Ideal (Penguin Modern Classics)

Red Pill-MGTOW- Rugged IndividualistsReread: 1 of 4xBEFORE READING:Read AnthemNo plot, and a bit pessimistic at times.A novel and a playWhy was this novel kept in the dark?Ayn Rand is a female philosopher who has heavily influence the Red Pill/MGTOW culture: Objectivism, Capitalism, Freedom, and going Galt. I would read her other work before “Ideal” because her other works are – striking. No one wants to see the dark truths - dumbed-down entertainment(Movies and reality stars).AFTER READING:Reflect on how writing becomes: novels, plays, articles, poems, booksRead Anthem and then her other booksWhat is the ideal you push onto others? Why do you do that?Take the Red PillSUMMARY:This is a very engaging book to analyze Ayn’s writing style. I enjoyed both the novel (for the detail and angles) and the play (more intense and more dialogue)Kay Gonda visits her fans while she is accused of a murderIdeals that easily change and the struggle of virtueThe book reveals the struggle with the ideal and the cold hard realityNovel reminds me of Gatsby’s green lightConfused and delusional fans of a celebrityObjectivism of an idealThere is a bit of a dark Russian sense of humor in the novel.Fall in love with an idea and easy fallout with a different perspectiveDiscover and appreciate lost artsWhat happens when religion challenges an ideal with suffering?RESEARCH:Celebrity and fan paradigmKay Gonda – lady of the screenFrederica Sayers - sisterGranton Sayers diedHuman delusionMONKEY BRANCH:F. Scott Fitzgerald – The Great Gatsby; short storiesAll Ayn Rand booksMusic – Eminem - StanQUOTES:When he looked at her, he understood why ancient peoples had made statues of gods in the image of man. 244goddess pedestal, celebrity #bp“Rosie, a man can’t live just for things that do nothing to him—inside, I mean. 545Note: ideal and virtuegirl’s gotta have a little something to offer to get herself a husband, these days. 796Note: niceIt’s really Kay Gonda. . . Kay Gonda . . . Kay Gonda . 929Note: 3x beatlejuicewho ever heard of such a good-looking artist? 942Note: ugly ppl have nothing to lose #rp truth“The bitterest moment of an artist’s life is the moment of his triumph. 967Note: struggle vs. pleasureernal, transcendent, sublime Truth which my words struggle in vain to disclose to them. 1037Note: indirect and subtle #truthadmirer, for admiration is a virtue long since buried, 1185Note: pedestalobsequious smile, 1268Note: #chameleonI have looked at all that men call beauty—and I’ve longed for some nonexistent boric acid to wash my eyes.” 1309Note: #gameI want nothing but to serve you. Nothing, but to be a knight such as my ancestors were. 1325Note: #white knight #bpunfinished creatures, a riddle with but one answer: lies? 1398Note: mediocrityAre they empty words? Or am I an empty creature that can never be filled? 1404Note: zombiesprovided he had ambition. He had no ambition. 1444Note: #bpthe role of values in men’s lives. 1611Note: #quoteThe theme is the evil of divorcing ideals from life. 1613Note: meaningless lifeThe ability of living and thinking quite differently, in other words eliminating thinking from your actual life. 1623Note: interestingpretend to themselves and others that they aspire to something higher. In fact and in reality, however, they don’t. 1648Note: lacking spirituality #spiritShe’s not a movie star to them—she’s a goddess. 1925Note: pedestal #gameWe all bargain. We take the second best. That’s all there is to be had. 2347Note: whisky DChildish escapism, 2491Note: avoidance of reality..#objectivismEFFEMINATE YOUNG MAN: Do 2794Note: lumber sexual #bpKept up his courage—and his bank account. 2797Note: #quoteAnd the greater the suffering, the greater our virtue. 3067Note: I disagree, male disposability #quote #bpKAY GONDA: I am a very bad woman, Johnnie. Everything you’ve heard about me is true. 3382Note: accountability from a women...rareI am tired of my kingdom where not a single man is worth ruling. 3541Note: sad

“Ideal” is a short story written by Ayn Rand. She wrote the story as a response to a particularly difficult period in her life; lack of success, dwindling savings and duplicitous ‘friends’ causing despair. As any writer would do, she took her disillusionment to paper, penning “Ideal”.“Ideal” is the story of a famous actress in Hollywood who pulls a prank on the world in an attempt to test the mettle of a select group of men who claimed to have honor. The tale ends with the ruse itself backfiring, resulting in the death of the only man of character. It is a short story, not heavily edited and which she turned into a play after she realized that format would work better; a play which itself has never been produced.For me the story is interesting because it shines a light on Rand’s state of mind when things were not going very well – when she was not ‘at the top of her game’. And it highlights the creative, perhaps natural frustration in the mind of a woman who has become one of the world champions of humanism, as she is forced to interact with real people. Rand was never a fan of idealists – in her philosophy a person must live out their beliefs in their daily life; else those beliefs were shown to never really have existed in the first place. Words were never enough. Nevertheless – as “Ideal” attempts to portray – for too many people, words do seem to be enough. For too many people, the hard reality of living their convictions is too often cast aside for the expediency of the moment, justified by a greater good or a lesser evil.This book highlights well Rand’s disappointment in men who fall short of their own soaring rhetoric. “Ideal” is perhaps the antithesis to “We the Living”; while the latter is a story about the triumph of a woman against the odds, “Ideal” is a recognition of the occasional futility of life. If for that reason alone you should read it.

Worry and skepticism usually accompany the publication of long buried manuscripts by famous authors. For example, Harper Lee’s Go Set a Watchman is currently being pounded by waves of disappointment from her many fans. That might also happen to Ideal, written in 1934 and quickly superseded by a stage version of the same story, the script for which is included in the book. Readers may expect (and desire) an early statement of Rand’s hyperindividualistic beliefs. If so, they are going to be disappointed. This is a Hollywood novel, securely connected to time and place. Rand’s great accomplishment here is putting together the two sides of the Hollywood novel in one coherent piece of fiction. In the first chapter readers receive a glimpse of a film studio and its most important personages. In the rest of the novel Rand turns her attention to the consumers of what the studios produce. In particular, she focuses on those who imagine a personal connection with the actors they see on the movie screen. Although Kay is the main character of the novel, the narrator stays out of her mind. Even when she’s in a scene, readers learn about her only through her words and actions. Although she brings up serious issues about personal identity and the movie business, Rand wants to avoid overwhelming her audience. The novel is short, employs a straightforward writing style, and avoids any sort of ideological argument. Whatever aficionados of her later work may think, fans of the Hollywood novel are likely to enjoy what Rand has offered them here.

The writer is Ayn Rand her narrative gift is out there, just look for it.

Ayn Rand was an amazing writer. Even though this is not as advanced as her later masterpieces, the reader is introduced to the mind of a genius.

Great reading.

Another excellent by Ayn Rand!

Bueno