Atlas Shrugged

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Who is John Galt?
John Galt is a protagonist character in the novel “Atlas Shrugged”. Even if the character is not recognized by name till the last third division of the play, he is a person whose identity needs to be known. Initially, John Galt seems to be anonymous menial worker for Taggart Transcontinental. In the play, it is often seen that Galt and Eddie Willers have dines in the employees’ cafeteria, and this influences Eddie to disclose vital information about Taggart Transcontinental and Dagny Taggart. Only Eddie’s perspective of their talks is presented in the play. Later in the play, readers are able to discover true identity of the worker (John Galt). This paper aims to investigate who is John Galt in the novel “Atlas Shrugged”.
As the plot of the novel unfolds, Galt is identified to be an inventor and a philosopher. Galt believes in the glory and power of human mind as well as the rights entitled by every human being to utilize her or his mind mainly for herself or himself. Galt is an individualist counterpoint and skeptical to the collectivist economic and social structure described in the play. Such a society is founded on oppressive bureaucratic functionaries, and is based on a culture which claims to encourage egalitarianism, but in the real sense embraces mediocrity. The play interprets the consequences of societal activities as impacts of socialistic idealism.
Before Galt works for Taggart Transcontinental, he served as an engineer working for the Twentieth Century Motor Company, which was a firm where he secretly led his invention to create a generator that utilizes electric energy from static electricity. However, he dumped his newly invented motor and also abandoned his employment when he became dissatisfied by the company’s payment system. Hank Rearden and Dagny Taggart were the people who found the abandoned generator in the factory. Galt remains somebody who is concealed in the entire play. He conceals himself in a valley where he interacts with most great business leaders and skilled inventors under his leadership. The third division of the novel presents Galt’s broadcast speech that indicates the philosophy of objectivism embraced by the novel’s author.
Biography of John Galt
The play unfolds gradually with Galt (who is the son of a mechanic working in at a garage in Ohio) leaves home when he is 12 years old and starts college education at the Fictional Patrick Henry University at the age of 16. At the college, Galt meets Rangnar Danneskjold and Francisco d’Anconia, and the three become great friends. Galt majors in both philosophy and physics. After he graduated, Galt serves as an engineer working for the Twentieth Century Motor Company; a firm where he invents a new generator energized by ambient static electricity. According to what he needs and his ability, Galt decides not only to abandon working for the company, but also abandoned his motor at the company.
Based on the mainstream story of the novel, Galt is seen leading an organized strike secretly by collaborating with the world’s great innovative leaders as well as businessmen, artists and i...