Roark’s independence extends to matters other than architecture. Even though he recognizes that thecareer path ahead of him will be arduous, he laughs at his expulsion from school. The school’s actionwill make his future more difficult, but it cannot stop him. Roark’s attitude is similar with strangers.People notice Howard Roark when he walks on the streets; he notices no one. In fact, he often arousesresentment in strangers, who somehow cannot explain what they feel when they see Roark. But Roarkcould walk the streets naked without concern; he has no regard for the evaluations of others.Roark boards at the home of Mrs. Keating, whose son, Peter, graduates from Stanton with high honorson the same day that Roark is expelled. Keating is handsome, charming, and glib. He receives his highgrades not by earning them, but by copying from the masters of the past, giving his teachers what theywant and enlisting Roark’s aid in solving structural problems. Keating is utterly dependent on others,and he is faced with a difficult decision. He has won a scholarship to the prestigious Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. But he also has a job offer from Francon and Heyer, the leading architectural firm in theUnited States. Because either option will greatly impress people, he has no basis upon which tochoose. He comes to Roark with the dilemma. Although he would never state it publicly, Keatingrealizes that Roark understands more of importance about architecture than do his professors, andthat Roark loves the subject in a way that his professors do not. Privately, in his own conscience,Keating respects Roark’s judgment more than he does the Dean’s. Roark tells him that he has made amistake, that he should not look to others for guidance regarding the decisions of his own life. He tellsKeating that an individual must know what he wants in life. Their conversation is interrupted by thearrival of Mrs. Keating, who makes it clear that she does not want her son in Paris, an ocean away. Thedecision is made for him: He will go to New York to work for Francon and Heyer.Roark and Keating pursue separate careers in architecture in New York City. Keating works for GuyFrancon, a mediocre architect but a man who is possessed of all the social graces. Francon is thecountry’s most successful and prestigious architect because of two qualities: He designs in theClassical style, giving the public the traditional buildings it is used to, and he wines and dinesprospective clients at New York’s most exclusive restaurants. Francon knows little about building, buta great deal about matching his ties with his handkerchiefs and his wines with his foods. He does notgain clients by the brilliance of his designs, but by the phony warmth of his smile. From Francon,Keating learns how to impress others, not how to build.Keating has a girlfriend named Catherine Halsey, whom he met a year before in Boston, where shelived with her mother. She is plain and awkward with “nothing to her credit, but her lovely smile.”Keating has dated the most beautiful, well-dressed girls, but it is the shy Katie that he prefers. Eventhough he forgets to call her for weeks at a time, Katie waits patiently for his attention. In the timesince Keating met Katie, her mother has passed away and she now lives with her uncle in New York.Despite her proximity, he visits her only infrequently. But when he does, her sincerity compels himinto an honesty that he exhibits nowhere else. When he finds that her uncle is Ellsworth Toohey, therising star of architectural criticism, he tells her that, though he badly wants to meet Toohey, he willnot do it through her. He makes an exception to his normal pattern of behavior when he is with Katie.Peter is disturbed to discover that Katie, who once planned to attend college, is now undecided due toher uncle’s opposition. Keating is concerned that her uncle is acquiring too much control over herlife.While Keating slides up the corporate ladder at Francon’s, Roark works for Henry Cameron, abrilliant architect and a man of unswerving dedication to his principles. Because Cameron is one of thefirst to design skyscrapers, his buildings are revolutionary. He is ahead of his time, and his designs arerejected by the public. Now sixty-nine, Cameron is a commercial failure and a bitter alcoholic, butalso a genius and a man of great artistic integrity. Roark learns from Cameron the one thing of value:how to build.
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