Ellsworth Toohey, the antagonist of Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead, expressed a life-changing realization during a Bible lesson when he was a mere teenager. When his Bible teacher broached the topic of the richness of a human soul, Toohey posed a peculiar question: “To be truly rich, should a man gather souls?” (306). His question, which horrified his Bible teacher, thereafter became the foundation of his intentions. “Ellsworth Toohey, The Humanitarian” (307) embodies the flaws of dependence and the risk of altruism, contradicting the “humanitarian” title he grants himself. . Toohey thrives on the principle of altruism and preaches that "everything that proceeds from the ego is evil" (305) and "genius is an exaggeration of size" (305). His "altruistic" philosophy attracts the weak and exalts him to exceptional power, a power he uses to control and destroy. The general public sees him as a well-rounded figure advocating knowledge to unlock function and true purpose within humanity, when in reality he aims to dismember purpose and fulfill his own intentions. Few pay attention to his charms and notice his ill will, and those who do, he dismembers with the power of the media. Toohey uses the weak and mediocre as his army and encourages failure for two purposes: to gain power and to reassure himself of his greatness, despite his lack of talent. As a young man, Toohey excelled in sociology and learned methods of subliminal manipulation, in which he perfected his public speaking skills. Ayn Rand described her speech as having “resonant clarity of every syllable” with a uniqueness that resonated “like a new language” (107). With his perfection of subliminal capture, his f...... middle of paper ......ed, heroic symbol of the internal struggle of conservation and individualism in the soul of a man, he represents the race of individualists who threaten the pedestal of human support on which Toohey towers. In the name of selfishness, Roark conquers his own style of modernist architecture and avoids the repetition of generic structures, thus embodies the fire that burns in everyone's soul; the fire that allows you to pursue a passion and consequently sculpt a future. Roark's determination and unalterable motivations threaten Toohey and other men and women similar to Toohey. Because of this threat, Toohey mounts an anti-Roark campaign. It attacks him with a battalion of media influence for every building he builds, causing failure, poverty, collapse, but never manages to put out his flame; it only succeeds in strengthening it. Works Cited Ayn Rand, The Fountainhead