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Atlas Shrugged Trivia-Bring It!

Posted by khalling 8 years, 11 months ago to Entertainment
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From the Movies or from the book-stump us, or tweak our newbies by asking a question we have to answer-Oh, I want easter eggs from the movies! but also from Atlas Shrugged, the book. Let's compile a bunch of questions to tempt gulchers to delve-either re-watch Parts I-III or crack the spine of that beloved piece of life-changing novel. no rules-have fun. You don't have to answer any of the questions-just give points for the ones you think are good-later I will post again and ask for answers. Ready, set, Go!


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  • Posted by Lucky 8 years, 11 months ago
    In the book Atlas Shrugged, what opinion does the writer have about the working man?

    Hint: It is one of a) Despise, or b) Adore.
    Give examples of passages that justify your answer.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 8 years, 11 months ago
    In the novel, Francisco d'Anconia leaves a bold and defiant message to the world on the occasion of his abandoning it forever. What was that message and how did he deliver it? Include a description of the delivery method and how exactly he signed his message.
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  • Posted by ShruginArgentina 8 years, 11 months ago
    Name one of the cities destroyed by the activation of "Project X."

    I can name two of them without looking them up (48 years after reading Atlas Shrugged), but that's only because the name of one of the cities is the same as my last name and one of the others is my home town.

    (If Atlas Shrugged had really happened in the 1950's, I probably wouldn't be here today.)
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    • Posted by Temlakos 8 years, 11 months ago
      I have a better idea:

      Plot the named cities and towns along the perimeter of the effective radius of Project X. And from this plot:

      1. Name the most likely real-life Iowa town that became Harmony City, and at last, Meigsville.

      2. Plot the most likely real-life location of the Taggart Bridge.
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    • Posted by 8 years, 11 months ago
      hmm. this one stumps me. I put the location of the installation in Iowa and I remember a Taggart bridge spanning the Mississippi was destroyed along with a train. good one!
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  • Posted by Temlakos 8 years, 11 months ago
    Describe the circumstances of Henry Rearden and Dagny Taggart's first meeting.
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    • Posted by Wonky 8 years, 11 months ago
      I like this question. The mental hula hoops Hank goes through at this meeting are so essential to the story. I think it's one of those scenes that people seem to misrepresent in order to prove that Ayn Rand's ideas about sexuality are twisted.

      The candid answer is that Hank went to meet her at a Taggart construction site and fantasized about making love to her on the spot. He then decided that she could never know that.

      As the issue resolves throughout the book, it becomes clear that Rand is refuting the "dichotomy of mind and body".
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  • Posted by handyman 8 years, 11 months ago
    Here is a bit of trivia (or more truthfully, a mystery I haven't been able to solve!) I hope someone can answer. In Part 1, Chap. 7 (P 171 of a 1st ed.) Hank lies to Dagny about returning to NY. Why does he lie? I can speculate at this point, but hope one of you can put your finger on an explicit reason given later in the book.

    If you are good at solving this one, I have a couple of other mysteries as well.
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    • Posted by ohiocrossroads 8 years, 11 months ago
      This was early in the book when Dagny was building the John Galt Line, and Rearden came to the construction site to survey the progress. He lied to her about returning to NY to avoid the temptation of being alone with her. He didn't trust himself to be faithful to Lillian, because he wanted Dagny. At least that's the way I see it.
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      • Posted by handyman 8 years, 11 months ago
        Hi Oho: This, too, is the explanation that seems most likely to me. There are 2 other possible explanations, but seem less likely. 1) Hank was somehow aware that James was going to con her into that radio broadcast and he was trying to keep her out of it. This seems unlikely as there is no hint that he knew of it in advance. 2) He wanted to meet secretly with Eddie to offer a moratorium on payments owed Rearden Steel by TT. This too seems unlikely as this scene occurs much later (P 226) and there is no good way to tell what the elapsed time was between the meeting in CO and the one with Eddie.
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    • Posted by Wonky 8 years, 11 months ago
      I seem to recall Dagny asking him about it later... maybe that was a dream.

      I think ohiocrossroads has it right either way: "to avoid the temptation of being alone with her"
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      • Posted by handyman 8 years, 11 months ago
        At one time I thought I saw something like that too. But after many back-and-forth searches I couldn't find a reference to it again. Might have been the same dream!
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    • Posted by 8 years, 11 months ago
      is this where Hank wants to speak with Lillian about a divorce? If so, I think he did not want Dagny to know until he had spoken with Lillian. It was between the two of them
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      • Posted by handyman 8 years, 11 months ago
        Hi Khalling: The subject of divorce comes up much later, but even at this point it might have been on Hank's mind. As ohiocrossroads suggests, his conflicted feelings for Dagny and Lillian were certainly motive enough to not want to be alone too long with Dagny.
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  • Posted by Temlakos 8 years, 11 months ago
    Dagny appears on Bertram Scudder's radio program after her return from the Gulch.

    1. What big revelation and accusation did she make?

    2. Hank Rearden, after listening to that, realizes and accepts that he is not the love of Dagny's life, and that she found that love wherever she disappeared to. How does he deduce this?
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    • Posted by Mamaemma 8 years, 11 months ago
      Her revelation was that she had an affair with Hank Rearden, and basically that she was proud of it. I don't know what the accusation was, unless it was that Rearden gave up his metal because the government threatened to make the affair public. Rearden realized it was over because she spoke of their love and affair in the past tense.
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