How does Toohey change Peter Keeting and his g/f?

Posted by CircuitGuy 11 years, 4 months ago to Books
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In The Fountainhead, it seems the dark side of Peter's personality, the one his mother supports, lives only to get a reaction out of other people. He'd like people to think he's a great architect, but he'll take any reaction at all from any other human being.

Toohey, on the other hand, seems to be motivated by destroying greatness simply because he hates to see other's win.

We see Toohey discouraging people from following their passions. He supports Peter just to support mediocrity and oppose excellence.

My question is **what changes?** Why do Peter and Catherine both end up as broken people? Maybe with Peter we can think he got to the "top" of the architecture industry and realized being recognized as "being on top" is hollow next to loving architecture. But what happened to his old g/f Catherine? She seemed like an easy-going person leading a simple life. When they meet again, at first I thought Catherine was just hiding her emotions b/c of the way Peter had treated her. But then you get the idea she's just become empty because of years spent with Toohey.

I'm interested in people's thoughts on how/why Toohey pulls this (personality destruction) off.


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  • Posted by lrbeggs 11 years, 4 months ago
    I disagree that Peter "bowed to the God of wealth and materialism." He chased these prizes and accolades and was stunned and disappointed when they failed to satisfy him. They were undeserved achievements and therefore provided no value.
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  • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 4 months ago
    Catherine (later, after Peter), went the way of altruism and self sacrifice because that's the only way she felt worthwhile after Peter dumped her and her uncle who was a hollow shell. She then felt she was in a position to the pity them.
    Toohey was good at feeding into second handers' view of themselves and manipulating them with his approval. Who needs their own self worth if you've got Toohey smiling at you?
    It boils down to lack of personal philosophy. Roarke was the only one who had it all along. Dominque had it too, but it needed a little tweaking, which finally happened at the end when she went to Roarke.
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    • Posted by khalling 11 years, 4 months ago
      Dominique needed more than tweaking-she was on a fast track to self destruction. and Roark was not going to save her. She had to do that herself.
      Peter had the intellectual ability to be alot more. He actually wasn't a hollow shell. He was bowing down to the god of wealth and materialism. He would never find happiness with those as his foundations. Catherine reminds me of so many do-gooders who never stop to access their own worth or the worth of their "sacrifice."
      Toohey, in my opinion, was not an empty shell-he was bent on destruction. To destroy was his single focus. It amazes me, but there are many intelligent people who do this. He hated Life. now go read the news and find Tooheys! they are everywhere. but, so are Roarks!
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      • Posted by LetsShrug 11 years, 4 months ago
        Peter wasn't a hollow shell...Toohey was. Peter could have done so much better and probably should have stuck to his art, or taken it back up. Toohey only valued destruction and disguised it with praise. He played people like fiddles... You can be intelligent and still be an empty shell. They were both acting a part and playing a role in their own existence and in doing so they devalued themselves.
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  • Posted by 11 years, 4 months ago
    I agree with khalling that Toohey's, Peters, and Roarks are everywhere.

    It is simplistic to say Peter bowed to the god of wealth and materialism. He needed *a reaction* from people. Wealth was one means to that. Being famous as a good architect was another means. Wasn't he the one who got upset that someone in the office housekeeping staff didn't genuflect to him? He didn't care so much if people loved him, feared him, envied him, or hated him; but he had a need to generate some reaction, any reaction, from other people.
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