Ethical Dilemma In The Devil Wears Prada By Lauren Weisberger

Improved Essays
The film The Devil Wears Prada by Lauren Weisberger is the story of Andrea; a college

graduate with a degree in English pursuing her dream of becoming a writer. While seeking for a

job that pays the bills, she applies for the assistant position of Miranda Presley, the director of

Runway, one of the most prestigious fashion magazines in the world. Andrea knows that if she

manages to work for Miranda, she will get a prominent reputation that will open a lot of doors in

her career. Moreover, she will have the job experience needed in her professional journey of

becoming a respected journalist. However, she is so obsessed with meeting the Miranda high

standards that she forgets what is important to her. She puts aside her values,
…show more content…
Miranda is portrayed as a legend, but she is cruel and despot. She abuses her power and

privileges, as the director of the magazine, to order people around. She is an authoritarian who

doesn’t have compassion for others. Additionally, she takes pleasure out of humiliating her

employees. She assures Andrea that she is disappointed in her because she can’t meet her needs.

For instance, she demonstrates this by saying “So I told myself, go ahead. Take a chance, hire

the same smart fat girl”. She constantly threatens Andrea by firing her if she doesn’t perform in a

certain way. As a result, Andrea knows that if she wants to keep her job, she has to change her

image and meet the high demands of her boss. On the other hand, Miranda exemplifies traits of

abusive power toward her workers, which is unethical because she’s using and hurting people

just to accomplish her goals. Since Miranda holds a higher position in the Runway Company, she

should be aware of the importance in values such as compassion, integrity and generosity. She

should treat people with respect and kindness. Moreover, she should encourage her workers,
…show more content…
She has to change her image, her values to make Miranda content. In

order to work in the company, the employees have to look a certain way. For example, Andrea

had to change her appearance by losing weight and wearing the brands that the company

sponsors. At some point, she forgets her dream of becoming a professional journalist; she

forgets her values and jeopardizes her relationships with her boyfriend and friends. For instance,

Andrea stole the manuscript of the book Harry prior to becoming published because Miranda

wanted to give the book to her twins. She also offered Andrea the opportunity to go to Paris with

her when she was initially going to take Emily her other assistant. Going to Paris for one of the

most important event in the fashion industry was Emily’s dream. She had worked very hard to

fulfill her dream. However she was hopeless when Andrea took this away from her. Even though

she knew it was her friend’s dream to go to Paris, she decides to go on the trip, betraying her

friend, saying that she has no other choice. I believe, Andrea should have stood up for what

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    When faced with a challenge, one must learn to cope well. However, these coping methods must change when different challenges are faced. In the novel Drums, Girls, and Dangerous Pie, the Alper family must cope with Jeffrey’s illness. Over the course of the novel, their coping mechanisms develop and change. The different struggles that the family face define what kinds of coping methods that they need and can afford.…

    • 747 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Throughout Jeanette Wall’s memoir The Glass Castle, the author utilizes diverse and creative language, diction, and style to convey themes about nonconformity and self-sufficiency, while teaching strong lessons on individuality, endurance, and strength. Although both of Jeanette’s parents, Rose Mary and Rex, are irresponsible, selfish, and reckless, they did instill valuable life lessons and reflect meaningful sentiments onto their children, Lori, Jeanette, Brian, and Maureen. Rex Walls creates false pretenses to replicate a lifestyle of wanderers or explorers and to make up for insufficient income; however, he inspires young Jeanette radically and becomes a catalyst for her hopes, dreams, and uniqueness. The parents manage to teach their kids to be thoughtful, intelligent, brave, and hardworking, despite suffering and unfavorable conditions.…

    • 999 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Climbing The Golden Arches” is an essay written by Marissa Nuñez published originally in New Youth Connections, republished in The Norton Sampler. The main idea of this essay is that although the road to a successful career is fraught with hardships, it can be overcome with hard work and determination. At the beginning of the essay, Nuñez describes a scene in which she and her cousin went to eat at McDonald’s and decided to try out for a job there out of curiosity. They filed their applications and about a month later had their job interviews in which both passed. The author was initially surprised to receive the job but that turned into happiness when she realized that she no longer would have to depend on her mother for money anymore.…

    • 714 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    For instance, she very clearly thinks that American beauty standards are too narrow. She emphasizes this idea by pointing out that she and her sisters “painstakingly rolled [their] long, curly hair… like our classmates” and “needed a strong foundation to tone down that olive.”. This social pressure even made Alvarez and her sisters clearly disobey their mother by buying Nair and applying it to their young skin. This act of rebellion was committed because the children dreamed of having “long, silky limbs” like the models on…

    • 493 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the twentieth century Dominican Republic, soldier Rafael Trujillo rose through the military ranks, eventually becoming leader of his country. From there, he imposed a brutal regime, limiting human rights and freedoms. While citizens publically expressed approval of their government in order to avoid arrest, many belonged to underground groups that supported a revolution. Three of the most prominent members of this group were the Mirabal sisters: Patria, Minerva, and Maria Teresa. Minerva Mirabal was the first of the sisters to have these revolutionary ideas, and was the most radical of the three.…

    • 1264 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Jose Flores Rodriguez Block 6 Mrs. Daniels English III - Dual Credit 1 December 2015 Their Eyes Were Watching God - Chapters 11-15 Socratic Seminar Questions Chapter 11 What are some reasons of why Janie has decided to pay attention to Tea Cake after she had told herself she would ignore him and treat him coldly? How are Tea Cake and Joe Starks different from one another, specifically with how they each treated Janie?…

    • 962 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “Challenges are what make life interesting and overcoming them is what makes life meaningful” Joshua J. Marine. Betty Marie overcame her obstacles in many different ways. Like she ignored the kids who bullied her about her last name, she kept her mind on her career, and she always knows that being an Osage Indian is nothing funny, but something to be proud of. At first Betty Marie was shy and docile, so she was not able to become famous in her point in life.…

    • 357 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    A Rose for Emily/ the yellow wallpaper William Faulkner and Charlotte Gilman were both early nineteenth century writers. Faulkner’s “A Rose for Emily” and Gilman’s “The Yellow Wallpaper” involve two woman enduring emotional situations. In “The Yellow Wallpaper” the narrator is suffering from depression and her own loneliness. “A Rose for Emily” shows a woman with traditional views struggling with loneliness. These two stories contain uncontrollable changes and the struggles the women endure while trying to accept them.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Image of the Professional Nurse As we view the media daily, we tend to see that there are many different aspects of our daily lives being portrayed either negatively or positively. The image of nursing is a very important factor because it may change people’s image on the professional nurse. The media portrays various misconceptions about nurses. However, the positive portrayals of nurses in some concepts are being revealed. This paper further explores how the image of the professional nurse is portrayed positively in the media.…

    • 1252 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    William Clement Stone once said, “Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.” W. Clement Stone believed that honesty was the best policy if you wanted to live a good life.…

    • 736 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Lizzie Borden was considered guilty and there are many clues that were used to prove this. For example, she used different alibis when she was asker were she was. Some thing she was just trying to cobe for someone…

    • 128 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Negligence from parental characters can subsequently affect a child while also having an instantaneous effect. Rex and Rose Mary Walls in The Glass Castle by Jeannette walls pay little attention to their children and the effects their actions inflict on them. As the parents act childish and dismiss their responsibilities Jeanette is made to assume a parental role. She has faced with the families financial issues as well as her sibling's personal lives. She adapts to her role in the family becoming responsible at a young age while also being susceptible to dealing with certain situations immaturely.…

    • 1055 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Iris

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Iris is a documentary film made by Albert maysles on the story an ageless woman that dress flamboyantly; the documentary is more than a fashion and a design icon. These films talks more about creativity represent a singular woman whose life has passion for fashion and art. Iris is one of the world best known fashion design innovator and educators which worked for woman’s wear daily before she now opening her interior design business, she also a celebrity that people recognize her in magazine as the very old woman in Manhattan with the huge glasses and enough marble beads around her neck to cause spine damage. When Iris Apfel was 93 years of age she’s still appearing for Mac cosmetics and she’s still have time and capacity to visit professors…

    • 865 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Chronicle of a Death Foretold is a narrative that retells the events leading up to the death of Santiago Nasar. Throughout the novella, there are many instances in which a man is in a place of power, however, the female characters often are denied this opportunity. Power can be defined as having the ability to stand up for yourself or others, make your own decisions, and having an important role in society. It is the sole characteristic that differentiates men from women in Chronicle of a Death Foretold. Despite the few instances where women are placed in positions of power, Gabriel Garcia Marquez effectively proves that women are depicted as powerless through the use of machismo throughout the story, integrating Colombian gender roles…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Great Essays

    The Devil Wears Prada’s storyline revolves around the unlikely relationship that is eventually formed between Andrea ‘Andy’ Sachs, a dedicated journalism graduate who knows absolutely nothing about the fashion world, and Miranda Priestley, the cutthroat editor-in-chief of the fictional Runway magazine, whose entire life is surrendered to Jimmy Choos, Prada purses, crushed souls, and broken dreams. After having no luck in applying for any respectable newspaper in New York City, Andy receives the opportunity to interview for Runway magazine. As she is an aspiring writer and will do anything to have her voice heard, she applies - only to find out that she will be working as Miranda’s second assistant, not as a writer nor a contributor. Despite being heartlessly humiliated, Andy holds her own and mildly impresses Miranda with her bravado, earning her the job alongside Emily, Miranda’s boss-pleasing first assistant.…

    • 1591 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays

Related Topics