Mike Donnigan, Alvah Scarrett - Characters, The Fountainhead | The Fountainhead - Summary, Themes and Characters - Novels PDF Download

Mike Donnigan

Mike is a tough electrician who becomes one of Roark's best friends. Mike initially thinks that Roark is another Peter Keating type—a whiny office boy who doesn't know anything about actual construction work. Roark of course dazzles Mike with his knowledge, and Mike quickly becomes a fan. Mike ends up working on all of Roark's buildings and sticks by Roark through a lot of tough times, including both of his trials. Mike basically represents the importance of friendship and the admirable nature of skilled laboring.

Alvah Scarrett

Scarrett's last name sounds like the word "scared," which clues us in to the nature of his character. Scarrett is a rather nervous man who is totally devoted to The Banner and to Wynand. And given all the trails faced by The Banner in this book, it makes sense that Scarrett spends much of the novel in some stage of a meltdown.

Scarrett is a classic minion who thinks that his boss Wynard is the bee's knees. But even though Scarrett devotes his life to something flawed, he's not a bad guy. In fact, he's pretty likable. Scarrett a one man reflection of the masses; overall he's a decent guy, but he's still very misguided.