We have changed our privacy policy. In addition, we use cookies on our website for various purposes. By continuing on our website, you consent to our use of cookies. You can learn about our practices by reading our privacy policy.

Atlas Shrugged Visions of America Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Citations follow this format: (Volume.Chapter.Section.Page). We used the 50th Anniversary Edition published by Signet Books in 2007.

Quote #1

It began with a few lights. As a train of the Taggart line rolled toward Philadelphia, a few brilliant, scattered lights appeared in the darkness; they seemed purposeless in the empty plain, but too powerful to have no purpose. The passengers watched them idly without interest. [...] An office building appeared, close to the tracks. The big neon sign on its roof lighted the interiors of the coaches as they went by. It said: Rearden Steel. (1.2.1.1-7)

The light motif emerges again here in connection with Rearden Steel and industry in general. This passage also sets up a recurring theme: that of an oblivious society that doesn't appreciate what it has.

Quote #2

She walked on. She stopped at the window of a bookstore. The window displayed a pyramid of slabs in brownish-purple jackets, inscribed: The Vulture if Molting. "The novel of our century," said a placard. "The penetrating study of a businessman's greed. A fearless revelation of man's depravity." (1.4.1.30)

In this sequence Dagny encounters an entire series of signs of cultural decline. It's no mistake that in a looter-dominated culture, the bestselling book involves "vultures."

Quote #3

The car jerked forward. It moved slowly through a gap in a plank barrier, past the hole of a broken water main. She saw the new pipe stacked by the excavation; the pipe bore a trademark: Stockton Foundry, Colorado. She looked away; she wished she were not reminded of Colorado. (1.7.2.16)

The importance of Colorado is demonstrated through a series of images where Dagny sees how Colorado's industries are basically supporting New York. Scenes of urban decay are contrasted to shiny new equipment from Colorado.