Preview

Career Success at What Cost? Work vs. Personal Life in the Devil Wears Prada

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
2397 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Career Success at What Cost? Work vs. Personal Life in the Devil Wears Prada
Career Success at What Cost?
Work vs. Personal Life in The Devil Wears Prada

This essay is about how a woman adjusts and sacrifices her life to be able to meet needs of the work life balance vs. the personal life balance. It is achieved by looking closely at the two main characters and how they constantly have to choose between personal and work life and to be able to maintain a balance or rather not. It is a good choice of movie to look into the theme of work life vs personal life, as this is a common existing problem in today’s work culture and it enlightens the choices and options one has to choose from. This essay looks at two different women who work in a same field yet are worlds apart and end up having to choose either or . The essay then concludes about that choices needed or demanded to be made and sacrifices are made by every individual in the end whether they want to or not.

We all hope to have a boss who guides and inspires us to fulfil our professional goals as we contribute to our organization’s success. However, recognizing how rare that kind of mentor is, many of us are satisified to work for someone who is unsuccessful, but pleasant to work with, someone who would guide us and be approachable without biting our heads off. Such a person is, at least, more tolerable than a boss who makes every workday a living hell. The Devil Wears Prada brings to life that very terrifying scenario.

Andrea Sachs (Anne Hathaway), a college graduate who won writing prizes as a student but is unable to secure a job in journalism, had to settle for a job that is related creatively to her choice of expertise. Andrea (Andy) is assigned as the assistant to Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), who is the editor in chief of Runway magazine based in the busy lives of Manhattan. The tasks Miranda assigns her – range from finding and fetching only vaguely described pants to scoring the latest unpublished Harry Potter manuscript within a very limited time frame. All

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Most of the Women’s careers may be considered by the men as a source of conflict, having the arguments such as women will end up neglecting their families’ responsibility thus changing the man’s influence and power, his incertitude regarding the competition in professionalism as well as the risk to weaken the marital relation. The new status of the women is affecting both the children and the man thus the woman who has been living a secret war as well (Parkin, 2011). Women should understand the need for the self-accomplishment by going to their workforce but should never forget that the traditional mindset is still affecting their modern vision since they need to be caregivers, mothers as well as wives to their husbands. In the current workforce, both the women and men will most likely fail in embracing the traditional roles of the gender than some years back, there has been a dramatical rise of stress for the working men over the years since there has been an increase in the kids as well as the household chores. Overcome last few decades, there has been a clear picture of in the changing trends of the women’s and men’s…

    • 361 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    I also agree with the section of the article that deals with conflicts in a person’s self-concept. As a working mother, I have experienced the same thing that Brouwer discusses in this section. I have felt firsthand how conflicts in my personal life can affect my work, and vice versa. When I want to be in my role as a mother, but am forced to be at work when my daughter’s class is going on a field trip, I may become short-tempered with others at work, and later have a jealous attitude toward the mothers who were able to attend. Usually, when those two roles of mine collide, it is not a pleasant thing. Each individual role is difficult on its own, but when I am trying to fill both roles at once, it is nearly impossible.…

    • 647 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Singing Silence

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Sacrificing conventional lives is one of the ways for people to obtain a more fulfilled life. In the short story “ The Singing Silence”, the author Eva-Lis Wuorio tells us a life story of the main character Vicente. Vicente is a person that doesn’t have life stability but has achieved a fulfilled life. First, he worked as a porter on a quay, at which he set himself a goal: to be a successful porter. Secondly, he accidentally made a serious mistake, for which he determined to make up for the loss. Thirdly, Vicente tried to learn a completely new activity in his 60s, which turned out to be another goal to attain. Finally, he realized his dreams dramatically. Through this story, Eva-Lis Wuorio intends for the reader to appreciate that individuals may become more fulfilled if we sacrifice conventional lives because we will always have a new struggling aim resulting in our active participation in our jobs, confidence about the amending for our mistakes, courage to face challenges and the understanding of real life meaning. .…

    • 620 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    It also conveys the idea that women were not considered as important as males because it is to be the way they truly are. Lastly, this also may have signified that women were all viewed as the same and that differentiation was only amongst men. From this, women were to only serve as housewives and that was the sole priority for them to do. The perspective of the author shows that the roles of women in high society were dignified and they had no freedom towards any other activity than this sole purpose. The audience is to be shown how women were denied privileges and their continued roles as…

    • 673 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Scene focuses on the relationship between Young Woman and her Mother. Young Girl is like a puppet to her Mother, a woman who doesn’t listen and has become a part of automated life. She aims to avoid any questions about life and love Young Woman asks her, and instead says only “Love! – what does that amount to! Will it clothe you? Will it feed you? Will it pay the bills?” When Young Woman questions her mother, she replies, “I suppose I did – I don’t know – I’ve forgotten – what difference does it make – now?” Young Woman fears her life for becoming like her mother is the way of most women.…

    • 956 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The film Enduring Love deals with a number of different characters and their lives after participating in a traumatic event with each other. In this paper I will defend the thesis that the title “Enduring Love” is misleading; not only is it not love, but it is also not enduring. The tragic event that the characters share together transformed their lives into something that cannot be defined as “enduring love”. In order to defend this thesis Section One will define key terms such as love, enduring, transformation, and tragic. Section Two will offer examples from the film that will defend my thesis. Section three will answer potential objections to my thesis. Finally the conclusion will summarize what the paper has proven.…

    • 968 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The females in “Woman Work” and “Girl” are complete opposites. One subject is a young girl being taught “rules of life” by her mother while the other is a mother herself. The woman in “Woman Work” is experiencing the hardships of life taking it day by day. On the other hand, the young girl in “Girl” is being taught “rules” so that she can achieve what the woman in “Woman Work” has, a good standing, a family, a home, and things to tend to. With the young adolescent in “Girl” just now entering the world and being exposed to the harsh realities so soon, it creates a dark contrast to the airy tone of “Woman Work” portrayed through the woman’s actions and words.…

    • 1436 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Toxic Leadership

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Analyst Gillian Flynn provides a graphic description of a toxic manager as the: "manager who bullies, threatens, yells. The manager whose mood swings determine the climate of the office on any given workday. Who forces employees to whisper in sympathy in cubicles and hallways. The backbiting, belittling boss from hell. Call it what you want - poor interpersonal skills, unfortunate office practices - but some people, by sheer shameful force of their personalities make working for them rotten."…

    • 1012 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Best Essays

    Women in Crime

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Williams, J. (2000). Unbending gender: why family and work conflict and what to do about it. New York, NY: Oxford University Press…

    • 316 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Many professional women recognized that they had a recurrent consciousness, always with the dissatisfaction of feeling that when they are at work they are failing their family and maternal duties but when they are busy with family feel they fail in their work. This shows the effect of women’s role in the past because they still feel that they are designated to taking care of their children’s needs at home and, therefore, stopped having…

    • 1493 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    The workplace has become so hectic these days that workers find it hard to lift their fingers off their work stations and work areas. It has become so demanding to the extent of workers taking some unfinished assignments home in the evening after a long day’s work. Though it started as some isolated case, it is now commonplace to find employees carrying huge diaries and paperwork back home to complete the task away from the office. In her article Paul (1998) gives the example of Arlene Price, a Systems Analyst by profession. The individual attests to the above fact by saying that in her view the difference between work tine and her own time has become blurred to the extent that she can freely walk out of the office and majestically stride towards the massage parlour on a Monday afternoon or participate in a morning lingerie sale. These sentiments try to explain why these days, giving oneself some time off during the working hours has become commonplace.…

    • 2339 Words
    • 10 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Throughout most of history woman have faced an imbalance within their social class opposed to the male gender. They have had fewer rights and much fewer career opportunities, the stereotype that a women’s place is in the home is due to the most socially accepted and common career of wifehood and motherhood. Through the comparison of Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fifth Business by Robertson Davies the contrasts between both works are explored from the feminist perspective. The status of woman in the early and mid nineteen hundreds is reflected by the lifestyles of Dunstan’s mother Mrs. Ramsey and Linda Loman. Dunstan’s and Happy’s attitude and the ways in which they care for the woman they have been intimate with throughout their lives. Lastly examined is contrast between the impacts of Mrs. Dempster’s episode of infidelity opposed to Willy’s similar affair.…

    • 1473 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    One of the best ways to reduce the number of “bad bosses” in an organization is to avoid hiring them in the first place. Kaye cites a common mistake organizations make in this regard when promoting into management is to hire based on technical skills that made the employee successful in their previous position, but which do not equate to success in a management role. The implication is that successful employees should not be marked for promotion into management simply because their previous performance “earned them a promotion”. Emphasis is placed on identifying traits of successful managers, and searching for a candidate who demonstrates those skills and experience.…

    • 698 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Types of Bosses

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The alarm clock goes off and it’s time to get your self up, ready and motivated to go to work and face that “Boss”. Unfortunately, like deadlines and overtime, bosses are one of those things you just can’t stay clear of in the workplace. Some of which we could not stand and others that we looked up to and respected, these bosses have made an impact on how we perform at our jobs. The way your boss treats you, can either be a motivator or one that is intimidating. But how do you identify these odd cults of personalities? I will briefly describe the types of bosses and will leave you to examine for yourself of how you would describe your current boss. Or maybe this will describe you as a manager and how it actually affects your employees.…

    • 1202 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Poem Free Bird

    • 1573 Words
    • 5 Pages

    D. THESIS: This seemingly idealistic couple is divided by dreams of living a daring life with European travel, conflicting with the practicality of raising a family. The author realistically portrays a complex couple seeped in the traditions of the 1950’s and demonstrates the selfish and shortsightedness of both partners, never looking for compromise.…

    • 1573 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Powerful Essays