Deadline: March 25, 2016, April 29, 2016 and October 23, 2015
Have you read one of Ayn Rand’s thought-provoking novels? Now’s the time! Enter an Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contest for your chance to win thousands of dollars in cash prizes.
Ayn Rand Institute offers an array of educational programs to enable students at all levels of knowledge to learn about Ayn Rand’s philosophy and novels. ARI has held worldwide essay contests for students on Ayn Rand’s fiction for thirty years. This year they will award over 500 prizes totaling more than $90,000.
Categories
The Essay Contest is under these three categories:
ANTHEM Category
Topics
- “It is a sin to write this.” So begins Anthem. What is the significance of this opening line to the story and to the meaning of the novel? What view of morality does it embody? What is Equality 7-2521’s eventual assessment of his sin and why? Explain.
- Politically, Anthem depicts a collectivist society. What ideas do the rulers appeal to in order to justify their collectivist society? How do its rulers retain their power? What enables Equality 7-2521 to escape his society and envision an alternative?
- Anthem portrays a totalitarian world of the future. In contrast to other such portrayals, the world of Anthem is technologically primitive. What does this imply about the nature of science and technology and the conditions for technological progress, and how do events of the story establish that view?
Prize
- 1st Place – $2000 (1 Winner)
- 2nd Place – $500 (5 Winners)
- 3rd Place – $200 (10 Winners)
- Finalists – $50 (45 Winners)
- Semi Finalist – $30 (175 Winners)
Eligibility
- Open to 8th, 9th and 10th Graders
Submit your Anthem Essay here.
Or mail your essay with stapled cover sheet to:
Anthem Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044
Criteria
- Essays will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of Anthem.
THE FOUNTAINHEAD Category
Topics
- Why does Roark say that his refusal of the Manhattan Bank Building contract is “the most selfish thing you’ve ever seen a man do”?
- Ellsworth Toohey and Gail Wynand both spend much of their lives consciously seeking power over others. But is their quest for power the same? How do each man’s goals and motivations contrast to those of Roark?
- The conventional view is that in life one can either achieve practical success or be moral, but not both. What view of the relation between the moral and the practical is conveyed in The Fountainhead? What is the novel’s conception of success? Of morality? Explain by reference to characters and events in the story.
Prize
- 1st Place – $10000 (1 Winner)
- 2nd Place – $2000 (5 Winners)
- 3rd Place – $1000 (10 Winners)
- Finalists – $100 (45 Winners)
- Semi Finalists – $50 (175 Winners)
Eligibility
- Open to 11th and 12th Graders.
Submit your FOUNTAINHEAD Essay here.
Or mail your essay with stapled cover sheet to:
The Fountainhead Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044
Criteria
- Essays will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of The Fountainhead.
ATLAS SHRUGGED Category
Topics
- At his trial, Hank Rearden declares: “The public good be damned, I will have no part of it!” What does he mean? How does this issue relate to the novel’s theme?
- Who is John Galt?
- What is the meaning of money to Francisco d’Anconia? To James Taggart? How do these characters’ views on money relate to the events of the story?
Eligibility
- Open to 12th Graders, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students
Prizes
- 1st Place – $20000 (1 Winner)
- 2nd Place $2000 (3 Winners)
- 3rd Place – $1000 (5 Winners)
- Finalists – $100 (25 Winners)
- Semi Finalists – $50 (50 Winners)
Submit your ATLAS SHRUGGED Essay here.
Or mail your essay with stapled cover sheet to:
Atlas Shrugged Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044
Criteria
- Essays will be judged on both style and content. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophic meaning of Atlas Shrugged.
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For more information, visit Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contest.
