The Fountainhead: Howard Roark and Objectivism In the novel The Fountianhead, Ayn Rand uses the main character, Howard Roark, to express her daringly original philosophy--Objectivism. Like Rousseau's "Natural Man" in The Social Contract, Ayn Rand presents Howard as a man, as man should be-- strong-willed, self-sufficient , self-confident, and self motivated. A man who, in spite of cruelty from an unaccepting society, fights to work and live as only he chooses to do so. Through the course of the story the reader sees how Roark completely disregards the norms and principles that define