Hey guys, it's Allison.
Today in class, we debated whether or not we considered Willy a failure. Though it is a somewhat unrelated thought, i began to wonder if both books subtly commented on the changing ways of the business world.
The late 1800's and early 1900's in America brought about rapid change in the traditional business politics of America. The so-called "Robber Barons" were taking away big business from "mom and pop" type establishments. These monopolists changed the face of business forever when they achieved success by stepping on all of the "little people". From the situations presented in Death of a Salesman and The Great Gatsby, I began to think that the authors of the two novels had commented on these changing business ethics.
In Death of a Salesman, Willy is dumbfounded when he addresses Howard about working closer to home, and he ends up getting fired from the company. Willy had been working for Howard's father since before Howard was even born and couldn't believe that he was being let go. Willy had been a close friend of Howard's father, who not only told Willy that he would always have a job for Willy, but he also asked Willy if he should name his son Howard. With such experiences with friendly business values, Willy couldn't believe that he was fired just because he wasn't making enough profit to be "pulling his weight" in the company. Willy thought that since he was almost family, he should have been able to keep his job, even if he wasn't making the company any money.
In The Great Gatsby, Gatsby made his fortune doing business, albeit illegal, which allowed him to maintain such an opulent lifestyle. Gatsby conducted his business in an impersonal manner and seemed to be more concerned with his own personal gain than with the well-being of his business partners. Towards the end of the novel, Tom Buchanan confronted Gatsby about his illegal business deals and how Gatsby had cheated one of his business partners (who happened to be friends with Tom). Another bit of evidence that shows that business was impersonal was that even Gatsby's number one business partner didn't attend his funeral because he "didn't want to get mixed up in it".
By depicting the business world in such an impersonal manner, I think the two authors were commenting on the way in which the old business values that held friendliness to a high standard were replaced by values brought about by the monopolists that said that personal gain and making profits were more important than looking out for the well-being of others. Business had become an impersonal atmosphere and I guess you could say that this was the beginning of the phrase "it's nothing personal, it's just business".
What do you guys think?
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2 comments:
Hey this is paige. I agree I think that business has definately turned into something just about money and personal gain. If we live in a world filled with unoriginality that "Merchants of Cool" depicted how can their be any good old fashion businesses? Any old time mom and pop shop is immediately bought out by the nearest starbucks or mcdonalds. Corporations are now centered on speed and not quality. I always notice the lack of customer service/care in most places, people in the business world just don't have the same perspective as before.
Hey this is paige. I agree I think that business has definately turned into something just about money and personal gain. If we live in a world filled with unoriginality that "Merchants of Cool" depicted how can their be any good old fashion businesses? Any old time mom and pop shop is immediately bought out by the nearest starbucks or mcdonalds. Corporations are now centered on speed and not quality. I always notice the lack of customer service/care in most places, people in the business world just don't have the same perspective as before.
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