The company man - Essay Example

THE COMPANY MAN By Location of the The Company Man “The Company Man,” is one of Ellen Goodman’s writing that clearly shows the picture of the corporate America. The main character is Phil, who is a workaholic and worked himself to death. Phil was a fifty-one-year-old vice president of the company and was among the three most preferred candidates for the presidential post in case of any emergency. Goodman describes Phil as an excessively hard worker, working six days a week yet having no extracurricular activities.

Despite being overweight, he feels comfortable. However, the situation leaves him exposed to a heart attack.Phil got along well with those working for him, some of whom the company may consider for his replacement. Upon his demise, Phil left his wife Hellen, who the author describes as a lovely woman having no necessary skills for work. She gave up working and resorted to taking care of the children. However, Hellen seems less bothered by Phil’s death because, to her, Phil was married to his work but not her.

The surviving sons of Phil seem to have no connection with him before his death. The eldest son searches information about his father’s nature from the neighbors and the answer he gets “his dad was an embarrassment.” Phil’s girl uses to view him mockingly and choose to live near her mom. The youngest son was Phil’s favorite. At his funeral, the company president describes Phil as hardworking and a difficult man to replace. Just the evening after his funeral, the president was already organizing Phil’s replacement.

The story is ironical in that it depicts Phil as hardworking yet the same work made him alienated from his family and social life. Ideally, “The company man,” is a story that illustrates the actual nature of corporate America.