Anthem Essay Contest Information
Eligibility: 8th, 9th and 10th Graders
Entry Deadline: March 20, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $2,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $500
10 THIRD PRIZES: $200
45 FINALISTS: $50
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $30
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.Why do you think the Council of Vocations assigns Equality the job of Street Sweeper? Is it due to error, incompetence or a more sinister motivation? Explain.
2.The old locks and lack of guards in the Palace of Corrective Detention indicate that prisoners never try to escape. Why do you think they do not? Explain.
3.In a single, unified essay, explain the meaning and wider significance of EACH of the following quotes in the story:
1. “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” (Ch. 12)
2. “It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth.” (Ch. 11)
3. “And we thought that we could trust this being who looked upon us from the stream, and that we had nothing to fear with this being.” (Ch. 8)
The Fountainhead Essay Contest Information
Eligibility: 11th and 12th Graders
Entry Deadline: April 26, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
10 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
45 FINALISTS: $100
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $50
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.Howard Roark refuses a major contract when he most needs it, claiming that his action was “the most selfish thing you’ve ever seen a man do.” (Ch. 15) Why does he call his action “selfish”? And why do other people call it “selfless”?
2.Gail Wynand is a brilliant individual who rose out of the slums by means of his own talent and effort. But despite his reverence for man’s noblest achievements, his newspaper, The Banner, presents the most lurid and loathsome values. Why does Wynand pander in this manner? And why doesn’t Howard Roark?
3.Choose the scene in The Fountainhead that is most meaningful to you. Analyze that scene in terms of the wider themes in the book.
Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest Information
Eligibility: 12th Graders, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students
Entry Deadline: September 17, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
3 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
5 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
20 FINALISTS: $100
20 SEMIFINALISTS: $50
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.According to John Galt, selfishness is both moral and practical. Explain what he means by this and how events of the story illustrate and dramatize his point.
2.Explain the meaning and wider significance of the following quote: “The words ‘to make money’ hold the essence of human morality.” According to the story of Atlas Shrugged, what ideas underlie the opposing maxims that “money is the root of all evil” and that “money is the root of all good”?
3.Capitalism’s defenders usually appeal to the “public good.” Contrast their approach to capitalism to Ayn Rand’s approach in Atlas Shrugged.
Eligibility: 8th, 9th and 10th Graders
Entry Deadline: March 20, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $2,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $500
10 THIRD PRIZES: $200
45 FINALISTS: $50
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $30
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.Why do you think the Council of Vocations assigns Equality the job of Street Sweeper? Is it due to error, incompetence or a more sinister motivation? Explain.
2.The old locks and lack of guards in the Palace of Corrective Detention indicate that prisoners never try to escape. Why do you think they do not? Explain.
3.In a single, unified essay, explain the meaning and wider significance of EACH of the following quotes in the story:
1. “To be free, a man must be free of his brothers.” (Ch. 12)
2. “It is my mind which thinks, and the judgment of my mind is the only searchlight that can find the truth.” (Ch. 11)
3. “And we thought that we could trust this being who looked upon us from the stream, and that we had nothing to fear with this being.” (Ch. 8)
The Fountainhead Essay Contest Information
Eligibility: 11th and 12th Graders
Entry Deadline: April 26, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
5 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
10 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
45 FINALISTS: $100
175 SEMIFINALISTS: $50
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.Howard Roark refuses a major contract when he most needs it, claiming that his action was “the most selfish thing you’ve ever seen a man do.” (Ch. 15) Why does he call his action “selfish”? And why do other people call it “selfless”?
2.Gail Wynand is a brilliant individual who rose out of the slums by means of his own talent and effort. But despite his reverence for man’s noblest achievements, his newspaper, The Banner, presents the most lurid and loathsome values. Why does Wynand pander in this manner? And why doesn’t Howard Roark?
3.Choose the scene in The Fountainhead that is most meaningful to you. Analyze that scene in terms of the wider themes in the book.
Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest Information
Eligibility: 12th Graders, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students
Entry Deadline: September 17, 2010
FIRST PRIZE: $10,000
3 SECOND PRIZES: $2,000
5 THIRD PRIZES: $1,000
20 FINALISTS: $100
20 SEMIFINALISTS: $50
Topics
Select ONE of the following three topics:
1.According to John Galt, selfishness is both moral and practical. Explain what he means by this and how events of the story illustrate and dramatize his point.
2.Explain the meaning and wider significance of the following quote: “The words ‘to make money’ hold the essence of human morality.” According to the story of Atlas Shrugged, what ideas underlie the opposing maxims that “money is the root of all evil” and that “money is the root of all good”?
3.Capitalism’s defenders usually appeal to the “public good.” Contrast their approach to capitalism to Ayn Rand’s approach in Atlas Shrugged.
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