This particular quote from The Fountainhead summarizes the obvious differences between Peter Keating and Howard Roark. The question that Keating poses is rather meaningless and has no real answer because making a decision requires very little thinking. Roark finds an answer in the form of a question though, that leaves Keating silent in his lack of understanding. Keating’s ignorance is his own fault though due to his way of avoiding the difficulty of choosing. By doing this he is essentially avoiding life and all the freedom that can come with it. Instead, Keating will sacrifice his given freedom and let other people control his life, such as his mom and clients do. In addition to the fact that he heartily follows the manipulation of Ellsworth Toohey and to a lesser degree, Gail Wynand. He has purposely become just another puppet in the grand scheme of things by his choice. On the other hand, Roark is an opposite of Keating in every respect. Recognizing the freedom of making one’s own decisions, he is completely independent in the area of deciding with no ties of any kind that ensures his survival. Unlike Keating, Roark wants to be in absolute control of his life, completely independent by deciding his own fate, which he performs without any regret at all. He relies on no one to choose paths of life for him and therefore is in control of his future. In the end Roark and Keating switch places. One becomes the fallen; the other is the ruler. This comes as a surprise to only Keating, who lived off the work of others. Like he said to Roark one time, “I am a parasite.” Peter possessed many more character faults other than his fear and refusal to make a real decision.B. Roark, in response to a someone’s meaningful statement, simply takes it apart by giving one more statement back. To Roark, the phrase “I love you” has really no real significance anymore in verbal communication. Its...
