The Man In The Gray Fllannel Suit Analysis

One Value for Four Worlds
In The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit by Sloan Wilson is centered around the protagonist Tom who bears emotional burdens in the things he should carry in his life. Tom represents middle class American men who play roles as a son, husband, father, and workers. By describing Tom as a man who grew up with an absent father, who experienced the fear of death during the war, and who is conflicted about building a successful career, Wilson shows how Tom becomes mentally healthy by being true to himself and others, and how this honesty causes him start to act like his family is the most valuable world.
Even though Tom loves both Betsy and Maria truly, the readers could recognize the difference of Tom’s relationship with between each of them. While Tom greatly shows his pain and his joy to Maria, he is not himself in front of Betsy about his feeling, regardless of his will. Tom remembers the time when he was in Rome, and he was in the fear of death and he felt he is very short on time. One of way to get over the fear, he sincerely shared his feeling with Maria. This honesty makes him remember Maria as a woman who understand him in anyway, even though their relationship is temporary in time. In contrast, Tom could not share his inter-conflicts with Betsy who lives with a promise of marriage, …show more content…
Honesty has a power that changes people. Furthermore, it would be a best remedy of mental illness just like it worked on Tom. In The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit, Tom reveals that life always needs to be honest in relationship with other and even with oneself. Wilson gives message to the readers by saying, when people fail to express their emotion and when people not being honest to themselves or others, they are always in conflicts, at least internally. Telling the truth is the way each world can function with