Essay/Term paper: Ayn rand

Essay, term paper, research paper:  Biography Term Papers

This essay will discuss the life and works of Ayn Rand. The

woman who would become Ayn Rand was born Alice

Rosenbaum on February 2, 1905. (Branden, Barbara pg.3

1986). She was born during the eleventh year of Nicholas

II's reign in Russia.(Baker pg.1 1987). Rand's birth was

just before a revolution in Russia, however this revolution

was put down by her first year.(Branden, Barbara pg.3

1986). The Rosenbaum's lived quite comfortably under the

czar.(Baker pg.1 1987). Beneath their large apartment was

Fronz Rosenbaum's chemist shop.(Branden, Barbara pg. 4

1986). Rand's father was a serious man whom she never

knew very well.(Branden, Barbara pg.4 1986). Ayn's

mother, Anna Rosenbaum, was the opposite of her father

and was very sociable. (Branden, Barbara pg. 4-5 1986).

As a child, Rand did not have a true sense of affection with

her father. (Branden, Barbara pg.5 1986). However, she

did develop a strong bond of love with him as she grew

older. (Branden, Barbara pg. 4 1986). Ayn did not get

along well with her mother. (Branden, Barbara pg.5 1986).

Although the Rosenbaum family was traditionally Jewish, it

is said that Rand really did not have a religious upbringing.

(Baker pg.2 1987). As a result, she became atheist as a

child after coming to the conclusion that believing in God is

degrading to humans in the sense that man should live for

no one else but himself. (Baker pg.3 1987). Rand

discovered a passion for upbeat, lively music which she

began collecting on records. (Branden, Barbara pg.8

1986). By the time she was five years of age, she had two

little sisters, Natasha and Elena. (Branden, Barbara pg.7

1986). As a whole, Ayn's childhood was not a pleasant

experience for her; in later years it proved to be an

unhappy memory as well. (Branden, Barbara pg.34 1986).

Ayn Rand received a good education and learned to read

and write at age six. (Baker pg.2 1987). She found her

classes boring and too easy. (Baker pg.2 1987). This led

her to begin writing simple short stories and novels. (Baker

pg.2 1987). Rand's inability to fit in socially at school and

her boredom with the education she was receiving led her

to become somewhat of a recluse with one exception: her

passion for literature. (Branden, Barbara pg.11 1986).

Literature seemed to absorb Ayn more than any other

thing; it intrigued her and gave her much pleasure to read

and soon, to write. (Branden, Barbara pg.11 1986). "She

would sit in school, barricaded behind a book, scribbling

furiously at her latest adventure, wanting only to be alone,

to write, to devise dangerous exploits for her characters."

(Branden, Barbara pg.11 1986). Rand's decision to

become a writer became certain at age nine. (Baker pg.2

1987). The decision was made while walking down a

London street that she would devote her life to writing.

(Branden, Barbara pg.14 1986). When the great war in

Russia began, Ayn started writing stories with "the intensity

that the times demanded". (Baker pg.2 1987). Rand

enrolled herself in a university at Petrograd, previously

known as St. Petersburg and her place of birth, at age

sixteen. (Baker pg.3 1987). Although she did not write any

creative, fictional works during her years at the university,

an outline for a play was later used as inspiration for her

novel, Anthem. (Baker pg.3 1987). Rand read many

literary works while she was at the university and gained a

lot of knowledge from them. (Baker pg.3 1987). Ayn Rand

graduated the university in 1924. (Baker pg.4 1987). In

1926, Ayn Rand celebrated her twenty-first birthday.

(Baker pg.4 1987). However, she did not feel that it was

her twenty-first birthday, to her it signified the beginning of

her life. (Branden, Barbara pg.62 1986). Rand arrived in

New York on a February evening at seven o' clock p.m.

(Branden, Barbara pg.63 1986). She had with her only fifty

dollars in her pocket, a typewriter in her arms, stories

etched in her mind and "the sense of life as exaltation."

(Branden, Barbara pg.63 1986). From New York, Rand

went on to Chicago to stay with some relatives there.

(Baker pg.5 1987). Ayn disliked Chicago very much and

went straight to work on writing scenarios and film ideas.

(Branden, Barbara pg.69 1986). Over this summer in

Chicago, Rand worked to improve her English, wrote

manuscripts and her film ideas. (Baker pg.5 1987). She

was ecstatic to finally be free and to be able to achieve all

the things she had always wanted. (Branden, Barbara

pg.71 1986). At the end of the summer in Chicago, Rand

set out for Hollywood with only her manuscripts and a

recommendation from DeMille's Chicago Distributors to

the Cecil B. DeMille Studio in Hollywood. (Baker pg.5

1987). Ayn's relatives sent her off with a train ticket and

one-hundred dollars. (Branden, Barbara pg.73 1986). She

was ready to go out on her own and truly begin her life.

(Branden, Barbara pg.73 1986). Alice Rosenbaum

re-named herself Ayn after a Finnish writer she adored.

(Baker pg.4 1987). It appealed to her because Ayn

rhymed with mine and promised she would be recognized

and admired. (Baker pg.4 1987). Rand came from her

"Remington-Rand" typewriter. (Baker pg.4 1987). Ayn

decided this name sounded more American than Alice

Rosenbaum. (Baker pg.4 1987). Furthermore, it signified

new-life and a relief from Russia's system. (Baker pg.4

1987). Lastly, Ayn did not want to endanger the lives of

her relatives in communist-Russia by her anti-communist

feelings. (Branden, Barbara pg.72 1986). Ayn Rand

moved into a room at the new Studio Club which was a

"...haven for young aspirants come to conquer

Hollywood..." and housed many actresses, dancers, studio

clerks and the like. (Branden, Barbara pg.73 1986). On

her first day looking, Ayn found a job working at the

DeMille Studio. (Baker pg.5 1987). Rand was hired as an

extra at the studio for seven dollars and fifty cents a day

which seemed to be a fortune to her. (Branden, Barbara

pg. 77 1986). She worked for DeMille for nine years until

his studio closed and remained in Hollywood for nine more

years. (Baker pg.5 1987). Ayn Rand met what was to

become her future husband after her second week in

Hollywood; his name was Frank O' Connor. (Branden,

Barbara pg.79 1986). Rand says her feelings for O'

Connor were love at first sight. (Branden, Barbara pg.80

1986). They were great companions and were married in

1929. (Baker pg.6 1987). Because she was now married

to an American citizen, Ayn applied for citizenship and was

naturalized in 1931. (Baker pg.7 1987). The two remained

married for fifty years until O' Connor's death in 1979.

(Baker pg.6-7 1987). Rand began working in the

wardrobe department of R.K.O. studios in the summer of

1929. (Baker pg.7 1987). She began writing We The

Living, which was published in 1936. (Baker pg.7 1987).

"With the Hollywood success under her belt, Rand felt

confident to take on Broadway..."(Baker pg.9 1987). Her

play, Night of January 16th was a great success and ran for

seven months. (Baker pg.9 1987). Ayn spent six years

writing her next novel, The Fountainhead. (Baker pg.11

1987). In late 1935, Rand was finally able to devote all of

her time to writing The Fountainhead. (Branden, Barbara

pg.36 1986). At long last, in December of 1942, Rand

completed The Fountainhead, (Branden, Barbara pg.174

1986), and the book was published in 1943.(Baker pg.13

1987). Atlas Shrugged was to be Ayn Rand's next novel.

(Baker pg.17 1987). She was aware that it would take

awhile to be accepted but that eventually, Atlas Shrugged

would have an influence. (Branden, Barbara pg.294 1986).

Atlas Shrugged is a philosophical novel which began with

the question: "What if all the creative minds of the world

went on strike?" (Branden, Nathaniel pg.79-80 1989).

When it came time to find a publisher for Atlas Shrugged,

Rand wanted to make sure that, because of the

controversy her book would inevitably cause, the publisher

would stand by her. (Branden, Barbara pg.294 1986).

Finally, the book was published by Random House

Publishers on October 10, 1957. (Baker pg.17 1987).

"Rand supporters and critics alike agree that this is the

essence of her philosophy of life, politics and economics."

(Baker pg.17 1987). Although Atlas Shrugged was

reviewed negatively for the most part, it sold extremely

well, with sales of 125,000 in just the first year. (Baker

pg.17 1987). "Whether it [Atlas Shrugged] takes its place

as a classic piece of American fiction or is judged merely a

huge burst of ideological wind depends on the taste of

future generations."(Baker pg.64 1987). Ayn Rand

referred to Atlas Shrugged as her finest novel, it was the

largest at 1,168 pages and took her nine years to complete.

(Baker pg.58 1987). Atlas Shrugged has become "the holy

text of the objectivist movement." (Baker pg.63 1987).

From Atlas Shrugged, Ayn Rand was able to present the

essence of her philosophy, Objectivism. (Ayn Rand

column). This book became her last novel of fiction

because by 1958 she had become a philosopher. (Baker

pg.17 1987). In 1961, Ayn published her first non-fiction

philosophic novel, For The New Intellectual. (Baker pg.19

1987). In 1962, Ayn Rand began the Objectivist

Newsletter, in which she was able to further her influence

of Objectivism. (Baker pg.20 1987). The four basics of

Objectivism are: Objective Reality, Reason, Self-interest,

and Capitalism. (Ayn Rand Column). Objectivism is against

altruism which "...holds that man has no right to exist for his

own sake, that service to others is the only moral

justification of his existence..." (Ayn Rand Column). During

the height of the Objectivist movement in 1968, Rand had

gathered a very devoted group of followers and believers

of her philosophy. (Baker pg.22 1987). The motto that

these followers lived by was: "I swear--by my life and my

love of it--that I will never live for another man nor ask

another man to live for mine." (Baker pg.22 1987).

Between the years of 1970-1971, Ayn Rand published

four more books on her philosophy: The Virtue of

Selfishness, Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, The Romantic

Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature and The New Left:

The Anti-Industrial Revolution. (Baker pg.22 1987 and

Branden, Barbara pgs. 324-325 1986). Rand expresses

the controversy of education given by the government.

(Ayn Rand Column). Education is said to be extremely

important by the government and the government plans on

spending millions of tax dollars under new programs for

education. (Ayn Rand Column). On the contrary, many

families who pay taxes cannot afford to send their children

to college, and they are not allowed to take away

educational costs from their taxes. (Ayn Rand Column).

Rand believed that the American school system is like the

situation brought up in Victor Hugo's, The Man Who

Laughs. (Baker pg.90 1987). "It is a story about a society

that kept children in oddly shaped pots until they were so

monstrously stunted and deformed that they could be used

to entertain dignitaries." (Baker pg.90 1987). Rand felt this

action is similar to that of nursery schools, where children

are taught to play fairly, and not to use imaginary or

conceptual skills. (Baker pg.90 1987). In addition, it

continues in higher grades and even in college. (Baker

pg.90 1987). Students are taught at these levels that " the

human mind is incapable of knowing anything for certain."

(Baker pg.90 1987). "....young Americans are so

intellectually mutilated that they are incapable of

identification..." (Baker pg.90 1987). The tormentors are

the "...Kantian professors who train teachers to suppress

individuality in children, who demonstrate by their own lives

that knowledge is beyond the grasp of the human mind."

(Baker pg.90 1987). Ayn Rand died on March 6, 1982 at

the age of seventy eight. (Baker pg.28 1987 and Branden,

Nathaniel pg.1 1989). Her health had been rapidly

deteriorating for a few months prior to her death; she had

developed cardio-pulmonary problems. (Branden,

Nathaniel pg.1 1989). Ayn was buried next to her

husband, Frank O' Connor, at the Kensico Cemetery in

Valhalla, New York. (Baker pg.28 1987). "Ayn had begun

life with a single passionate goal--to create her ideal world

and her ideal man. And at the end of her life--despite the

odds against her, despite the pain and the losses, despite

the illness and anguish and death--it was done." (Branden,

Barbara pg.404 1986). "It's a benevolent universe, and I

love it, and any struggle was worth it. Struggle or

unhappiness are so enormously unimportant. I don't regret

a minute of my life." (Branden, Barbara pg.404 1986 [said

by Ayn Rand]). Rand led an eventful and memorable life.

She inspired many with her novels and her philosophy. The

world has gained tremendous insights and knowledge from

the philosophy and intriguing novels of Ayn Rand.

Bibliography: Branden, Barbara The Passion of Ayn Rand

1986 Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group Inc. New

York, N.Y. Nathaniel, Branden Judgement Day: My Years

with Ayn Rand 1989 Houghton Mifflin Company Boston,

Massachusetts James T. Baker Ayn Rand 1987 G.K. Hall

and Co. Boston, Massachusetts The Ayn Rand Column: A

Collection of her Weekly Newspaper Articles Written for

the Los Angeles Times. With additional, little-known

essays by Ayn Rand 1971, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979,

1991 Second Renaissance Books Oceanside, CA