Registered: 05/28/02
Posts: 3,774
Loc: Arizona
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Phred]
    #1207670 - 01/10/03 04:38 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

Isn't anybody else reading along with us?  I agree that the chapter a week thing is a little slow, especially for the first few chapters. 

Anyway, I really like everything about Dagny's personality.  I like strong women.  Ayn Rand paints the picture of her personality so well with her words.  She is intelligent.  She is a hard worker and proud of her work and knows what to do and when to do it.  She's just great. 

Another thing about the first chapter that intrigues me is the "Fifth Concerto" that apparently does not exist.  It seems that this will become important later in the book and I look forward to learning its meaning.

Well, tomorrow we'll get to talk about chapter two!  Yay! :smile:

-RebelSteve 


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Namaste.

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: RebelSteve33]
    #1208282 - 01/10/03 11:11 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

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OfflineRemy
Bitches Brew
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Registered: 06/04/02
Posts: 1,343
Loc: Atlanta, GA
Last seen: 12 years, 4 months
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Gunboat]
    #1209108 - 01/11/03 09:23 AM (21 years, 2 months ago)

I'll dig up my copy. I never got a chance to read it, but Im definetely looking forward to it.

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Remy]
    #1209464 - 01/11/03 12:00 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

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Offlinediggitydankman
No longer aCannabisConnoisseur

Registered: 12/10/02
Posts: 479
Loc: Michgan
Last seen: 20 years, 11 months
Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: Gunboat]
    #1209740 - 01/11/03 02:28 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

Hi, I just saw this thread and would like to join the group. I have read the book before and would love to discuss the philosophy of it. I'll catch up to you guys and hopefully join you when everyone is one at once or when you organize the chat room.


--------------------
"It's only wrong if you get caught.
If consequences dictate
my course of action
I should play GOD."

Maynard James Keenan, Tool

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Anonymous

Re: Atlas Shrugged [Re: diggitydankman]
    #1210025 - 01/11/03 04:33 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

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InvisibleRebelSteve33
Amateur Mycologist
Male

Registered: 05/28/02
Posts: 3,774
Loc: Arizona
Chapter II: The Chain [Re: ]
    #1221734 - 01/15/03 02:41 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

Chapter II:  The Chain

The introduction of Hank Rearden by means of a stranger on a train is interesting.  It makes a connection between Dagny Taggart and him.

I like how the journalist says, in the beginning, "Hank Rearden is the kind of man who sticks his name on everything he touches.  You may, from this, form your own opinion about the character of Hank Rearden."

Other than when the train passenger saw the neon sign that said REARDEN STEEL, this is the first formal introduction the author gives us to the character of Hank Rearden.  To me it felt like Rand was literally asking me, the reader, to form an opinion of Rearden.  She's basically saying "This is what type of person he is, now do you like him or not?"

And for me the answer was yes!  I like how Rand gave a beautiful and intricate description of the steel mill and from there really began to introduce us to Rearden.  It gave depth to his character in a way.  I love people who work hard and do things on their own and are proud of the things they accomplish instead of being humble and self-conscious about it.  I am one of those people, and that's why I like Hank Rearden (as well as Dagny Taggart, as I already metioned.)

One thing I particularly liked about Rearden was when he was walking home and it says "He had never been able to understand why men should be unhappy."  I feel this same way.

The other characters that we are introduced to in this chapter are Rearden's family member and a friend.  I really loathed his family.  Everything they said to him made me angry.  I hate people who do not appreciate things they should appreciate.  I could really identify with Rearden in the way that his family makes him feel, and this made me like him even more.

I wish he would've given the chain to a woman who would appreciate it, like Dagny, instead of that bitch wife of his!  :mad: 

-RebelSteve


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Namaste.

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InvisibleRebelSteve33
Amateur Mycologist
Male

Registered: 05/28/02
Posts: 3,774
Loc: Arizona
Re: Chapter II: The Chain [Re: RebelSteve33]
    #1225681 - 01/17/03 06:05 AM (21 years, 2 months ago)

Anybody else reading??? What do you guys think so far?


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Namaste.

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Anonymous

Re: Chapter II: The Chain [Re: RebelSteve33]
    #1226010 - 01/17/03 07:51 AM (21 years, 2 months ago)

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OfflinePhred
Fred's son
Male

Registered: 10/18/00
Posts: 12,949
Loc: Dominican Republic
Last seen: 9 years, 2 months
Re: Chapter II: The Chain [Re: RebelSteve33]
    #1229530 - 01/18/03 04:15 PM (21 years, 2 months ago)

I am re-reading it as well, and am long past chapter Two.

Steve, since we are the only two posting in the thread so far, I suggest we not limit ourselves to the chapter-a-week pace. The others will just have to catch up to us. Just so you know, I have finished the first section (out of three) of ten chapters. Chapter 10 is a dilly, leaving us anxious for more.

I'm pressed for time at the moment and my crummy third-world ISP is acting up again, so I'll try to post my response to your take on Chapter two later. I'll probably post my reactions to Chapter three at the same time.

pinky


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