Ayn Rand: Difference between revisions

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[[Image:ayn rand stamp.jpg|222px|frame|[[1999]] U.S. [[postage stamp]] honoring Rand.]]

'''Ayn Rand''' ([[February 2]], [[1905]]–[[March 6]], [[1982]]; first name rhymes with "mine"), born '''Alissa "Alice" Zinovievna Rosenbaum''', was a widely celebrated and admiredcontroversial [[United States|American]] [[novelist]] and [[philosopher]], wellmost knownfamous for her [[philosophy]] of [[Objectivist philosophy|Objectivism]], and her many controversial novels ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' and ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]''. Her philosophy and her fiction both emphasize theabove all her idealsnotions of individualism, egoism, "[[Objectivist philosophy#Ethics: rational self-interest|rational self-interest]]," and classical liberalism ([[capitalism]]). Rand'sHer novels were based upon the [[archetype]] of the "RomanticRandian [[hero]];," mena and womenman whose creative and productive [[genius]] leadleads others to highreject levelshim, ofbut personalwho success,nonetheless despiteperseveres ato litanyprove of externalhimself obsticlessuperior. Rand viewed this type of hero as the "ideal man" and made it the express goal of her literature to understandshowcase andthese illustrate the exceptional human beings who ultimately "make the world go 'round"men.

==Biography==

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Initially, Rand struggled in [[Cinema of the United States|Hollywood]] and took odd jobs to pay her basic living-expenses. While working as an [[extra]] on [[Cecil B. DeMille]]'s ''[[King of Kings]]'' she intentionally bumped into an aspiring young actor, [[Frank O'Connor (actor)|Frank O'Connor]] who caught her eye. The two were subsequently married in [[1929]].

Her first literary success came with the sale of her screenplay ''[[Red Pawn]]'' in [[1932]] to [[Universal Studios]]. Rand then wrote the play, ''[[The Night of January 16th]]'' in [[1934]] and published two novels, ''[[We The Living]]'' [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451187849/qid=1101050660/sr=1-4/ref=sr_1_4/002-8827397-0603211?v=glance&s=books] ([[1936]]), and ''[[Anthem (novel)|Anthem]]'' [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0451191137/qid=1101050660/sr=1-3/ref=sr_1_3/002-8827397-0603211?v=glance&s=books] ([[1938]]). ''[[Anthem (novel)|Anthem]]''.

Without Rand's permission, ''[[We The Living]]'' was made into a pair of films, ''Noi viva'' and ''Addio, Kira'' in [[1942]] by Scalara Films, [[Rome]], despite resistance from the [[Italy|Italian]] government under [[Benito Mussolini]]. These films were re-edited into a new version which was approved by Rand and re-released as ''We the Living'' in [[1986]].

Rand's first major professional success came with her best-selling novel ''[[The Fountainhead]]'' [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451191153/qid=1101050660/sr=2-2/ref=pd_ka_b_2_2/002-8827397-0603211] ([[1943]]). Rand had to overcome many substantial obsticles in order to see her work published. American cultural-undercurrents were unfriendly to the ideals she so emphatically espoused. The novel was initially taken from publisher to publisher, collecting rejection slips as it went, before it was picked up by the Bobbs-Merrill Company publishing house. Despite these intial stuggles, *The Fountainhead* was so successful that the royalties and movie rights made Rand famous and financially secure.

In [[1947]], during the infamous [[Red Scare]] Rand testified as a "friendly witness" before the [[House Committee on Un-American Activities]]. [http://www.noblesoul.com/orc/texts/huac.html]. Rand's testimony involved analysis of the [[1943]] film ''[[Song of Russia]]''. Rand argued that the movie grossly misrepresented the socioeconomic conditions in the [[Soviet Union]]. She told the committee that the film presented life in the USSR as being much better than it actually was. Apparently this [[1943]] film was intentional wartime [[propaganda]] by U.S. patriots, trying to put their Soviet allies in [[World War II]] under the best possible light. After the HUAC hearings, when Ayn Rand was asked about her feelings on the effectiveness of their investigations, she described the process as "futile."

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In [[1951]] Rand met the young [[psychology]] student [[Nathaniel Branden]] [http://www.nathanielbranden.com], who had read her book ''The Fountainhead'' at the age of 14. Branden, by then 19, enjoyed discussing Rand's emerging Objectivist philosophy with her. After several years, Rand and Branden's friendly relationship blossomed into a romantic affair (despite the fact that both were married at the time). Rand abruptly ended her relationship with both Nathaniel Branden and his wife [[Barbara Branden]] in [[1968]], and thereby ended the first institute begun for the advancement of [[Objectivism]].

Rand published the book described as her ''[[magnum opus]]'', ''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' [http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0451191145/qid=1101050660/sr=2-1/ref=pd_ka_b_2_1/002-8827397-0603211] in [[1957]]. This book, just as ''The Fountainhead'' had, also became a bestseller. It is also named as one of the "25 books that have most shaped readers lives" in a [[1995]]–[[1996]] list developed with the theme "Shape Your Future—READ!"

''[[Atlas Shrugged]]'' is often seen as Rand's most complete statement of Objectivist philosophy in any of her works of fiction. Along with Nathaniel and Barbara Branden as well as a hand full of others (known as "The Collective"), Rand launched the Objectivist movement to promote her philosophy, which she termed ''Objectivism''.