Deadline:
December 27, 2024
Location(s)
Online
Overview
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 scholarship prize money.
Details
ARI has held worldwide essay contests for students on Ayn Rand’s fiction for more than thirty years, awarding over $2 million in total prize money! This year we will award more than $30,000 to student winners.
SELECT ONE OF THE FOLLOWING THREE TOPICS:
1) In the world of Atlas Shrugged, material goods that many of the characters take for granted become increasingly difficult to obtain as the plot progresses. Identify several examples of such goods, and explain how the novel accounts for their disappearance. Describe the economic and the moral-philosophical forces at work in their disappearance. Are there significant parallels with the shortages our world has witnessed in the last few years? Explain any similarities and differences (using contemporary examples).
2) Throughout Atlas Shrugged, there are both literal and figurative references to motors and motive power. Describe three examples of this that occur in the novel, and explain their meaning in the context of the scenes they are taken from. How does this meaning relate to the wider philosophical themes of the novel?
3) Among the many advocates of the “morality of death” he targets in his radio speech, John Galt reserves special criticism for the “mystics” who declare that man’s duty is “to crawl through years of penance, atoning for the guilt of his existence to any stray collector of unintelligible debts.” Name and describe at least two of the doctrines about human nature that Galt says these mystics use to encourage this moral outlook. Then illustrate their impact by choosing a character from Atlas Shrugged who struggles with these doctrines. (If one struggles with both, you need only discuss one.) What types of behavior do the doctrines encourage? What are the consequences for the character(s) in question? How is this struggle resolved?
Opportunity is About
Eligibility
Candidates should be from:
Description of Ideal Candidate
CRITERIA
Essays will be judged on whether the student is able to argue for and justify his or her view—not on whether the Institute agrees with the view the student expresses. Judges will look for writing that is clear, articulate and logically organized. Winning essays must demonstrate an outstanding grasp of the philosophical meaning of Atlas Shrugged.
Entrant must be a 12th grader, college undergraduate or graduate student for any part of the school year in which the contest is held. ARI reserves the right to make exceptions to this rule, on a case-by-case basis, for international students or for students with nonstandard school years.
I'M A FOREIGN STUDENT, SO CAN I STILL ENTER THE CONTEST?
Yes! Foreign students may enter our essay contests, except where void or prohibited by law. We have no citizenship requirements. Please enter the contest for your current grade level. If you’re not sure which contest you’re eligible for, please write to the Education Department at essays@aynrand.org.
Dates
Deadline: December 27, 2024
Cost/funding for participants
Prizes
- 1ST PLACE $10,000 1 Winner
- 2ND PLACE $2,500 3 Winners
- 3RD PLACE $500 5 Winners
Un-save Opportunity
Internships, scholarships, student conferences and competitions.
