Fountain Head Blog 1

1.) Explain in detail the reasons for Howard Roark's expulsion from the Stanton Institute of Technology. The Dean states that Roark has "a determined little group of defenders" among the faculty, while other professors "felt it their duty" to vote for his expulsion. Why do the faculty members on each side evaluate Roark and his work so differently?

Howard Roark's work and attitude toward his work is different than everyone else. He refuses to follow the normal tradition. Roark's style and designs go against everything that the Stanton teaches. Some of the faculty members like his work and some dont. The faculty members that dont outweigh the members that do. The Dean says that when Roark matures he can attend Stanton again. He then leaves and thinks about how he doesnt understand people like the Dean.

2.) At the end of Chapter One, Roark comprehends that there is a fundamental difference between his approach to life and the Dean's. Roark understands his own, but not that of the Dean and those like him. He recognizes that there is a principle that explains the difference, which he calls the "principle behind the Dean." Based on subsequent events of the story, explain the "principle behind the Dean."

I think that The Dean is afraid of anything that he is not accustomed to. I think that Roark is somewhat a visionary and that he is not afraid to expand his horizon and try things people are not used to.

3.) Peter Keating graduates as valedictorian from the Stanton Institute of Technology. Does this mean that he is an outstanding architectural student? By what methods did he get such high grades? What does this say regarding his moral character?

No he was not outstanding. In a sense he was just doing what he needed to do to get by. He was good at following what the teacher said and doing what he was told. This was really the only thing that he could do.

4.) Keating goes to work for Guy Francon, the most successful and prestigious architect in the country. What are the methods by which Francon has achieved commercial success? Does he have anything in common with Keating? In what ways do they both differ from Roark?

Francon and Keating are very alike. Francon takes credit for work that isnt his. Keating is the EXACT opposite is Roark. Everything that Keating isnt Roark is.

5.) Roark gains employment with Henry Cameron. Cameron, though a genius, is a commercial failure. Why has society rejected his work? Why does Roark nevertheless revere him? What qualities do Roark and Cameron share in common? What is the fundamental difference between them and Francon and Keating?

Because of Cameron's social status, he is not as respected as he once was. Roark and Cameron are very similar. It seems as if both of them care more about there buildings than the people they are buildinig them for.