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When Wynand gives Toohey his job back the the Banner, what was the meaning behind the song, "Time Marches On," when it was playing in the background? Did Toohey "change" after listening to Roark at the trial, or did he remain the same? I'm talking about the book, not the movie. I just need a small explanation, that's all. |
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The "final scene" described in the question is actually two scenes, back-to-back, well integrated into a single story "flow." The two scenes occupy more than half of Part IV, Chapter 19 in The Fountainhead. The first scene is between Wynand and Toohey. Wynand does not "give" Toohey his job back voluntarily. He is forced to do so: Ellsworth Toohey won his case before the labor board. Wynand was ordered to reinstate him in his job. (P. 688 in my Signet paperback edition, wherein Chapter 19 spans pp. 687-693.) The labor board could not stop Wynand from closing down the Banner entirely, however, and that is exactly what he did. When the presses suddenly stop, Wynand says to Toohey: This was the end of the Banner.... I think it's proper that I should meet it with you." There is no music playing in that scene, but the next scene begins immediately and is far shorter. It describes Toohey's search for a new job. Many newspapers came to him. We are given a brief sample of the kinds of questions Toohey asks one of the prospective new employers, and the scene ends with a voice on the radio: "Time," blared a solemn voice, "marches on!" The scene as written does not say that the voice was singing. The significance of that saying to the scene of Toohey's job interview seems readily apparent from the context of the scene. Has Toohey changed at all or learned anything from Roark's courtroom speech and acquittal (Chapter 18)? Judging by the key question that Toohey asks during his job interview, it would seem that he has not changed in the least. He's just the same as before, and will do the same things in his new job that he did in his old one. Time may march on, but nothing of any fundamental significance has changed for Toohey. The saying emphasizes this relationship. For Toohey, it's little more than a case of "win some, lose some," or "two steps forward, one step back," as Marxist dielectic might say. Toohey may be taking a step back thanks to Wynand, but he will soon step forward again with little resistance, and it's in the nature of things to be so, in Toohey's worldview. (I don't know if this explanation is "small" enough for the questioner. But I usually write for the wider audience as well as for specific questioners.) |
