The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit

Tom Rath is the protagonist of The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. The novel charts his passage through the corporate world, as represented by his wearing of the titular suit. At the beginning of the novel, Tom wants more. He has done everything expected of him in life, yet he feels dissatisfied. He served his country in World War II, returned home, married his fiancée, fathered children, and worked hard every day in his unremarkable job, only to find himself caught in a trap of Suburbanization and Alienation which he finds existentially distasteful. Tom dislikes his position in life. He wants more, especially when compared to the relatively wealthy conditions of his youth. Tom grew up surrounded by wealth which his parents and grandparents squandered. Now, he does not benefit materially from their wealth but he must compare his childhood with the experience he is providing for his own children. He feels poor, inadequate, frustrated, and unable to express these feelings because society reinforces the belief that he already has everything he could possibly need. Tom has done everything right. He has lived by society’s expectations. Yet he cannot explain why he derives no satisfaction from life.