In the name of the best within you, do not sacrifice this world to those who are at its worst. In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title. Do not lose your knowledge that man’s proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads. Do not let your fire go out, spark by irreplaceable spark, in the hopeless swamps of the approximate, the not-quite, the not-yet, the not-at-all.
Do not let the hero in your soul perish, in lonely frustration for the life you deserved, but have never been able to reach. Check your road and the nature of your battle. The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it’s yours. This quote was taken from the book Atlas shrugged written by Ayn Rand. The quote is not only one of the best in the book but also the most powerful. In the next paragraphs I am hoping to explain the quote and interpret it the best way I can.
In the first sentence I believe that Rand is saying that people should not give up because of others who try to knock them down, basically the ugly people. The people who are always trying to be better than everyone else and dont care if someone gets hurt during their conquest to fortune. I believe that many people are too intimidated by others to continue in seeking out their dream and so they just give up. I also think that when Rand says do not sacrifice this world to those who are at its worst she is speaking of those who have lied to and manipulated people to get to the top.
When Rand states In the name of the values that keep you alive, do not let your vision of man be distorted by the ugly, the cowardly, the mindless in those who have never achieved his title I think she is speaking of the people who have let everything they have ever wanted fall out of their grasp because they are cowards and scared of what lies a head of them. I think she is trying to tell us that if you want something badly enough not to give up based on what has happened to someone else.
When Rand writes Do not lose your knowledge that man’s proper estate is an upright posture, an intransigent mind and a step that travels unlimited roads she is saying that a man should be proud and should always be happy with what he has accomplished even if it isnt exactly what the he wanted. I also believe she is saying that there are many roads to be traveled and that we dont have the time to feel sorry for ourselves. Her statement about keeping your fire burning could be interpreted several ways. One interpretation could be to always stay strong no matter what however; another interpretation could be that you should never give up.
I think she is saying that every time you give up your fire is burning out slowly spark by irreplaceable spark. I also believe that she is saying you should never make excuses, that you should always try to obtain the highest of goals. When you reach them your fire will be burning brighter than ever and it will give you the strength to reach another goal. Ayn Rand is saying that there is a hero in every one of us. She is saying that we all have strength even though it may be buried deep within us, it is there and will always be there if we stay true to ourselves.
I also think she is saying that if we give up the hero will slowly perish just like the flame and without those we will be nothing. We will be lacking and have no stamina what so ever. I think that without a hero we would all have weak souls and perhaps weak minds. Rands comment Check your road and the nature of your battle is telling us to always be sure of where we are going and to know if our approach is a good one. I think the right approach is a necessity to achieving anything be it big or small. It is almost like war. If we try to be meek and mild with everything we will never win.
I suppose life is almost like a war. There are two sides you and everyone else, only one of you can win. I think you need to tackle life and do all that you can to win and come out on top, with the exception of killing people and stuff like that. In Ayns closing statement The world you desired can be won, it exists, it is real, it’s yours she is saying that no matter what kind of life we want for ourselves it is there and attainable no matter how far fetched it may be. We always need to be strong and never give up. Strength is said to be a virtue, but I think it is a virtue that every one of us has.
I think we just need to find it and when we do hold on to it and cherish it forever. In conclusion I believe that Ayn Rands statement was a view of life from her eyes. I think that this quote was very powerful and moving. Her strong emotion and touching words should be everyones guideline to life. I believe that if everyone were to follow their hearts and never give up that there would be a lot less heartache in this harsh world. Never give up, never quit, follow your dreamsthese words of wisdom have been pounded into our heads day in and day out, but never in the way that Rand has pounded it into my mind and heart.
I believe that Ayn Rand was a very intelligent woman who was ahead of her time. Many of her words were not only true, but Im sure have helped many to find their reason in life. I do not believe I have ever read a book that has touched me and effected me as deeply as Atlas Shrugged has. True to rumor, Ayn Rand was by far the best author of her time and perhaps even ours. I applaud her effort to not only inspire people but also to help them understand life better.
