The Company Man By Ellen Goodman Analysis

Are there ways to determine if your life has been successful? And who or what would determine your success: a person whom you’re close with, a stranger, or a dictionary? If it’s the dictionary, then “success” is given two definitions, which simply states, “the favorable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavors; the accomplishment of one's goals” and secondly “the attainment of wealth, position, honors, or the like.” Does this mean if I’m not well-liked, I don’t achieve my goals, and I don’t become wealthy from my propositions in life, am I defined as unsuccessful? I believe from a dictionaries point of view, that would be true. Similarly, in the topics mentioned in the two articles, “The Company Man” by Ellen Goodman and “The Sweet
Also, in this job, his or her goals should be easily achievable and unstressful. In order to achieve this goal, a person must find a beneficial range of determination. If a person is too hardworking, it is can have a disastrous effect on themselves and their family, such as the main character, Phil, in “The Company Man.” He was an overweight, workaholic and was a fifty-one-year-old vice president, who hardly spent time doing anything but work. His wife, Helen, felt that her husband’s work life completely took over his personal life too since she already missed him before he passed away. Phil worked six days a week without having leisure activities or spending time with friends and family. On the same day as his funeral, at precisely 5:00 P.M. the president of this company was looking to replace the man who essentially overworked himself to the point where his body couldn’t continue anymore. Yet it was almost all for nothing, simply to just to have financial security for himself, and his wife and children. However, he didn’t personally take good care of his family nor all of the people working under him. Which means he was liked but not well-liked, similar to Biff and Willy Loman in “The Death of a Salesman”.
In this play, Biff Loman has had a difficult time contributing to society after his time in high school. He didn’t graduate and go to college with his
His definition of success is when a person is aesthetically pleasing and is well-liked by others. And throughout this play, “well-liked” is used nine times, and they’re all used in the context of describing a person. Five of which are said by Willy and I think he wishes to be liked as much as Biff once was in high school. However, Biff is arguably unsuccessful because he didn’t finish high school, have a steady job, or try to accomplish much in life. Then he goes and blames his failures on his father. When Biff should be blaming himself, and realize he’s the only one who can change his future to become successful. A person cannot rely on being well-liked by