Sunday, January 19, 2014

Galt or Gor?

Ayn Rand. Nothing good tends to follow after her name comes up in discussion. Currently, my favorite way to respond to such digressions is by comparing her ideas with those of another work from the same time period, John Norman's Chronicles of Gor. Although this may be somewhat unfair to Norman, I like the idea of characterizing the ideas of John Galt and Rand's other characters as Gorean economics.

     

Both in content and style, the two authors resonate for me. So, here is a short quiz for you: Galt or Gor?

See if you can tell if the following quotes come from Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged, or John Norman's Chronicles of Gor. The answers are in the first comment below. Feel free to share your score out of 10 in the comments as well. But no cheating. Cheating is for the slavish, weak, and corrupt.
  1. "I once betrayed my codes," I said. "It is not my intention to do so again."
  2. “I swear by my life and my love of it that I will never live for the sake of another man, nor ask another man to live for mine.” 
  3. “Never think of pain or danger or enemies a moment longer than is necessary to fight them.” 
  4. "In denying it we deny our nature. In betraying it we betray no one but ourselves." 
  5. "Invisible chains are those which weigh the most heavily." 
  6. “If one's actions are honest, one does not need the predated confidence of others.” 
  7. "Did I feel a physical desire for him? I did. Was I moved by a passion of my body? I was." 
  8. "Hate them for their pride and power they will pity you for your shame and weakness." 
  9. "Do not let the hero in your soul perish in lonely frustration for the life you deserved and have never been able to reach."
  10. "He will always be attracted to the woman who reflects his deepest vision of himself, the woman whose surrender permits him to experience a sense of self-esteem."

2 comments:

  1. 1. Gor 2. Galt 3. Galt 4. Gor 5. Gor 6. Galt 7. Galt 8. Gor 9. Galt 10. Galt

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  2. It's too easy. With the exception of number 3, you can guess them all by sentence structure. If it's awkward, it's Rand. If it's clear, strong writing, it's Gor. The only Rand quote that doesn't wrap-around is number 7, but the boring repetition gives it away again.

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