Role Of Irony In The Title “Man In A Gray Flannel Suit”

The Role Of Irony In The Title “Man In A Gray Flannel Suit”

The author of any literary works has a moral or practical lesson that the audience needs to grasp. Out of the many literary devices, Sloan Wilson, in his novel, uses irony to narrate how things work for a young American couple. The desire to live decently makes Tom change jobs from the army to public relations person. Ironically, Tom and his wife Betsy thought money did not matter. They later realized they needed more money. Wilson uses iron to teach society how passion for doing what one likes is sacrificed on the altar of pursuing money to raise a family.

At the novel’s beginning, the couple has a heated argument on a cut glass vase Betsy bought. The extravagance of his wife pissed off Tom, and out of anger, smashed the vase against the wall. He had known his wife to be a good manager of resources, and her insensitivity startled him more. Wilson brings out the contrast between the naïve lovebirds who believed money never mattered versus when the two were overwhelmed by bills and responsibilities that demanded thoughtful usage of every dime. “Tom came home one night to find that Betsy had bought a cut-glass vase for forty dollars. Such an extravagant gesture was utterly unlike her, at

least since the war” (Wiliam,15). According to Thomas, only things that matter, like a Gray Flannel suit for his business meetings, should be prioritized at the moment. Although Tom detests the idea of being public relations man, he gets the job because it has better pay. (Tim, 32)

Secondly, Wilson portrays irony at its best when Tom gets to know that his prospective boss, Hopkins works most of his hours per day with a substantial annual income. Yet, he lives middle-class life, which he can comfortably afford even without effort. It surprises Tom to realize Hopkins devotes all his energy to work for the sake of fame and affluence. Although he has a lot of money, he is not popular even in his neighbourhood. It is contrary for a man in Hopkin’s position to be publicly detested as president of the United Broadcasting Corporation. “ I just want to take all the possibilities into account. You say he’s doing this because he wants publicity–yet all his life, he’s detested publicity” (Wilson, 43). There is a possibility Hopkins’ motive to start a foundation is to get a good reputation and gain publicity for the sake of the United Broadcasting Corporation.

Furthermore, the book’s title, “ Man in the gray flannel suits”, is ironically validated when Tom visits his grandmother after Betsy informs him that the old woman got fractured thigh. In her bed, she tells him how sorry she was for not doing much for him, yet his grandfather, a senator, was a very wealthy man who had a couple of estates. It was unfortunate that most of the possession got lost. It is ironic for a senator’s grandson to be in Gray Flannel Suit, hopping from one career to another, trying to make ends meet for his young family. Tom Rath would be expected to live affluent life full of abundance, but that is not the case. “The Senator and I had so much. I’ve always been sorry we couldn’t do more for you” (Wilson, 63).

Tom and his family had to adjust to change in their lifestyle. Previously, the Hath’s family lived moderate life. Most of the things they did then needed changes to be up to their current level. The family used passive entertainment. Since life had changed for them for good, they would expect to embrace the change happily.

Nevertheless, the author depicts an opposite picture of them, finding it hard to respond accordingly. Betsy tells the children they will have to learn table manners when Peter carelessly pours his sirup over the waffles until it overflows. According to her, Peter is not mindful of table manners, and punishment would get him on track. “You children are going to learn some table manners. No waffles for you, Peter”( Wilson, 83)

When Tom flashbacked how he worked for the army, especially on the training ground, he wonders how life goes in circles.  He retaliates how generations teach generations morals of life.  He thinks his father must have been taught good morals to be a good citizen, which he transferred to him, which he will instil in his son too. Every human being should live in harmony with other people, and basically, no one should terminate the life of another. However, when he was working for the army in world war two, Tom killed many human beings, including his friend. In the military, they lived in a  world of illusion that was disconnected from reality. It is ironic for Tom to kill fellow human beings, yet he believes he was brought up very well by his father. “You take your children, and with all honesty, you teach them, “Thou Shalt Not Kill. You teach them self-respect if you can” (Wilson, 116). He

Undoubtedly, Tom finds himself trapped in a cage of romantic love between two women. The first woman is Betsy, his wife, who they had met in 1939. They had always planned the future together. They all wanted nothing but perfection in everything they did. If anything were short of what they had agreed, then it would ruin the entire plan. As they progressed in life, they had learned to work hard to achieve the future they had always wanted. However, failures of the past still lingered in their hearts. They concentrated on history and destiny so much that they had no present moment for their own. Although detailed and organized, Tom and Betsy there was no happiness in their marriage. The other woman was Maria who had extra. Tom and Maria lived at the moment with no plans for the past or the future. They were not bothered by the shape the lives were abought to take, neither did they harbour thoughts of regrets in their hearts. They did not give life much thought, yet it was exhilarating how happily life offered them. Irony at its best shows how chasing dreams and soaring great heights may never amount to the satisfaction expected, while living with no ambitions may as well be fulfilling. “That had been the trouble with him and Betsy: what with his brooding about the past and worrying about the future, there never had been any present at all. But he and Maria had expected nothing; they had started with hopelessness and had been astonished to learn that for a few weeks they could be happy” (Wilson, 194). Tom has been living a false life. He pretends to be happy with his wife and children when he is not. He is more comfortable with Maria than with Betsy. (Robert, 158)

There is a sharp contrast between the public old South Bay Country school Tom attended in his boyhood when he lived with his father and the private school in Rome where he took his two daughters, Barbara and Janey. He remembers vividly that his school was well structured with a reasonable number of students. Classrooms and playgrounds were not crowded with students. There was peace and serenity, which made the learning experience for learners enjoyable. In contrast, the private school which he took his children was crowded and awful. Furniture was scattered all over the classes and the hall. He detested that school when he witnessed the havoc the morning took his daughters to school. There was also a high degree of discrimination since students ridiculed Barbara and Jeaney for attending a public school. It is unfortunate for the man’s kids in a Gray Flannel Suit to be subjected to agony when he had worked hard to take them to the best school. Ironically, the private schools presumably supposed to offer the best learning services underperform their duty far below public schools. “It’s not just that I can’t afford to send my children to private school. I wonder what kind of schools they have for the children of the poor in Rome, he thought” (Wilson, 255).

When the United Broadcasting Corporation wanted to open a subsidiary company, Tom had a competitive edge in learning the organization’s operations. Since he was a personal assistant to the company’s president and had worked with him for a while, he was best suited for the position. Hopkins offered him the opportunity to enable him to scale to higher heights in his career. The offer would come along with other benefits like pay increment and shifting to a new city. Ironically Tom declined the offer. As much as he wanted money, he preferred to spend reasonable time with his family before another war separated him from it. He never liked the idea of his career being the essential thing in his life. “can’t get myself

convinced that my work is the most important thing in the world” (Wilson,272).

In his novel, “man in the gray flannel suit”, Wilson shows how irony is instrumental in delivering moral lessons of the story to the audience. At first, the couple is struggling to achieve the goal of living a modesty life. Then it attains a life of abundance where they can afford a reasonable living. Finally, Tom is invited to take a lucrative position which huge pay; however, he declines because he wants to spend his time with his family. Wilson articulates his ideas using irony to show that man in a Gray suit is working hard to attain the happiness of his family. All his sacrifices are made for the sake of his wife and children.

Work cited

Donahoo, Robert. “Beyond the Gray Flannel Suit: Books from the 1950s That Made American Culture.” (2006): 157-159.

Engles, Tim. “Ethnicized White Male Nostalgia: Sloan Wilson’s The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit.” White Male Nostalgia in Contemporary North American Literature. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham, 2018. 25-68.

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