The relationship between Roark and Keating dominates the first two parts of the novel. Rand uses the comparison between Roark and Keating to express two polar opposites. Roark is Rand's hero, the embodiment of everything Rand considers good. It upholds the ideals of honesty, integrity and hard work in a world marked by personal and social corruption. Despite situations of unemployment and shortage, he is always guided by his individual opinion and makes extremely difficult choices with unwavering courage. Peter, on the other hand, represents everything Rand finds hollow or worthless. He is portrayed as a man motivated by the praise and approval of others. Without any sense of personal integrity, his only means of identification is the success he achieves primarily through manipulation, sycophancy, and hypocrisy. The extreme contrast between these two characters forms the cornerstone of the beginning of the novel and Rand uses it to develop Roark's character as that of an extremely objective and individualistic man driven by the desire to actualize himself through his work. This becomes clear at the very end when Guy asks Roark to build the biggest and best building New York will ever see, "...as a monument to [his] spirit..." - Roark's largest project ever. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay Both Keating and Roark begin their journey into the professional world at Stanton Institute of Technology. Peter is the Professor's pet, a competitive youth, inspired to achieve greatness through the achievement of all the social parameters that define him. He graduates first in his class and is offered an extremely lucrative job at the largest architectural firm in America. At the same time, Roark is expelled from school for insubordination and non-conformity. He is considered talented, but his lack of respect for traditional architectural techniques makes him appear as a "disobedient" and "arrogant" individual. Despite appearances, Peter finds himself internally a little unsure of what he wants for himself. He struggles to make decisions regarding his future and decides to accept a particular position only when his mother suggests that if he didn't, he would definitely go to his arch-rival Shlinker. Roark, on the other hand, is calm and lucid despite his expulsion and the uncertain professional future that looms in his light. When Peter asks him for advice, he replies: “If you ask me, Peter, you've already made a mistake. Asking me… Never ask people. Not about your work…” This demonstrates a fundamental difference between their approach to interpreting life events and the philosophies that continually guide them throughout their professional journey. At Francon and Heyer, Keating continues to be a conformist. He believes that its success depends entirely on its deworming as close as possible to Francon. He uses all of Francon's weaknesses, whether it be his dislike of Stengel or his lack of design ideas, to achieve this goal. Keating assumes the role of Francon's greatest ally, fully conforming to Francon's professional, social, and personal standards. His relationship with Francon is fundamentally based on manipulation and connivance. However, when it comes to designing, Peter finds himself completely lost, unable to truly put all of his accomplishments and accolades to good use. Howard Roark will study with Henry Cameron, a modernist now considered a real success. Roark's motivation to work under Henryis not guided by any social opinion. He speaks to Henry purely out of respect for his work and with the goal of learning architecture through design, which basically means buildings from scratch. At Henry's, Roark's days are full of intellectual challenges and physical labor. Unlike Keating, Roark does not weaken Henry but strengthens him by being an example of courage and solidity. Howard also has a profound impact on Henry. Henry begins to believe in the value of individual work again and, on his deathbed, says to Roark: “Remember the day I tried to fire you? …Forget what I said then… It was worth it. indicating that he was wrong to be pessimistic about the world. Where Henry symbolizes individualism and integrity towards work, Francon represents moral loss and degradation. Roark never used Henry the way Peter uses Francon. Rather, Roark brings some stability to Henry's life as Henry helps him complete his understanding of architectural design. Peter quickly gains popularity after beginning his profession and adorns himself and everything that represents him with luxuries that help him identify with more successful men. of his time. At one point in the novel, Peter ends up blackmailing Heyer to his (Heyer's) death in an attempt to advance his own career. This is an important milestone in Keating's life. He reaches a point where his desperation to control people turns into a highly immoral ability. Rand uses this event to establish that his manipulative antics have a serious criminal character and are not simply innocent, powerless attempts to gain social approval. Roark, unlike Keating, does not adopt or impose on himself any false social practices to obtain commissions. He does not patronize his clients by attending parties or joining guilds, nor does he compromise his designs to incorporate irrelevant elements of popular architectural forms in order to impress his clients. He continues to work and believes that his very work will help him acquire more difficult assignments. Rand freely used dialogue and speeches to express important aspects of his philosophy. Toohey and Wynand had important professional relationships with Roark and Keating. A comparison of their contributions to the professional twists and turns of Roark and Keating proves to be a powerful means of analyzing the subject of this discussion. In Toohey, Peter seeks redemption and comfort. He wants to blind himself from the Roarks of the world and reassure himself that being imperfect and dishonest is a common practice and therefore not bad. Toohey expresses that the disabled should be given preference over the able-bodied and able-bodied and that mediocre individuals should be loved, not denigrated. These ideas make Peter feel both better and worse about himself. Peter began his career manipulating others and now ends up being used and manipulated by Toohey to the point of complete annihilation of Peter's true self. Although Toohey wages an aggressive campaign against Roark and his ideals, Roark, unlike Peter, is completely unaffected by him. When Toohey succeeds in destroying Roark's version of the Stoddard Temple and on one occasion asks him what he thinks of him, Roark only says "But I don't think of you". Guy Wynand offers projects to Keating and Roark but with different motivation. By entrusting the Stoneridge project to Keating, Guy performs an act of indifferent derision while Roark is offered each project out of respect and friendship. Roark has nothing to trade with Wynand for his commission but Peter is encouraged to trade his wife for the..