2017 Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contest for Students on Ayn Rand’s Fiction

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 cash prizes

ARI has held worldwide essay contests for students on Ayn Rand’s fiction for thirty years. This year we will award over 500 prizes totaling more than $90,000.

Contests:

Anthem

Eligibility

8th, 9th and 10th GRADERS

Entry Deadline: March 29, 2017

• 1st place $2,000 1 Winner
• 2nd place $500 5 Winners
• 3rd place $200 10 Winners
• Finalists $50 45 Winners
• Semifinalists $30 175 Winners

• Select ONE of the following three topics:

  • Equality knows that his invention will benefit mankind greatly. However, this was not his primary motivation in conducting his experiments, and it is not the primary source of the joy and the pride he experiences in his work. What is his primary motivation? Do you think that Equality is right to be motivated in this way? What do you think the world would be like if everyone were motivated in the same way?
  • Politically, Anthem depicts a completely collectivist society. What ideas do the rulers appeal to in order to justify their collectivist society? Do you see any similarities between these ideas and the ones that you hear around you today? In what way has your own thinking about such ideas changed as a result of reading and reflecting upon Anthem? Relate your answer to the speech, “The Soul of a Collectivist,” made by a villain in a different Ayn Rand novel, The Fountainhead.
  • To Prometheus the word “ego” is holy, but today one is usually told that it is wrong to be an egoist. Is Prometheus an egoist? What does this mean? Is it something good or bad? Explain your answer by reference to specific events in Anthem, and to the speech, “The Soul of an Individualist,” made by the hero of a different Ayn Rand novel, The Fountainhead.

• Requirements

  • No application is required. Contest is open to students worldwide, except where void or prohibited by law. Essays must be written in English only.
  • Entrant must be in the 8th, 9th or 10th grade. Verification of school enrollment will be required for all winning entrants.
  • To avoid disqualification, mailed-in essays must include a stapled cover sheet with the following information:
    1. 1. your name and address;
    2. 2. your email address (if available);
    3. 3. the name and address of your school;
    4. 4. topic selected (#1, 2 or 3 from the “Topics” tab);
    5. 5. your current grade level; and
    6. 6. (optional) the name of the teacher who assigned the essay if you are completing it for classroom credit.
  • Essay must be no fewer than 600 and no more than 1,200 words in length, double-spaced. Spelling errors and/or written corrections (by anyone) found on the essay will count against the final grade and should be omitted before submission.
  • One entry per student.

Submit Your Entry Now for the Anthem Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contest

Or mail your essay with stapled cover sheet to:

Anthem Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044

The FountainHead

Eligibility

11th and 12th GRADERS

Entry Deadline:

April 26, 2017

• 1st place $10,000 1 Winner
• 2nd place $2,000 5 Winners
• 3rd place $1,000 10 Winners
• Finalists $100 45 Winners
• Semifinalists $50 175 Winners

Select ONE of the following three topics:

• Howard Roark was Ayn Rand’s first complete presentation of a moral ideal. Judging from The Fountainhead, what is it about Roark’s character and his approach to life that Rand regards as ideal for a human being? Why does she think this? Which, if any, aspects of Roark’s character or approach to life do you think are worthy of emulating morally? Which, if any, should not be emulated? Explain.
• Ayn Rand is often criticized for creating “unrealistic” heroes. Why might someone regard Howard Roark as “unrealistic”? What do you think of this criticism? Is Roark an “unrealistic” character, a “realistic” one, or neither? In explaining your answer, consider what Rand has to say in her essay “The Goal of My Writing.”
• In his courtroom speech, Howard Roark explains the nature, motivation and importance of those who create values (such as new artworks, technological inventions and innovations, and advances in theoretical knowledge). Why does he think that value-creation and what it requires of the creators is crucially important from a moral perspective? In your answer, consider what a character from another Ayn Rand novel, Atlas Shrugged, has to say about the process of value-creation, in the speech “The Nature of an Artist.”

Requirements

• No application is required. Contest is open to students worldwide, except where void or prohibited by law. Essays must be written in English only.
• Entrant must be in the 11th or 12th grade. Verification of school enrollment will be required for all winning entrants.
• To avoid disqualification, mailed-in essays must include a stapled cover sheet with the following information:
  1. 1. your name and address;
  2. 2. your email address (if available);
  3. 3. the name and address of your school;
  4. 4. topic selected (#1, 2 or 3 from the “Topics” tab);
  5. 5. your current grade level; and
  6. 6. (optional) the name of the teacher who assigned the essay if you are completing it for classroom credit.
• Essay must be no fewer than 800 and no more than 1,600 words in length, double-spaced. Spelling errors and/or written corrections (by anyone) found on the essay will count against the final grade and should be omitted before submission.
• One entry per student.

Submit Your Entry Now for the FountainHead Ayn Rand Institute Essay Contest Or mail your essay with stapled cover sheet to:

The Fountainhead Essay Contest
The Ayn Rand Institute
P.O Box 57044
Irvine, CA 92619-7044

The Atlas Shrugged:

Eligibility

12th Graders, College Undergraduates, and Graduate Students

Entry Deadline:

April 28, 2017

• 1st place $20,000 1 Winner
• 2nd place $2,000 3 Winners
• 3rd place $1,000 5 Winners
• Finalists $100 25 Winners
• Semifinalists $50 50 Winners

• Select ONE of the following three topics:

  • Francisco d’Anconia says that the “words ‘to make money’ hold the essence of human morality.” What does he mean? What are today’s prevalent moral attitudes toward money? Do you agree with Francisco’s view? Explain why or why not.
  • Atlas Shrugged is both a celebration of business and a defense of it against widespread attacks. Judging from the novel, as well as from Ayn Rand’s essay “What Is Capitalism?” and her speech “America’s Persecuted Minority: Big Business,” why does she think business should be defended and championed? What does she think is a proper defense of business, and why?
  • Ragnar Danneskjöld says he loves that which has rarely been loved, namely, human ability. What do you think this means? How does it relate to the idea: “From each according to his ability, to each according to his need”? Do you agree or disagree with Ragnar’s attitude? Explain.

Requirements

• No application is required. Contest is open to students worldwide, except where void or prohibited by law. Essays must be written in English only.
• Entrant must be a 12th-grader, college undergraduate or graduate student. Verification of school enrollment will be required for all winning entrants.
• To avoid disqualification, mailed-in essays must include a stapled cover sheet with the following information:
  1. 1. your name and address;
  2. 2. your email address (if available);
  3. 3. the name and address of your school;
  4. 4. topic selected (#1, 2 or 3 from the “Topics” tab);
  5. 5. your current grade level; and
  6. 6. (optional) the name of the teacher who assigned the essay if you are completing it for classroom credit.
• Essay must be no fewer than 800 and no more than 1,600 words in length, double-spaced. Spelling errors and/or written corrections (by anyone) found on the essay will count against the final grade and should be omitted before submission.
• One entry per student.