Thousands of Dollars to students who know: Who is John Galt?"

Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged is a book all should be encouraged to read.  Ayn almost prophetically put into writing back in 1957 her concept of how our great nation might destroy itself.  If we look around today we will seen many similarities between the government in Ayn's novel to that of the current administration.
Please encourage those you may know of High School and college age to read her novels, and writing and compete for cash awards through submitting an essay.  Hopefully by doing so we can educate the next generation to understand the saying, "Who is John Galt?"
Essay information here http://aynrandnovels.org/essay-contests.html


Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest Information

Eligibility: 12th Graders, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students
Entry Deadline: September 17, 2012
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
3 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
5 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
25 FINALISTS: $100
50 SEMIFINALISTS: $50

Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:


What do you think Eddie Willers’ role is in the story? How does he help convey the novel’s theme? Why do you think his fate is left open in the last chapter?


Why does John Galt go on strike when the Starnes heirs take over the Twentieth Century Motor Company? Do you think he is right or wrong to start a strike? Explain.


Choose the scene in Atlas Shrugged that is most meaningful to you. Analyze that scene in terms of the wider themes in the book.
http://aynrandnovels.org/essay-contests.html

Books can be purchased on Amazon in the link below:

Anthem Essay Contest Information


Eligibility: 8th, 9th and 10th Graders
Entry Deadline: March 20, 2012 (Read now and prepare for next years contest)
FIRST PRIZE: $2,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $500
10 THIRD PRIZES: $200
45 FINALISTS: $50
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $30

Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:


Why did Ayn Rand name her main characters "Prometheus" and "Gaea"? Compare the historical myths of Prometheus and Gaea to the lives of these two characters.


What does Equality finally understand about his society when the Council threatens to destroy his invention?


In the final chapter of Anthem, Prometheus writes that he now understands "why the best in me had been my sins and my transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins." What has Prometheus come to understand about himself? Why does his society regard the "best in him" as sinful?
http://aynrandnovels.org/essay-contests.html

We the Living Essay Contest Information

Eligibility: 10th, 11th and 12th Graders
Entry Deadline: May 5, 2012
FIRST PRIZE: $3,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $1000
5 THIRD PRIZES: $300
25 FINALISTS: $50
80 SEMIFINALISTS: $25

Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:


How does the discovery by the secret police of one article of clothing in Leo Kovalensky’s room set the course for the resolution of the story and the fates of Leo, Andrei Taganov, and Kira Argounova?


We the Living shows that under Communism almost everyone in Russia becomes miserable, including poor people. Some would argue that Communism fails because human nature is not good enough to practice it. Based on the novel’s events and characters, do you think Ayn Rand would agree or disagree? Explain your answer.


Through the story of We the Living and the characters of Pavel Syerov, Andrei Taganov, Stepan Timoshenko and Victor Dunaev, what view emerges about the nature of collectivism?
http://aynrandnovels.org/essay-contests.html


The Fountainhead Essay Contest Information

Eligibility: 11th and 12th Graders
Entry Deadline: April 26, 2012
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
10 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
45 FINALISTS: $100
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $50

Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:


Explain the similarities and differences between the characters of Dominique Francon, Steven Mallory and Gail Wynand. How does each’s view of life and its possibilities differ from Howard Roark’s? How does this issue relate to the theme of the novel?


Howard Roark discusses the motives, methods and functioning of both the altruist and the egoist. Do the lives of Peter Keating, Ellsworth Toohey and Catherine Halsey illustrate his thesis about altruists? Does his own life illustrate his thesis about egoists? Explain your answer.


In conversation with Nathaniel Janss, Howard Roark observes that reason is something that "no one really wants to have on his side." Do the events of The Fountainhead show that Roark wants reason on his side while other characters do not? How does this issue relate to the theme of the novel?
http://aynrandnovels.org/essay-contests.html