Ayn Rand

5 Pages 1143 Words

Life and Philosophy of Ayn Rand

In order to fully understand Ayn Rand’s philosophy you must understand the time and place she came from. The woman who would become Ayn Rand was born Alissa Zinovievna Rosenbaumon on February 2, 1905 in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her father was a successful pharmacist while her mother was involved in the theater. They would be considered members of the intellectual class. During the early part of the 20th century most women did not have much choice on what they wanted to do with their lives. Being a woman in Russia was even more limited than being in America. Ayn taught herself to read at the age of six and three short years later decided to make writing fiction her career. Her determination to stand up for what she believes and not to let her upbringing hold her back is why I chose her to be the subject of my paper.

In 1917, the Russian Revolution broke out and her father’s business was seized by the Bolsheviks. The family relocated to the Crimean Peninsula. In 1926 she traveled alone to the United States never to return to her Russia. Her experiences growing up in St. Petersburg, fleeing Crimea, and returning to the University of St. Petersburg had a tremendous impact on her philosophy. Her experience’s in oppressive, communistic Russia directly correlated to her numerous works and philosophy. Not long after her arrival to the United States Ayn moved from Chicago, where she stayed with family, to Hollywood. There she applied for a job as a screenwriter at the DeMille Studios. She was not a star as of yet. She got a job working for Cecil DeMille as an extra and a script reader on the film “The King of Kings”. Although this job did not bring upon stardom this is where she met Frank O’Connor, her soon to be husband.

The next few years Ayn worked at odd jobs such as being a waitress. In 1929 she finally married Frank O’Connor and began working on the first novel she had publ...