| | In another thread Erica wrote:I can pick up Fountainhead, Atlas, or even We The Living to literally any page and immediately be engrossed from that point on. As a member of Toastmasters I'm always on the lookout for speech topics and when I read Erica's comment it occurred to me that a good test of one's understanding of Atlas Shrugged (or any of the others) would be to have someone pick a page number and then create a speech (or short essay) about something on that page. Could you give a 5-7 minute impromptu speech discussing some aspect of that page?
As a first test of the idea I chose page 444 and then looked in my paperback. The top half of the page is about Reardon's encounter with the Wet Nurse at the mill when it's a holiday and he had no work related reason to be there.
"I like this place. I like to hang around.... You know, Mr. Reardon, what I studied to be was a metallurgist."
He gave up his dream, he sacrificed his interest to become a pencil pushing government bureaucrat spy.
Lots of ways to take this. Why did he sacrifice? How did the system contribute? Have you followed your dream?
Erica is right. Every page has something worth studying.
If this sounds to you like a Sunday Sermon based on a Bible verse, I agree.
"Lessons from Atlas Shrugged" can be wonderful outreach tools.
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