My comment about rejecting authority was more about my relationship with my teacher, not internal relationships within the book. Perhaps the paradox was my teacher then, no? Personally, I don't believe in Rand's philosophy. I think Roark is an unbelieveable archetype. If my teacher idolizes Rand and says she agrees with the philosophy, it's _her_ paradox for telling me "no, that's wrong" if I, for example, say that I agree that Roark is Rand's ideal man, but that I believe Gail Wynand is the antithesis of Rand's ideal man because he _has the power_ (and money) to reject the status quo but still refuses to do so (whereas Keating, whom most of the class and the teacher selected as the antithesis, is just a social climber and is working for that power).