<P> Rand is not the only famous author to invent a character with this name . Pulp fiction author Robert E. Howard, creator of heroes such as Conan the Barbarian, used a villain named John Galt--also a man of mystery missing for a long time and possessed of great wealth, trying to manipulate his world from the background--in the tale "Black Talons" in 1933, more than twenty years before Atlas Shrugged was published . </P> <P> The Galt character has been compared to various iconic figures from literature and history . In the novel itself, he is compared with Prometheus from the Greek myths . English literature scholar Mimi Reisel Gladstein sees similarities to the figures of Arthur and Galahad from the Arthurian legends . Parallels have also been drawn to Captain Nemo, the anti-hero of Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, who has likewise turned his back on "civilization" in self - imposed exile with a number of chosen allies, refusing to partake in a society he views as irreconcilably evil and oppressive . </P> <P> Galt is not necessarily intended to be a rounded or realistic character; he has been called "more a symbol than a person" and "two - dimensional". Mimi Reisel Gladstein describes Galt as "more icon than character". Rand's own notes indicate that she expected the character to have "(n) o progression" and "no inner conflict" because he was "integrated (indivisible) and perfect". </P> <P> The book's opening line, "Who is John Galt?", becomes an expression of helplessness and despair at the current state of the novel's fictionalized world . The book's protagonist, Dagny Taggart, hears a number of legends of Galt, before finding him . In one legend Galt seeks the lost island of Atlantis, in another he discovers the Fountain of Youth . After eventually joining Galt's cause, Taggart learns that all of the stories have an element of truth to them . She names the Colorado spur of her railroad line the "John Galt Line" which surprises many people . When asked "Who is John Galt?", she replies "We are!" </P>

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