Howard Roark is his own fountainhead: his own self-sustaining source of originality and creativity. As an egoist, he is the physical manifestation of the heroic ideal of individualism which is rooted in rationality and reason. Conversely, Ellsworth Toohey is the essence of the second-hander incarnate; he is a man who cannot abide by the absolutes presented by the Law of Identity because he yearns to see all men equal in the subjugation of their individuality to selflessness and collectivism; he cannot face reality without attempting to alter it. Thus, when these two antithetical figures briefly exchange sentiments the themes of independence, the second-hander, selfishness as beneficial, creativity, and purpose become starkly evident. Roark's…show more content… Ellsworth is the very definition of a second-hander; he entertains a parasitic relationship with his devout followers as he drains their creativity and self-worth transforming them into ignorant neonates for personal gain. As an exponent of self-immolation, Toohey's column "One Small Voice" drips with humanitarian platitudes as a psalm to the selfless and perpetuates the erroneous belief that happiness comes from the destruction of the ego. As Dominique stated, "People want nothing but mirrors around them. To reflect them while they're reflection too" and Ellsworth Toohey is able to give people the mirror that they feel they need so that they can create "senseless infinity" and lose themselves (442). The inane concept of the destruction of self quickly becomes the manifesto of the local intelligentsia who fanatically obey Toohey's preaching, believing themselves to be pioneers of a better reality when in actuality they are simply second-handers, doomed to be dependent on their fellow man. Roark's brilliantly simple response of "But I don't think of you" serves to illustrate the superiority of the individual over the second-hander (401). Toohey can only gain power from those who grant him control by relinquishing their individualism which makes his power exceedingly fragile…show more content… Traditionally, the word selfless has been taken to refer to a person who is altruistic and generous, attributes which maintain a high value in society. However, in the context of The Fountainhead the word selfless is taken literally to mean a person devoid of a self which is their source of creativity and originality. In keeping with the tenants of Objectivism, Roark utilizes his mind to work with reality while Toohey, who is obviously incapable of developing a self and thus defers to depredating the selves of others, attempts to remove the volition of others and accepts their adherence to his teachings as validation of his faux-reality. Roark lives as an emblem of objectivism as he uses the artistic nature of his architecture to set metaphysical concepts regarding reality in steel, glass, and concrete. Toohey, on the other hand, endeavors to befoul artistic expression by aggrandizing mediocrity to hinder mankind's ability to grasp abstract concepts that deviate from his teachings. Toohey also manipulates and convolutes language so that "nobody knows what [he is] talking about" they just think they should do what he commands (596). While Toohey's need for power might appear to resemble selfishness, it actually is entirely selfless since his power stems from his dependence on
