The Fountainhead: Peter Keating: 2

Peter Keating, son of the boardinghouse owner, is graduating from the Stanton Institute of Technology. He is the student body president and the most popular student, and he is quite full of himself. He is pleased to have finished at the top of his class, beating out his arch-rival Shlinker in the final year of study. (Roark, a year behind Keating and Shlinker, had at times matched their brilliance until his expulsion.) Keating is faced with a choice: accept a prestigious scholarship in Paris, or go to work for Guy Francon, who has just delivered a windy commencement address.

Unlike Roark, Keating looks for approval from others. In fact, his true love had been art, before his mother steered him into architecture.... He asks Roark for advice, and Roark suggests the Francon & Heyer job as the lesser of evils. As for himself, Roark is going to work for Henry Cameron, a once-great architect who is now almost forgotten.

Roark is easier to take in this chapter; Peter cherishes his opinion and approval, and this inclines the reader to feel kindly toward him as well.

So it looks like Peter will be a counter-example to Roark: Brilliant but unsure of his direction, weak, willing to be guided away from his bliss. Will Peter re-direct his path, perhaps under Roark's guidance? Is Shlinker going to be a sinister character? I confess I'm intrigued.