In Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Biff, a man struggling to get a grasp on adulthood, states to his brother Happy that “I oughta get married. Maybe I oughta get stuck into something. Maybe that’s my trouble. I’m like a boy. I’m not married, I’m not in business, I just—I’m like a boy. Are you content, Hap? You’re a success, aren’t you? Are you content?” (Miller 23). In a thoroughly developed essay, explain your position on the relationship between contentment and success by gathering evidence from text, observation, or personal experience.
The Balancing Act
As one ventures into the realm of adulthood, they often find themselves struggling for balance. Maybe it’s the balance between work and finishing school, maybe between business life and social life, or even between naievety and professionalism. Regardless, the clash between the two opposing elements that separate adolescence from adulthood can typically be boiled down to two things: success and contentment. The perfect formula would, of course, be …show more content…
Furthermore, as exemplified in the quote above by the repeated emphasis of the word marriage, it’s clear that Biff longs for a simple life rather than an affluent one—a life that would provide him with family instead of loneliness, and therefore contentment over success.
It’s possible that an individual can encounter the self-reflective dispute between content and success prior to becoming fully engulfed in the transition from adolescent to adult. Take high school, for example, and the overwhelming amount of pressure to succeed. Statements like “you won’t get into a good college if you don’t take AP classes,” and “SAT scores determine your future,” and “you could always do better” plague the student’s mind. How is one expected to be content if every amount of success could always be more? They
The Balancing Act
As one ventures into the realm of adulthood, they often find themselves struggling for balance. Maybe it’s the balance between work and finishing school, maybe between business life and social life, or even between naievety and professionalism. Regardless, the clash between the two opposing elements that separate adolescence from adulthood can typically be boiled down to two things: success and contentment. The perfect formula would, of course, be …show more content…
Furthermore, as exemplified in the quote above by the repeated emphasis of the word marriage, it’s clear that Biff longs for a simple life rather than an affluent one—a life that would provide him with family instead of loneliness, and therefore contentment over success.
It’s possible that an individual can encounter the self-reflective dispute between content and success prior to becoming fully engulfed in the transition from adolescent to adult. Take high school, for example, and the overwhelming amount of pressure to succeed. Statements like “you won’t get into a good college if you don’t take AP classes,” and “SAT scores determine your future,” and “you could always do better” plague the student’s mind. How is one expected to be content if every amount of success could always be more? They