The enigmatic John Galt is the male hero of Atlas Shrugged, and typifies the Randian hero. By trade, he is an engineer, and has developed a revolutionary new motor powered by ambient static electricity that has the potential to change the world. However, in disgust at the collectivization forced upon him at his workplace at the Twentieth Century Motor Company, he goes on strike, depriving the world of his invaluable invention.
To increase the impact, he persuades each individual of talent whom he considers to share his own ethical creed, to join him on strike, in a secret and secluded hiding place called Galt's Gulch. At first, Dagny Taggart considered Galt to be a destructive force, and grants him the epithet 'the Destroyer'.
However, she is eventually convinced of the futility of her own struggle, and the nobility of Galt's.
John Galt's name is enshrined in the question "Who is John Galt?" The phrase is used popularly as an expression of helplessness and despair at the sorry state of the world. The answer is expressed in a range of legends: none of which is entirely true, but all of which reflect an aspect of his achievements and labours. |
