Heather in VA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Has anyone had their high schooler read this? I'm thinking about it for my senior next year (20th century history/lit). Thoughts? Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Hope Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I read both Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead in late high school. Just on my own...I found them and was interested. At the time I read them, I sensed something of the philosophy behind them, but I wasn't given any background or context. I just thought they were good stories. Later, I came to understand Ayn Rand's philosophy. It would have been great to read them with some assisted reading. :-) Would have found them more interesting, I think. I believe there is an annual essay contest (maybe scholarship money) for either The Fountainhead or Atlas Shrugged. A young high schooler I know entered the contest, but she was in public school, so I don't know the details. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leonor Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 If you do, you should have him submit an essay for the scholarship. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skadi Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I've read The Fountainhead, Atlas Shrugged, and Anthem. Anthem was by far my favorite, and it's also the shortest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Wallace Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Has anyone had their high schooler read this? I'm thinking about it for my senior next year (20th century history/lit). Thoughts? Heather You might want to pre-screen it for sexuality. It's not what I would call "R," but I would call it "PG-13." For your family, that might not be appropriate. Have you thought of having your senior enter the essay contest the Ayn Rand Institute sponsors each year on that book? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 You might want to pre-screen it for sexuality. It's not what I would call "R," but I would call it "PG-13." For your family, that might not be appropriate. Have you thought of having your senior enter the essay contest the Ayn Rand Institute sponsors each year on that book? :iagree:My daughter read it in order to write an essay for the contest and she said afterward she wish she hadn't. It was a little too much for her sensibilities. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinL in Canada Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Rand's philosophy is highly anti-Christian, if that matters to you. I would not suggest allowing a high school student to read her work without context/ discussion/supervision. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teresa Hope Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I agree, her ideas conflict with Christianity, which is why I say some guidance when I read the books would have been helpful. However, I was a Christian at the time I read them, and the book did not drive me toward any wayward ideas. And there are many non-Christian, controversial books that can be important for a high school senior to read. Particularly since this writer has had a resurgence in popularity due to the movie, it might be smart to address her literature straight on and examine its themes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathy in Richmond Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Rand's philosophy is highly anti-Christian, if that matters to you. I would not suggest allowing a high school student to read her work without context/ discussion/supervision. :iagree: My daughter became interested in reading Rand in high school, so I re-read the Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged with her. Lots to chew on, but we did it together.:) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Dreary, long, and immoral. Bill Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mama Lynx Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I read Atlas Shrugged and The Fountainhead in high school, and plan for my kids to do the same, if they're interested. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kareni Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Here's a link to the Ayn Rand essay contests. Regards, Kareni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FaithManor Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Dreary, long, and immoral. Bill Absolutely, agree with Bill! I'm not saying I wouldn't let a high school senior read them. It's just that I would definitely want to evaluate maturity level. If the maturity is there, then I would want to study them with my child and discuss worldview. They aren't on my list for the boys. Faith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kathleen in VA Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 I agree, her ideas conflict with Christianity, which is why I say some guidance when I read the books would have been helpful. However, I was a Christian at the time I read them, and the book did not drive me toward any wayward ideas. And there are many non-Christian, controversial books that can be important for a high school senior to read. Particularly since this writer has had a resurgence in popularity due to the movie, it might be smart to address her literature straight on and examine its themes. My daughter is a strong Christian so I wasn't worried when she came to me and mentioned the immorality. The main concern for her was once you've read something, you can't unread it. She just wishes she hadn't filled her mind with those images. Dreary, long, and immoral. Bill My daughter's evaluation precisely. She found it depressing, insanely long and, as I've already mentioned, immoral to the point of not worth spending time on. There are so many more edifying things to read - why bother with something that just drags you down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinL in Canada Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 The main concern for her was once you've read something, you can't unread it. There are so many more edifying things to read - why bother with something that just drags you down? So true--one reason why I just won't read much contemporary fiction. Great literature *will* grapple with the "dark side," but so little of what passes for literature today has any redemptive quality to it (in my view). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather in VA Posted March 13, 2012 Author Share Posted March 13, 2012 Thanks guys... It's been a while since I read it and frankly that was back in the day I skimmed something for the test (no wonder I homeschool these days. I'd never let my kids get away with that). I'll have to check it out. In the "real world" I am considered pretty conservative but in the homeschool world I'd be considered highly permissive LOL. To me by the time someone is a senior and about to go out in the world without my constant presence, I had better know that they can handle things that haven't been sanitized for them. That doesn't mean I need to go looking for things with no value though. Guess I'm getting this from the library to see. Thanks!! Heather Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spy Car Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 (edited) So true--one reason why I just won't read much contemporary fiction. Great literature *will* grapple with the "dark side," but so little of what passes for literature today has any redemptive quality to it (in my view). :iagree: Sure great literature will grapple with the *dark side*, but generally the *dark side* is not presented as the "moral choice." Ayn Rand turns virtue and vice on their heads. Rand attempts to seduce adolescents into believing that "selfishness is good." She also attempts to convince adolescents that instead of sharing a common humanity, that the great majority of people are "moochers" and "parasites" who do not deserve to live off the talents and creative-labors of the Objectivist supermen. Mix some kinky sex into proto-fascism and you've got a pretty dark adventure. Bill Edited March 13, 2012 by Spy Car Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G5052 Posted March 13, 2012 Share Posted March 13, 2012 Also 1984 and Animal Farm. If I remember correctly, they also do To Kill a Mockingbird, but I may be thinking of a different book list. I read it in college on my own, and didn't particularly enjoy it. In fact, I didn't like 1984 or Animal Farm either, and I read those in both high school and college. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobinL in Canada Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 :iagree: Sure great literature will grapple with the *dark side*, but generally the *dark side* is not presented as the "moral choice." Ayn Rand turns virtue and vice on their heads. Rand attempts to seduce adolescents into believing that "selfishness is good." She also attempts to convince adolescents that instead of sharing a common humanity, that the great majority of people are "moochers" and "parasites" who do not deserve to live off the talents and creative-labors of the Objectivist supermen. Mix some kinky sex into proto-fascism and you've got a pretty dark adventure. Bill No disagreement here--that's what I meant by no redemptive quality. I read Rand as a teenager/ young adult without a Christian perspective or any guidance, and her work sent me off-track for a number of years. So many better books to read out there... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 (edited) Dreary, long, and immoral. Bill Absolutely, agree with Bill! I'm not saying I wouldn't let a high school senior read them. It's just that I would definitely want to evaluate maturity level. If the maturity is there, then I would want to study them with my child and discuss worldview. They aren't on my list for the boys. Faith Me, too! And even William F Buckley! (See video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5KmPLkiqnO8, he says he had to flog himself to read it.) Further, terrible characters, dialog, plot, etc. There are other works from the 20th Century that are difficult and bleak but are worth the time. Edited March 14, 2012 by Candid Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jane in NC Posted March 14, 2012 Share Posted March 14, 2012 Particularly since this writer has had a resurgence in popularity due to the movie, it might be smart to address her literature straight on and examine its themes. Just because a movie was made from a book does not mean the book merits reading. Further, terrible characters, dialog, plot, etc. There are other works from the 20th Century that are difficult and bleak but are worth the time. In agreement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charles Wallace Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 (edited) FWIW, I don't like Atlas Shrugged very much -- not because of Rand's philosophy, much of which I don't agree with, but rather because I think she violates one major rule of mine for what constitutes a great novel: she lets it be openly didactic. All novels have a political agenda. Heck, all plays, all movies, almost all poetry. That's fine with me, actually -- but when the author lets the "lesson-larnin'" get in the way of telling the story and turns his or her characters into little more than walking allegories, that's when the work leaps out of the "great" category and into the "interesting, but not a prime book" category -- or worse. It's what's wrong with Animal Farm, of course -- but then again, Orwell redeems it by openly calling it a "fairy tale," not pretending to do much more than throw a beast-tale over the Stalinist takeover. It's what's definitely wrong with The Jungle and why that book is really never going to be better than "interesting as social influence; crummy example of good literature." Same with Uncle Tom's Cabin and The Grapes of Wrath, although the latter is more arguable than the others. It's why, all in all, The Fountainhead is the best of the Rand novels to read, in my opinion. For one, it's the one with the most nuanced sense of characterization. Rather than being a black-and-white villain, Keating (one of the main antagonists in this book) is genuinely sympathetic (with emphasis on the "pathetic" part), and as a result of being presented with a less bludgeony presentation of political ideology, we're won over more with the honey than with the vinegar. It's also one of the better books I've read on the problem of being a talented or gifted individualist in a world that often prefers cheap sellouts and mediocrity. It's not a great book either -- in the pivotal courtroom scene, it veers way too much toward that didacticism I talked about earlier -- but it's a better book than AS and one worth discussing, partly IF you tend to disagree with the philosophy. The philosophy is a primary reason to read it, and despite the didacticism, it's the element that raises the book to the level of "book you should read." To go back to my mental checklist, it successfully does what good literature *should* do: It doesn't give you what you expect, and it challenges your usual way of thinking about things. Those are two reasons why -- in addition to its fifth-grade reading level and graphic child sodomy scenes -- The Kite Runner is a dreadful book: it tells you exactly what you want to hear and already believe about the Taliban. It not only reiterates every bit of propaganda you already thought about them, but it adds sprinkles on the sundae ("They're not only cruel to their women, but they sodomize little boys too! Twice!"). Nope, a good book doesn't tell you what you already know, already believe, or want to hear. Quite often, it tells you something very different. So, bottom line, that's my take on it, for what it's worth. Edited March 15, 2012 by Charles Wallace Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.