Talk:Characters in Atlas Shrugged

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This article seems to have serious NPOV issues. Statements like "Dagny personifies the typical struggle within many capitalists: when to stop trying to change the socialist policies that impinge on capitalist freedoms" really don't belong in any Wikipedia article.

If these statements--and there are more than just the one I cite--are meant to reflect Rand's point of view, or some character's point of view, or what some Wikipedian believes was a thesis of Rand's in her composition of the book, that needs to be made explicit or the article will have POV problems.

Frank Kinnan, the union boss, is not mentioned in this list. Ill add a paragraph on him if that ok.

I propose we place the "Looters", "Moochers", and "Strikers" sections at the top of the page and group the characters by their affiliation rather than randomly.


The part in Ragnar's section, "although 'skjold' means shield, not gold," does not have a diaeresis for the "o". I know that his name has a diaeresis, but don't know whether this particular word does. Any speakers of that language? Philip 2004-03-15

Bravo! Yeay for consolidating stubs! :) Martin

The Brakeman is not John Galt. For one, John Galt learned who Dagny Taggart was at a different setting, which he relates to her later. For another, in part III she meets the brakeman again, and speaks to him about the song he was whistling. Avi 22:23 30 Jun 2003 (UTC)

Though The Brakeman certainly isn't, I was under the (perhaps faulty) impression that the bum who speaks to Eddie Willers in the opening scene was John Galt. Also, perhaps the characters should be put in order of their last name instead of first? It took me a moment to realize it was in any order at all. D prime 03:18, 4 December 2005 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Suggest 18 possible wiki links for Characters in Atlas Shrugged.

An automated Wikipedia link suggester has some possible wiki link suggestions for the Characters_in_Atlas_Shrugged article:

  • Can link ten thousand: ...d that there should be a law limiting the sales of books to ten thousand copies. He is a member of the ''Looters''. Balph Eubank app... (link to section)
  • Can link wake up: ... overall meaninglessness of her life. She regrets having to wake up every morning because she has to face another empty day. Sh... (link to section)
  • Can link Dime store: ...of Atlas Shrugged|sections]] 112 and 113. ==Cheryl Brooks== Dime store shopgirl who marries James Taggart after a chance encounter... (link to section)
  • Can link John Galt: ...Taggart after a chance encounter in her store the night the John Galt Line was deemed his greatest success.... (link to section)
  • Can link main character: ...ng end at the hands of ''Project X.'' ==Dagny Taggart== The main character in Atlas Shrugged (also the name of her namesake ''Mrs. Nat... (link to section)
  • Can link moral code: ...wrong and what the alternative might be. He is trapped by a moral code that makes him a willing victim, and rather than challenge ... (link to section)
  • Can link the common man: ... love with Dagny. Willers is generally assumed to represent the common man: someone who does not possess the promethian creative abili... (link to section)
  • Can link stock market: ... he began working at a copper foundry, and investing in the stock market. By the time he was twenty he had made enough to purchase t... (link to section)
  • Can link sexual desire: ...ate Rearden's virtues, and this appreciation evolves into a sexual desire. Rearden is torn by a contradiction because he accepts the ... (link to section)
  • Can link moral philosophy: ...her in almost every endeavor. As the novel progresses, the moral philosophy of the Looters is revealed: it is a code of [[nihilism]]. T... (link to section)
  • Can link feeling this: ...indulgence is a sign of moral weakness. She is incapable of feeling this kind of desire, which she believes testifies to her moral s... (link to section)
  • Can link court order: ... who mysteriously disappears in protest after he is given a court order to loan money to an incompetent loan applicant. Midas Mulli... (link to section)
  • Can link next men: ...ependent on, and with remarkable consistency, those are the next men to mysteriously disappear. Mystery Worker will turn out to ... (link to section)
  • Can link opera house: ..., but this time it was received to the greatest ovation the opera house had ever heard. It appears his critics felt he had paid his... (link to section)
  • Can link Patrick Henry: ...section]] 152. ==Dr. Robert Stadler== A former professor at Patrick Henry University, mentor to ''Francisco d'Anconia'', ''John Galt'... (link to section)
  • Can link cocktail parties: ...''The Metaphysical Contradictions of the Universe'', and at cocktail parties. Dr. Pritchett appears in [[Structure of Atlas Shrugged|sec... (link to section)
  • Can link the President of the United States: ... The "Head of the State," which essentially means that he's the President of the United States, though he's never referred to as such. One of the Looters,... (link to section)
  • Can link public relations: ...uished look. He knows politics, however, and is a master of public relations and back-room deals. ... (link to section)

Notes: The article text has not been changed in any way; Some of these suggestions may be wrong, some may be right.
Feedback: I like it, I hate it, Please don't link to — LinkBot 11:24, 1 Dec 2004 (UTC)

I removed reference to apparently inccorect etymology claim that "mooch" might have come from the character named "Wesley Mouch." According to the American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition, 2000 the word Mooch comes from the Middle English word "mowchen." --Bchampion 11:40, 26 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Merge?

I can't for the life of me imagine why it's worth noting every character who appeared in the book. Why aren't the major characters are part of the main article? Lucidish 23:47, 21 March 2006 (UTC)

It think is is worth noting every character in the book. Atlas Shrugged is one of the longest books ever written. There are many characters in the book. Noting every character could help a reader place the significance of and give background to the character. As for merging, I don't see the need to distuingish between major and minor characters in this reference list. I would dispute any intention to merge this article with the main article of Atlas Shrugged.davidzuccaro 07:22, 22 March 2006 (UTC)
Alright, let's try that out and see how it goes. I'll change the merge proposal. Lucidish 01:35, 23 March 2006 (UTC)
Other page has been redirected here so I'm getting rid of the merge tag. Lucidish 02:38, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Deletion Nomination

Was this article really nominated for deletion? The link at the top of the page ponts to a discussion about whether or not to delete "Things in atlas shrugged". Could I please be given a link to see the discussion?davidzuccaro 09:41, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

I don't know why, so I removed it Lucidish 20:43, 28 March 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Transwiki proposal

I recommend that this page be transwiki'd to the Wikibooks section on Atlas Shrugged. This level of detail is far deeper than is normally appropriate in an encyclopedia article but would be very appropriate in Wikibooks. We can still provide cross-wiki links to aid readers who do want to dive into this level of detail. Rossami (talk) 12:57, 29 April 2006 (UTC)

Isn't wikibooks a collection of "free" books? This article is an encyclopedic reference article about the characters in Atlas Shrugged. davidzuccaro 09:15, 30 April 2006 (UTC)


[edit] Stadler/Einstein

The article compares Stadler and Project X to Einstein and the bomb. First, what did Einstein have to do with the bomb? Second, did Rand even oppose the bomb? And third, this is speculation without a citation.

While we're speculating, Oppenheimer is a much more likely candidate than Einstein for Stadler's image.
I suspect Rand did oppose the bomb. If you read Capitalism.org, it says that although guns are fine, and are used for self-defense, nuclear-weapons can never be used for simple self-defense, and are therefore not so fine. Capitalism.org is a strictly Objectivist site. ~Allixpeeke (I'm not signed in right now)
In answer to the question regarding Einstein's involvement with the atomic bomb: Einstein and Leo Szilard wrote to President Roosevelt in 1939 opining that an atomic bomb of power sufficient to destroy a port was feasible in the immediate future. Einstein's reputation convinced Roosevelt to pursue uranium research and eventually order the Manhattan Project to develop the bomb. See Einstein-Szilard letter.
I do not know if Einstein, Oppenheimer, or someone else was the inspiration for Stadler. Pirate Dan 23:01, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

I believe that Nikola Tesla was the basis for many charactors. The death ray was definetly based on work Tesla was conducting on at the time the book was written. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.224.144.112 (talk) 03:47, 29 March 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Real-life references to John Galt

Anyone else think the trivia section crosses the line? (Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information) Dylan Lake (t · c · e) 07:58, 5 November 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Stadler / Oppenheimer

"Rand left relatively few unpublished projects in any state of detail. Nothing became of a projected movie script for Hal Wallis which was to have told the story of the making of the atomic bomb, but editor Harriman argues plausibly that the extensive interviews she conducted with leading nuclear physicists left their mark on Atlas Shrugged: The sense of camaraderie among brilliant scientist-neighbors in rural Los Alamos, New Mexico, fondly recollected by many participants, helped suggest the idea of Galt's Gulch, while her interviews with J. Robert Oppenheimer led her to develop the character of Robert Stadler, the good-scientist-gone-bad."

http://www.reason.com/news/show/30499.html —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 71.237.34.67 (talk) 14:47, 13 January 2007 (UTC).

[edit] The origin of Cuffy Meigs?

Might Cuffy Meigs be based off of Henry Meiggs? Very loosely, but I just noticed a bit of similarity and thought I'd mention it.

[edit] Ragnar Danneskjöld

Is his name at all a reference to Ragnar Redbeard of "Might is Right" fame? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Might_is_Right