IndividualismAn individualist is someone who considers their worldview important, therefore they do not conform to social norms. Howard Roark and Lois Cook are two characters who display this characteristic. While each displays their individualism in different ways, these two characters realize that conformity hides each person's ability to make change and succeed in life. Howard Roark attacked the idea of ​​building anything resembling older classical buildings. Lois Cook attacked ideas of modern society such as sanitation. Both characters understood that being an individual in the collective world is very important, but both fought conformity in different ways. Howard Roark is a young man who is suspended from his school. He studied, but he doesn't like doing the simple homework assigned to him. The school Roark attended tried to teach future architects how to build classical buildings. Roark considered himself more of a modernist. “Every problem that was posed to you, every project that you had to design, what did you do with it? Everyone did amazing in your way. It is contrary to every principle we are trying to teach you, contrary to all established precedents and traditions of the art. You might think you're what they call a modernist, but that's not even it. It’s… it’s pure madness…” (Rand 21). The Dean tells Roark that he is crazy for trying to deviate from the traditional building style. After this conversation, he is asked to come back in a year, but Roark denies it and says he has nothing more to learn. “A building is alive, like a man. His integrity is to follow his own truth, his own unique theme, and to serve his own purpose...... middle of paper ...... these characters are individualists, but they achieve this goal in two different ways. Roark has morals and applies them to everything he does in life, whether everyone accepts them or not. Cook does not seem to follow his morals, but rather goes against public opinion. She rebels just to rebel. She doesn't quite fit the definition of an individualist because she doesn't consider her opinions important. She likes to stand out in the crowd because she stands for something different than most people. However, she does not conform to societal visions, even if she does not have the right intentions. Although these two are both individualists, they both have different reasoning and style to show their individualism and not conform. Works Cited Rand, Ayn. The Source of the Source. 50th anniversary edition. New York, NY: Signet, 1993. Print.