ALL INDIA THE FOUNTAINHEAD ESSAY COMPETITION 2001

Special Prizes for Schools

• A. The school that sends the maximum number of entries, which are of acceptable quality, will receive a set of Ayn Rand’s fiction and non-fiction books.
• B. Two runners up schools will receive a set of Ayn Rand’s fiction.

The topics:

Select ONE of the following 3 topics:

(2) For each of the following pairs of characters in The Fountainhead,, compare and contrast their approach to life and their basic motivation - (a) Howard Roark and Peter Keating, (b) Gail Wynand and Ellsworth Toohey.

(3) For each of the following quotations from The Fountainhead, explain its significance in the story, and their general implications.

• Dominique: "Roark, I can accept anything, except what seems to be the easiest for most people: the half-way, the almost, the just-about, the in-between."
• Gail Wynand to Howard Roark:"Build it as a monument to that spirit which is yours ....... and could have been mine."
• Howard Roark to Henry Cameroon: "If at the end of my life, I'll be what you are today, here, in this office, I shall consider it an honour that I could not have deserved."

Rules  and Conditions:

1. Essay should not exceed 1200 words.
2. Type your essay - if hand-written, make sure it is legible - only on one side of page. Leave double line spacing.
3. This contest is open to students of Class XI and XII, and their equivalents such as ISC, intermediate, pre-degree, pre-university, junior college, etc.
4. Your essays should reach us on or before 30 November, 2001. You fax, post or e-mail your entry.
5. Results will be notified by 30 December, 2001. Decision of the judges will be final.
6. Your essay should be accompanied by a covering letter mentioning your name, residential address, name and address of your school or institution, and the topic you have selected. Also enclose a photocopy of your school identity card or a similar certificate from your school.
7. All essays will become the property of Liberty Institute, and will not be returned.

Attention Teachers:

• Copies of Teacher’s guide to The Fountainhead, prepared by Dr. Andrew Bernstein, professor of philosophy, are available on request for teachers who would like to encourage their students to participate in the contest.
• Copies of The Fountainhead are available for purchase at a special price of only Rs 220/- by school libraries, teachers and students. (Postage extra)
• Liberty Institute can, on request from teachers, organize video screening of The Fountainhead for schools in and around Delhi..
• And remember there are special prizes for best schools.

The essay contest seeks to introduce young people to stimulating literature, so that they may develop their critical faculties, be well informed about some of the very basic issues of life, and live up to their full potential in their own chosen fields. For over a decade the Ayn Rand Institute has been organizing similar essay contest is being held in the United States, attracting thousands of participants each year. Another organisation dedicated to improving understanding of Ayn Rand's philosohy is The Objectivist Centre.