The Valley of Childish Things

Interpreting “The Valley of Childish Things” from the point of view of Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism (for instructors).

      “My philosophy, in essence, is the concept of man as a heroic being, with his own happiness as the moral purpose of his life, with productive achievement as his noblest activity, and reason as his only,” writes Ayn Rand in her book The Virtue of Selfishness. This statement defines her philosophy of Objectivism, often referred to as Objective Materialism. According to this point of view, the means by which we live our lives as humans is reason, which enables us to live, learn, and prosper. Knowledge about the world is learned; we learn what is good and how to achieve it.

      In “The Valley of Childish Things” the girl learns of the world from the books that the children read in the Valley of Childish Things and decides to find out more about the world beyond. The other children do not want to go, so she ventures out alone. As with the protagonists in many of Rand’s books, they fail to understand her.

      In the world beyond, the girl learns many things. She wants to share what she has learned with her friends and decides to head back. On the way, she meets a boy who used to play in the Valley of Childish Things also, and hears of his ideas and plans. She feels

she has found someone who shares her ambitions and enthusiasm. However, his actions prove her wrong.

      Ayn Rand is an advocate for rational self interest. As she writes, “By the use of reason, an individual takes into account all of the factors that one can identify, projects the consequences of potential courses of action, and adopts principled policies of action. The principled policies an individual should adopt are called virtues.” However, there are few people with the ability to adopt such virtues. And the boy, who has grown into a man, is one of them.

      On reaching the Valley again, both the boy and the girl are greeted by their friends, who are still pursuing mundane childish activities. The boy who has grown into a man turns to a pretty little girl and starts playing in the sand with her. He has promptly forgotten his reason for returning, and instead when the girl, who has grown into a woman, asks him to help her, he says that he is busy, “kindly” adding that she should have taken better care of her complexion!

      A self-respecting individual according to Objectivism has several virtues: the use of reason, commitment to act according to reason, productiveness, being committed to the values of productiveness, honesty and being committed to the values of honesty. The girl who has grown into a woman discovers that people do not appreciate those who ‘think’ or make them ‘think’. She is a self-respecting individual, and as with Objectivism in this Late Capitalist world still shrouded in self-sacrificing hypocrisy, which Rand says is a dangerous characteristic as it lauds self-sacrifice and destruction, she stands alone.

The man she thought would help her is not committed to act according to reason, or the values of productiveness which he is aware of, and he ignores honesty to self. He is, according to the rationalisation of Objectivism, an individual who lack self-respect.

      On the other hand, the girl who has grown into a woman, must make a choice. This is where the final virtue of selfishness comes in: independence and integrity. The woman must now think and act by her own efforts, being committed to the policy of independent action. She must identify her interest and achieve them, committed to her beliefs, which affirms her virtue of integrity. Even though it seems that not one person in the Valley supports her, the woman must have her pride intact and her moral ambitiousness that led her back to her childhood playmates. This is where the test, as in the real world, begins.

      As it is only by living the morality of self interest that one will survive, live, and achieve happiness, the question remains: will she be able to make herself the best she can be by shaping her character to the highest level possible? Or will she, like her friends, turn back to childish ways?