Summary

Summary

Following the analysis of the previous 11 readings this final text should serve as a summary, linking any parallels, recurring themes or notions between them.

The main themes of the texts have included anti-capitalism, individualism, and the embracement of free thinking and innovation in society. A number of the texts have focused on the outsider’s point of view towards (what they believe) to be a corrupt society. With characters often going against the grain of the socially accepted conventions of modern day living (within the last 100 years in Europe and America). Examples of this can be shown in Allen Ginsberg’s “Howl” or Gary Cooper’s portrayal of Architect Howard Roark in the Fountainhead.

The texts have included readings which I personally might not have read otherwise, however I have (surprisingly to myself) enjoyed the majority of them. Some of the topics explored have certainly made me think about aspects within our society differently, or in some cases, at least made me question these ideas (for example Capitalism, I hadn’t considered there to be an alternative option to this system, or the possibility of a post-capitalist society).

Many of the texts looked at different social classes within our society, none more so than Evelyn Waugh’s novel “Decline and fall”. This witty portrayal of the upper class of society was a much enjoyable read, however the constant way in which the upper-class were able to escape the repercussions of their actions (often due to their social status) was something I found frustratingly applicable to our society today, despite the original publishing of the book in 1928, almost a century ago.

Henri Lefebvre’s book “The Production of Space” explored the notion of categorization between either a “Work” or a “Product”, a very interesting discussion. A subject very applicable to the Model T or “Tin Lizzie” as Henry Ford’s first widely affordable automobile (as discussed in John Dos Passos’s “U.S.A”). By all means I believe people today would consider one of these early automobile models a “work of art” in its preserved state. However, the very process of its assembly line manufacture, with its cheap interchangeable/ easily replaceable parts would no doubt undeniably categorize this as a product at the time of its conception.

Ideas between texts would often interlink with one another to further demonstrate such ideas. The readings as a series of texts have raised some thought provoking discussions on aspects of our society. In a year including Brexit, Trump and the end of Globalism, the selection of readings have indeed felt quite applicable to our current political situation, however ending the series with Howard Roark’s eventual triumph against the system, by sticking to his morals brings an element of hope to an otherwise gloomy outlook.

The Fountainhead, Directed by King Vidor

The Fountainhead

1949 movie adaption Directed by King Vidor, starring Gary Cooper & Patricia Neal

(Based on the 1943 Novel by Ayn Rand)

Summary

The movie begins with our protagonist Howard Roark (portrayed by Gary Cooper) being asked if he “Wants to stand alone against the whole world?” because there is “no place for originality in architecture”, his presumed mentor tells him that “nobody can improve on the buildings of the past” and that “one can only learn to copy them”. Roark is subsequently expelled from Architecture School after he will not follow the socially accepted copy & paste design philosophy, the School believes in.

Roark goes on to get a job in New York City with Henry Cameron, a once renowned and great Architect, but now an Architect who only receives very few commissions. Henry Cameron is portrayed as a beaten man, rambling about his office apparently intoxicated, he implores Roark to compromise now whilst he still can, however Roark refuses to compromise, and Cameron warns him that he is about to begin his journey into hell, a very dramatic metaphor to describe Roark’s personal belief in standing up for what he believes to be right.

Following this scene Peter Keating is introduced, a former fellow student of Roark, Keating is apparently doing very well, rising the ranks of a typical Architecture Practice, this is indicated to be a result of his ability to compromise and conform to the socially accepted practice of the Architectural Profession.

Roark is later offered a commission on a Skyscraper but on the condition that he compromises on his proposed design, Roark refuses the commission on the moral value of his building’s integrity, adding that a building will have integrity likewise to any man having his own integrity and moral values.

Roark goes on to take a construction job in a quarry, choosing that he would rather not work as an Architect if he cannot be the Master to his own vision. Here he meets Dominique Francon, a writer for the “New York Banner” newspaper and the daughter of the quarry’s owner. There is an attraction between them and they are involved in a sexual encounter after a number of meetings.

Roark is invited back to New York after he is asked to design a building consisting of Luxury Apartments. The New York Banner chooses to launch an attack via their newspapers against the building, despite it being described as a magnificent piece of architecture, the newspaper publishes it purely as It believes the public will go with the story, and they need to sell newspapers. Later during the opening party for the new apartments, Dominique Francon is reintroduced to Howard Roark, not realising he was the Architect for the building she admires greatly. Dominique confesses her love to Roark, but says that she cannot be with him, as the world will not accept Roark and she does not want to witness his downfall.

Despite her love for Roark, Dominique Francon decides to marry Gail Wynand (the owner of the New York Banner). Meanwhile Roark continues to take on commissions no matter what the size, as long as he is allowed to design to his own vision, and not compromise. He continues to work on what he believes in and stands by his morals despite the New York Banner’s smear campaign against him.

Gail Wynand contacts Roark as he wants him to design his country home for him and his wife Dominique. He wants the house to stand as a temple for him and his wife, and only him and his wife. Roark agrees to the commission despite, working for the man whose newspaper attacked him undeservedly. Perhaps Roark makes this decision because he is a client to his buildings and not the person paying him?

Wynand also offers Roark the chance to design all the future buildings for his company, if he finally compromises in his designs, and designs to popular opinions and trends. Roark surprisingly agrees to this but sketches a design in accordance with these principals to the disgust of Wynand, who now realises Roark is right. Roark now tells Wynand to never doubt or question his designs again.

Later Peter Keating returns asking for Roark’s help on a low-cost housing project. Roark characteristically agrees on the terms that the project is only built to his own design, and only his design.

Roark goes on a vacation with Wynand and Dominique, however when he returns he finds out the design for the low-cost housing project he helped Keating with has been compromised. Roark is outraged that someone has changed his design and his vision, and with the help of Dominique blows up the construction site in a very satisfying conclusion.

Roark makes himself accountable and stands trial, meanwhile Wynand surprisingly comes to his aid and stands up against everyone and popular opinion for the first time in his life. However, due to the negative effect Roark’s case is having on Wynand’s newspaper, Wynand is forced to retire his support for Roark and publishes a denunciation of Roark.

During the trial Roark provides an inspiring speech outlining the importance of integrity, individualism and free thinking of man and wins the case, with the jury declaring a non-guilty verdict.

The low-cost housing project is agreed to be rebuilt exactly as per Roark’s original vision.

Roark also wins over Dominique who leaves Wynand for him. Wynand now finally realises the power and moral standing of his position with The New York Banner and comes to the conclusion that he never really ran the newspaper but instead the common consensus of the public did, Wynand shuts the newspaper down.

In the concluded act of the film Wynand gives Roark one final commission for the “Wynand Tower”, the building which he believes will stand as his legacy. However, Wynand tells Roark that he never wants to see him again, assuming the reasoning of this is because of Dominique’s decision to leave Wynand for Roark, and the guilt Wynand feels towards not standing up for what he believes in, in life until now. The scene ends with Wynand committing suicide.

Eighteen months later the Wynand Tower is under construction and Dominique meets Roark atop the steel framework as credits role.

Analysis

The Fountainhead is observed as a depiction of one man’s moral standing and integrity, when faced against a series of events in his life all telling him to compromise, much to the detriment to his beliefs. To play against this, other characters in the story such as Peter Keating choose to conform to the status quo, whether or not they actually agree with the actions they are implementing, in order to progress within their roles in society.

The character of Gail Wynand is also a character who has conformed to popular opinion in his past to reach a height of financial superiority. The character of Wynand does have a story arc during the film which makes him realise what he has been doing his whole life (being a yes man) has been wrong, and he finally decides to stand up for what he believes to be right at the conclusion of the film (during the course of Howard Roark’s trial). Despite his redemption, the guilt for the actions of his past are too much and he decides to take his own life.

Despite this negative conclusion to the character of Wynand the Foutainhead does have an uplifting and positive ending for our protagonist Howard Roark, who in the face of such adversity finally succeeds by sticking by his morals.

However, the fact that this story is portrayed in the medium of film, makes one question whether a happy ending has been written in, as it would be preferred by most audiences (so I would be interested to see if this ending is true to the original novel). Similarities in the story can be applied to life in society today, despite a difference of 70 plus years since the original publishing.

It should also be noted that the film seems to draw inspiration from the real-life Architect Frank Lloyd Wright (1867 – 1959). Many of Roark’s design seem to draw inspiration from the broad architectural designs of Frank Lloyd wright, as discussed in the previous text “U.S.A.” written by John Dos Passos. Furthermore, the career of Frank Lloyd Wright also took American architecture forward and implemented change during a time of repetition and duplication.

Similar to Thorstein Veblen (again discussed in the previous text), one has to admire the character and resolve of Howard Roark, standing by his morals and refusing to conform to the norm in order to progress in society, at the detriment of his own values and beliefs. Roark never compromised on his beliefs and in the end succeeded where other “yes men” had otherwise failed or realised the error of their ways.

U.S.A John Dos Passos

U.S.A

John Dos Passos

From John Dos Passos’s “U.S.A” epic, we look at three parts from the chapter “The Big Money”, these three sub chapters are titled: “Tin Lizzie”, “The Bitter Drink” & “Architect” and are discussions of the three men: Henry ford, Thorstein Veblen & Frank Lloyd wright respectively.

Tin Lizzie

The chapter Tin Lizzie is a discussion on Henry Ford – “the automobileer”, ever since he’d left his father’s farm, Henry Ford had been obsessed with machinery. At the age of just 16 he got a job in a Detroit machine shop where he’d work his way up from Night Fireman to Chief Engineer.

He was the eldest son of an Irish immigrant who during the Civil War had married the daughter of a prosperous Pennsylvania Dutch Farmer, he was brought up to a life of farming near Dearborn in Wayne County, Michigan. However, like many other Americans at the time, Henry Ford grew up hating the harsh environment and working life of the farm.

Ford preferred to tend after the machinery and let others do the heavy work. His mother had taught him not to partake in life’s vices, such as drinking, smoking, gambling or to get himself into debt, and he never did.

When Ford was 40 years old he started his now infamous “Ford Motors Company”, and had big ideas on more than solely the design of the motor cars. Ford understood the principals of business and that “the big money” was to be achieved by the implementation of economical quantity production, quick turnover and cheap interchangeable/ easily replaceable standardized parts.

In 1909 Ford launched what is now regarded as the first widely affordable automobile: The “Model T”, or as it was more commonly known the “Tin Lizzie”. The launch was a huge success selling over 10,000 units, in later years Ford would be selling almost a 1,000,000 of these models a year.

The work at Ford’s factory saw not only the improvement in the design of the machine, but also in the efficiency of the labour required to produce the machine. In 1913 Henry Ford established the first assembly line, that year saw profits grow to somewhere in the region of $25,000,000, however with the introduction of the assembly line, work became monotonous and Ford had trouble in keeping staff on the job.

The consequence of the assembly line meant that Ford had to increase wages as a form of compensation for essentially dulling down the work. However, now with the increased wages, the dream of employees owning a Tin Lizzie of their own was now becoming a reality, although some may see a certain sense of irony in this dream, working on a product, in the hopes of obtaining a copy of the product for themselves.

The Bitter Drink

The second part of the text to be analysed is “The Bitter drink”, the chapters forms a discussion on Thorstein Veblen, the Norwegian-American Economist and Sociologist. He was a known critic of capitalism.

The text starts by introducing the Veblens family, a family of freeholding farmers in Norway. The chapter goes on to introduce Thorstein Veblen, as a young boy he is described as “a hulking lad with a reputation for laziness and wit”, or perhaps at this point in his life misplaced potential.

It is described in the text, that the Norwegian people at the time are reported to believe there to be only two callings for an honest man, these being either Farming or Preaching. They are described as being suspicious and carried a certain dislike to the townspeople’s way of life, who are described as mostly American migrants, attempting to grow two dollars where one had previously existed. These people were shopkeepers, middle-men, speculators and money lenders, interested in politics and mortgages, and in turn despised the Scandinavian dirt farmers they lived off.

When Thorstein was seventeen his parents decided to attempt in making a preacher out of him and sent young Thorstein off to college. Here he excelled at academic learnings and is noted in producing award-winning essays, he later completes a Ph D, and becomes an extremely well educated member of society.

However once Thorstein has graduated and returned home, he turns down several offers of employment, perhaps feeling as if manual work and labouring jobs are contributing to a system he does not agree with, and struggles to respond to job offers with a positive “yes”. He spends time unemployed and becomes bitter towards society. 

Now spending his time back at the family-home he would discuss theology and philosophy with his father and tinker with new inventions of machinery. During this time in his life the economy was becoming tough for the agricultural industries and the price of wheat was declining together with the general belief in God. Other members of his family began growing tired of his unemployment and lack of contribution to the family financially.

Eventually Thorstein took on a number of teaching jobs at a number of different universities throughout his lifetime, but always remained unmaterialistic and perhaps somewhat bitter towards the capitalist society he found himself part of. In 1929 he died, and among his papers a pencilled note was found:

“It is also my wish, in case of death, to be cremated if it can be conveniently be done, as expeditiously and inexpensively as may be, without ritual or ceremony of any kind; that my ashes be thrown loose into the sea or into some sizeable stream running into the sea; that no tombstone, slab, epitaph, effigy, tablet, inscription or monument of any kind or nature, be set up to my memory or name in any place or at any time; that no obituary, memorial, portrait or biography of me, nor any letters written to or by me be printed or published, or in any way reproduced, copied or circulated”.

Whether a person may agree with Thorstein’s beliefs regarding society and capitalism in particular, one has to admire his commitment to his morals, even in the most extreme of life’s experiences, death.

Architect

The final part of the text to be read is simply titled “Architect” and is a look at Frank Lloyd wright. The hugely influential American Architect and Writer.

The text begins by describing Frank Lloyds Wright’s desire to become an architect after having seen the dome of the new State Capital building in Madison collapse. This was believed to be a result of bad workmanship in the supporting piers, some thieving contractors skimping on materials in order to save a politician’s bonus, or perhaps the result of a deadly error in the Architect’s plans. However, the resulting catastrophe ended the lives of a number of people and was an event which impacted the young Frank Lloyd Wright.

His training in architecture is reported to begin with the reading of “Violet le Duc”, the apostle of the thirteenth century and of the pure structural mathematics of Gothic Stone Masonry. He went on to work in the office of Adler and Sullivan in Chicago, alongside the proclaimed “father of skyscrapers” Louis Sullivan.

After several years Frank Lloyd Wright had developed his own style of “Prairie Architecture” (inspired by the broad flat landscapes of the American Mid-West) and left the office of Adler and Sullivan to set up his own studio in Oak Park, Illinois.

Designing broad suburban dwellings for rich men, he became a somewhat “Preacher of blueprints”, breaking the mould of the copy and paste architectural routine that had previously gripped America. Frank Lloyd wright was leading the movement that led to the swift constructions methods using materials of glass, bricks and steel in present-day America.

He loved the experimentation and new possibilities enabled by these new materials of steel, glass, concrete and the endless possibilities of new metals and alloys.

It is later reported that the building involving perhaps the most of Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence, is the Imperial Hotel in Toyko, a building which at the time of devastating earthquake of 1923 was one of the few buildings to remain standing. It was upon hearing this news of the building’s survival, and subsequently the survival of it’s occupants that Frank Lloyd wright was reportedly at his most-happiest. Having come full circle from his initial reasoning to pursue a career in Architecture. Frank Lloyd Wright had succeeded in the very notion of his dream.  

Decline and Fall - Evelyn Waugh

Decline and Fall

Evelyn Vaughn

Evelyn Waugh’s novel Decline and Fall is a comedic observation of the class structures in 20^th century Britain, although first published in 1928 it seems as applicable to society today, as it was then.

To first understand Decline and Fall we look at Waugh himself, educated at Hertford College, Oxford, Waugh later became a school teacher at Arnold House in North Wales, very similarly to Paul Pennyfeather, the main character of this story.

Decline and Fall starts with Paul Pennyfeather as a student at Oxford University, however his time here as a student is cut short when he is expelled after being caught up in the antics of the Bollinger Club (a play on the notorious Bullingdon Club, whose past members include politicians such as David Cameron & Boris Johnson, amongst other members of high society).

Following Pennyfeather’s expulsion from the school, he takes a teaching job at a School in North Wales (again drawing parallels to Waugh’s own life) and soon starts mentoring one of the pupils - Peter Beste-Chetwynde, the son of the wealthy, yet somewhat mysterious Margot Best-Chetwynde.

In Part 2 of the novel, Margot Best-Chetwynde purchases the Historic Tudor House “King's Thursday" in Hampshire, England. King's Thursday is much loved and respected by the surrounding resident's and is described as " the finest piece of domestic Tudor in England". However, Margot Beste-Chetwynde does not share the same regard for King's Thursday, when she responds to a newspaper reporter on the subject of purchasing the historic property she quotes that she "cannot think of anything more bourgeois and awful than timbered Tudor architecture".

Margot Beste-Chetwynde decides to demolish and rebuild King's Thursday much to the outrage of  the local residents. It is here, that one of my favourite characters is introduced to the story: Otto Friedrich Silenus or as he likes to be known: Professor Silenus (no way in part to be mistaken for "silliness" I am sure).

Professor Silenus, who was brought to the attention of Mrs Beste-Cheywynde following the rejected design for a chewing gum factory in a "progressive Hungarian quarterly" (his only other completed work being the decor for a cinema film of great length and complexity) is tasked with the new design for King's Thursday, following Mrs Beste-Chetwynde's instruction for "something clean and square".

Eventually Paul Pennyfeather and Mrs Best-Chetwynde develop a relationship and are to become married, however Paul is oblivious to the real source of his fiancé's wealth (which is implied to be a number of high class brothels in South America) and is arrested on the morning of the wedding due to him running an errand for her, in relation to her criminal business (much to his naivety).

In the last part of the story, Pennyfeather is sent to prison for seven years with charges of Human Trafficking and aiding Prostitution. However Paul decides to take the punishment himself in order to protect his future bride's honour. After spending a short time of his sentence in jail, Mrs Beste-Chetwynde is able to organise the fake death and escape of Pennyfeather, using her money and social status. The story ends with Pennyfeather taking on a new identity and continuing  his studies back at Oxford where the story had originally started.

Evelyn Waugh's portrayal of the upper class of society, is extremely amusing, however there is a recurring and more serious theme to Decline and Fall that the rich and powerful are somehow above the law.

It is the young and naive Paul Pennyfeather who receives punishment from the criminal actions of Mrs Beste-Chetwynde. The demolition of King's Thursday can perhaps represent a physical metaphor for her social status and power enabling her to do as she pleases, much to the outrage of the local residents, and society.  

A sad consequence that I feel is as relevant today and it was a century ago. The motions of society go round-and-round for the everyday man, desperately trying to cling on. Whilst the upper class and social elite remain seated comfortably in the middle, observing our struggle.