Between Rational Egoism and an Irrational Altruism: Deconstructive Interpretation in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged

Abstract

Deconstruction comprises the close reading of texts in order to establish that any text has contradictory meanings, rather than being unified, logical whole. Binary opposition is one of aspect of deconstruction. It is an idea that is predicated on stable oppositions such as good and evil or up and down. It is perceived in post-structuralist analysis as an inadequate approach to areas of difference. While signs mean by their difference from other signs, the binary opposition is the most extreme form of difference possible sun/moon; man/woman; white/black. Such oppositions, each of which represents a binary system, are very common in cultural construction of reality. Ayn Rand was a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and philosopher. She is known for her philosophy called Objectivism. Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged deviates from the typical novel and its purpose is not so much to tell a story as to exhibit Objectivism and also sets up a battle between egoism and altruism in the novel that drags out a widespread system of binary opposites. This paper examines Derrida’s deconstruction interrelated to binary opposition in Ayn Rand’s Atlas Shrugged.