Prof. Nathan Leslie
English 242
April 24, 2003
The Demise of the Working Man
The greed of the modern capitalist is destroying our society. This destruction is sometimes cleverly disguised and other times blatantly obvious. Eudora Welty was an intuitive writer who was able to recognize this destruction in the world around her and skillfully translate her observations into works of literature. Although the story “Death of a Traveling Salesman” was only Welty’s first published story, she clearly saw the damaging effects of capitalism and beautifully illustrated these effects not only in the setting of the story, but in the characters as well.
Capitalism is a fact of our everyday lives. It is present everywhere we turn and is the reason for almost everything we do. The self-sufficient man is scarcely found. Instead, every working class man (and that is most of us whether we are lower or middle class) needs to work for a living. Commodities (or capital) are produced for the selective few of the dominant class - the capitalists. In his book Masters of Social Theory: Karl Marx, Richard P. Appelbaum makes a poignant point: “Workers may produce the society’s wealth, yet in order to enjoy the fruits of that wealth they must first buy back the very commodities that their labor has produced” (72). That is exactly what happens in our capitalist society. The working man is first forced to work hard and then in order to sustain himself, he has to spend the money he just earned on the commodities he just produced. As time goes by, the problem compounds as “[. . .] the capitalist class [gets] smaller and wealthier, the working class [gets] more numerous and more impoverished” (Appelbaum 110).
Part of the power behind capitalism is its ability to control the lives and, more importantly, the money of the working man. In a description of capitalism, Professor William Kornblum states that “[. . .] the powerful classes in society (i.e., those who own and control the means of production) wish to control the working class and the poor so that they will produce more” (194). The more power and control exerted, the greater the profit. Appelbaum states: “Labor produces capital, the principal means of domination in capitalist society” (72). In other words, without any capital to control, there can be no capitalist society and capital only comes from the toil and labor of the working man. Consequently, the capitalist become the puppeteer and the working man becomes the puppet.
In its early stages, the whole concept of capitalism promised to be innovative and exciting. It seemed to minimize effort and work while maximizing profit and benefits. However, the implementation of this concept has proven that capitalism is an “[. . .] unstable system which only solved the problems it generated by creating even greater obstacles to its future progress” (McLellan 57). These obstacles are that the common everyday man has become exploited and even abused while the resourceful businessman has become a greedy dictator. Another obstacle is the effect capitalism has had on the economy. It is impossible for the economy to keep up with the greedy dictator and as a result, the “rate of profit [is decreasing]” for the capitalists and the “relative standard of living [is declining]” for the working class (McLellan 54).
One very ironic point is that “[. . .] the capitalists refuse to accept blame for the misery of the working class under capitalism” (Kornblum 322). Instead, they feel that if the working class is struggling or unhappy, it is because they do not work hard enough or they are not smart enough to produce wealth and happiness. Even more ironic is that the workers themselves buy into this notion because capitalism has become an unquestioning way of life. The working class is unable to clearly see the oppression they are engulfed in and the limitations imposed on them by capitalism.
Eudora Welty was one of few people who could identify the predatory nature of capitalism. Welty was a relatively private person and little is known about her personal life. She adamantly protected her privacy and maintained “that she [had] no personal history to speak of, and [added] that whatever evidence [existed] to the contrary she [was] going to burn” (Pierpont 160). However, what is known about Welty helps to establish her beliefs and provides a better understanding of her work.
Ironically, Welty’s perceptive talent did not created from her childhood experiences. Claudia Roth Pierpont gives an excellent overview of Welty’s early years in her book Passionate Minds: Women Rewriting the World. She writes:
In her best-selling memoir, “One Writer’s Beginnings,” Welty attributed her gifts and her success largely to having been the child of wonderful parents - an Ohio-born insurance man and a strong-minded West Virginia schoolteacher, who moved to Jackson after their marriage, in 1904. Welty, born in 1909, grew up in a prosperous home near the state capitol; she and her two younger brothers would roller-skate straight through the rotunda, part of a perfect idyll of childhood she portrayed, all kites and ice cream. She attended whites-only schools, of course and the rest of her world was equally enclosed; the only black people she appears to have seen were contented servants. According to her own report, quite unremarkably she questioned nothing (157).
It is obvious that Welty led a sheltered life with little or no experiences in the “real” world. Her childhood sounds like a Norman Rockwell painting and it would be easy to assume that as an adult, she led an equally sheltered life. In fact, she spent much of her time as an adult living with and caring for her mother. She admirably played the role of the dutiful daughter and was known for her gracious and courteous manner to all those around her. Nevertheless, Welty’s ingenuity stemmed from an experience she had as a young adult that abruptly awakened her from her ignorant slumber.
In 1935, Welty took a job for the Works Progress Administration working as a publicity agent. This job required extensive travel “[. . .] by car or bus through the depths of Mississippi” and exposed her to “[. . .] poverty - black and white - that she had never imagined before” (Pierpont 158). Her experience as a publicity agent opened her eyes and awakened her consciousness to the struggle of the working class. In her own words, Welty states: “[. . .] ‘my feelings were engaged by the outside world, I think for the first time’” (Pierpont 158). At first, Welty became impassioned with photography. She tried to capture what she saw on the streets in the pictures she developed. She even held a small exhibition of her photographs in which her “[. . .] subject was black Mississippians, in the fields or on the streets or simply looking outward, meeting impossible odds with a frank and powerful dignity” (Pierpont 158). Unfortunately, Welty’s skills were not appreciated and she was not a very popular photographer.
Instead of giving up, Welty turned to literature and successfully transformed her images on camera into more powerful images on paper. Her sympathy and understanding of the capitalist society made her work accessible and captivating to the common man. Pierpont explains this sympathy by stating: “She knew her outsiders and she understood what people used them for” (156). Welty also had a unique ability to “write” pictures in her stories. She was able to describe vivid characters and scenes, which allowed her to tell a story not only with words, but also with intense images in the reader’s mind.
In 1936, Welty published her first short story, “Death of a Traveling Salesman,” in a magazine called Manuscript. The main character, R. J. Bowman, is a traveling shoe salesman who has a fortunate car accident. A young couple helps him by sharing what little they have. Bowman leaves their home in the middle of the night but has a heart attack and dies just as he reaches his car. With the addition of a symbolic setting and inventive characters to this simple plot, this story takes an insightful look at the damaging effects of capitalism on the working man.
Everything about the setting is representative of the negative capitalist influence on our society. The story is based in the country, but not a luscious green countryside full of rolling hills, wildflowers and life. Instead it is set in a barren, dry, dusty countryside appropriately described as “desolate” (Welty 1416). The road itself is described as nothing more than a “[. . .] rutted dirt path” (Welty 1416). It is extremely fitting that a dead, barren countryside is the setting for this story since the greed of capitalism slowly sucks the life out of its victim, the working class, leaving nothing but lifeless robots to produce the commodities needed in a capitalist society.
The actual road Bowman is traveling on has no signposts. Bowman has no way of knowing where he is or where he is going other than his own sense of direction, which quickly becomes distorted. Just as with the capitalist society, once you get into the “system,” your vision becomes blurred, you become disoriented and it is difficult to see where you are and where you are going. The plight for self-actualization is deterred as you concentrate on surviving by meeting the basic necessities of life – food, shelter and clothing. In his book Marxism and History, Helmut Fleischer writes:
“The basic insight of historical materialism is ‘that men must first eat, drink, have somewhere to live and clothe themselves’ before taking cognizance of other things. Preservation of health and defence against dangers to life from the natural and social environment similarly form part of the basic function of the preservation of life. Here the strictest biological imperatives prevail” (47).
Although we are not examining historical materialism, the point Fleischer makes is relevant to the effects of capitalism on the working class. Capitalists depend on this element of human nature. If the working man is concentrating on preserving his life, how can he intellectually progress to something past mere survival? The working man has no direction other than instinct and becomes caught in a circle, continually working harder but never going anywhere. If signposts were put up for the working man, he would be able to recognize the path he is traveling on and explore the possibilities before him. Knowledge and awareness as well as the choice of freedom over oppression would create anarchy in the capitalist society and capitalism would ultimately fail. To avoid this, the signposts are removed leaving the working man disoriented and trapped in a circle where a lifestyle based upon mere survival persists.
The fact that Bowman’s car falls into a ravine rather than simply getting stuck in a ditch is also significant. Capitalism is full of dishonesty, guile and hidden secrets which give the impression of uniformity and smoothness. However, “ravines” of truth and knowledge are unavoidably created. Regardless of how hard the capitalists strive to smooth things over, these “ravines” are inevitable. Some people manage to stumble across them and “see” the naked reality of capitalism. The consequence of such an event is actually a very positive awakening. Bowman was lost and stuck in a circle until he stumbled upon a ravine and became temporarily immobilized. He then met a simple country couple who helped him arrive at the realization of his impeded progression.
The individual character of Bowman is also representative of the working class as a whole. He has been a traveling shoe salesman for fourteen years and is an example of what a capitalist society can do to a working man over time. His life has slowly deteriorated and by the time the reader “meets” him, he is a sick, empty, lonely, lost man robotically traveling from one place to the next trying to sell shoes. Life, love, laughter, self-fulfillment and progression are just some of the aspects of life stolen from Bowman (a working man) by the disease of capitalism. However, Bowman’s deteriorated state can be traced down to two very important factors: his physical deterioration and his distorted perception of himself and life.
Bowman is in a physically pathetic condition. He has been suffering from “. . . a long siege of influenza” and a “[. . .] very high fever [. . .] and had become weakened and pale [. . .]” (Welty 1416). He also suffers from some sort of heart problem – or in more explicit terms, he has a “broken” heart. He is physically unable to travel very far and has to frequently “[. . .] stop to rest” (Welty 1417). A life of devotion and hard work in a career of the capitalist society has brought Bowman to his sad, current state of physical weakness. All Bowman can concentrate on is his literal day-to-day survival and arriving at the next town for more shoe sales. Reaching this depleted state, Bowman should be concentrating on more important things such as love and family. Instead, this working man is bound by his perpetually monotonous life and continues to serve his master because that is what he is programmed to do. He would have continued this way until his death but fate intervened. Bowman’s awakening is sparked by his car falling into a ravine. This is a perfect demonstration that since the working man has to concentrate on survival, he will not have the energy to pursue anything but the circle of dazed labor for the benefit of capitalists unless in some form, fate intervenes.
Bowman’s perception of himself and life is in no better shape. He is isolated from the rest of the world and his perception of everything around him has become distorted. In her book Eudora Welty: A Study of the Short Fiction, Carol Ann Johnston states: “Bowman’s self-perception is warped, or “wavy”: when he looks in the mirror, he sees a bullfighter rather than his true self; his career in sales has left him without opportunity for self-knowledge” (43). Bowman cannot, or will not, see his true dismal self. His perception of who he is and what he has done with his life is distorted because he cannot establish his life’s path. The signposts are gone and Bowman has been lost for some time now. His perceptions of his surroundings are equally warped. He describes his transient living quarters as “[. . .] little rooms within little rooms, like a nest of Chinese paper boxes” (Welty 1416). He lives in a factory, a factory of little boxes within little boxes, producing profit for his puppeteer. His initial observation of the young pregnant wife was that “[. . .] he saw at once she was old” even though he “[. . .] looked at her carefully [. . .]” (Welty 1417-1418). As he stands there talking to the young woman, he states that his car is “[. . .] in the bottom of the ditch” instead of referring to the actually ravine it was in (Welty 1418). His first reaction to the couple is that they are mother and son in backwards way of life. Bowman cannot see the truth. He is unable to see reality and everything he views is distorted. He has been lost and disoriented for so long in a capitalist society that when he finally does see a simple and pure way of life, he dismisses it as curious and “stupid” (Welty 1418).
It is easy to understand why Bowman would initially feel that Sonny and his wife are ignorant. They have a meagerly furnished home, light and fire is not used until absolutely necessary and they rarely converse. They are plain, unsophisticated, uncomplicated people living their lives in a way they see fit. They are not caught up with fancy commercialized propaganda, nor do they appear to have any capitalist notions. This seems very strange to Bowman and he dismisses the couple as stupid. Yet this couple is symbolic of truth, knowledge and enlightenment. They possess something very foreign to Bowman – love. Johnston writes: “Welty shows us Bowman’s essential drama: because he has not experienced the essential element in life: an intimate relationship with another person” (44). Bowman cannot possibly understand something he has never experienced. As he spends time with them, he begins to acknowledge his own emptiness and recognizes the powerful relationship that Sonny and his wife hold. In this moment of emotional awakening, Bowman describes his heart as “[. . .] protesting against emptiness . . .” (Welty 1420). Bowman finally opens his eyes, sees the reality of the ravine he has stumbled into and yearns to have what this simple couple has. In the story, Bowman “. . . describes the relationship between the husband and wife to himself, emphasizing the purity of communication without the clutter of language, communication through the gesturing head or the raised eyebrow” (Johnston 45). He can see their pure and untarnished love and realizes he has been missing the very nectar of human nature and life. Elizabeth Evans beautifully describes Bowman’s state of mind at this time in her book Eudora Welty when she writes:
“In Sonny and his woman, Bowman has glimpsed the human family, domestic and societal. Although he realizes that money and solitude are not enough, remains alien to this domestic circle, and in a passage of unexpected lyric beauty, expresses the longings of a lonely man” (58).
He finally gets excited and decides to leave to find love and a family for himself, but in a sick twist of the same fate that brought him truth, he tragically dies just as he reaches his car, losing not only his life, but the potential to improve it even momentarily. “For Bowman, there is nothing but loneliness and isolation, exclusion from a family circle, and for him there comes no compensating primal joy, only a lonely death” (Evans 139).
Capitalism destroys its devoted laborers as illustrated in the tragic life of R. J. Bowman. “Death of a Traveling Salesman” is an inspired story that clearly displayed the appalling effects that industry and capitalism have on the working class. Similar to Bowman, fate caused Eudora Welty to stumble upon a ravine of truth and enlightenment and she strived to share her experience through her works. Welty was a gifted writer would could not only plainly see the demise of the working man but could also recognize the cause: capitalism.
Works Cited
Appelbaum, Richard P. Masters of Social Theory: Karl Marx. Ed. Jonathan H. Turner. Vol. 7. Newbury Park: Sage, 1988.
Evans, Elizabeth. Eudora Welty. Ed. Philip Winsor. Modern Literature Ser. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1981.
Fleischer, Helmut. Marxism and History. Trans. Eric Mosbacher. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. Rpt. of Marxismus und Geschichte. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1969.
Johnston, Carol Ann. Eudora Welty: A Study of the Short Fiction. Twayne’s Studies in Short Fiction 67. New York: Twayne, 1997.
Kornblum, William. Sociology in a Changing World. Ed. Sabra Horne. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003.
McLellan, David. Karl Marx. Ed. Frank Kermode. Modern Masters. New York: The Viking Press, 1975.
Pierpont, Claudia Roth. Passionate Minds: Women Rewriting the World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. New York: Vintage Books, 2001.
Welty, Eudora. “Death of a Traveling Salesman.” Anthology of American Literature. George McMichael, et al. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 1416-1424.
Annotated Bibliography
Appelbaum, Richard P. Masters of Social Theory: Karl Marx. Ed. Jonathan H. Turner. Vol. 7. Newbury Park: Sage, 1988.
A philosophical and sociological examination of the development of Karl Marx’s theories on politics, history, science and the future.
Bryant, J. A., Jr. Eudora Welty. Pamphlets on American Writers 66. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota, 1968.
A brief and factual overview of Eudora Welty’s life, career and publications.
Chiodi, Pietro. Sartre and Marxism. Trans. Kate Soper. Milan, It.: Giangiacomo Feltrinelli, 1965. Hassocks, Eng.: Harvester, 1976.
A detailed critique of Marxist theories from Jean-Paul Sartre’s position including an analysis of existentialism, idealism and alienation.
Evans, Elizabeth. Eudora Welty. Ed. Philip Winsor. Modern Literature Ser. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1981.
A study of Eudora Welty’s life and career as a talented critic, reviewer and writer. This book also examines the influence of Welty’s personal experiences on her literary style.
Fleischer, Helmut. Marxism and History. Trans. Eric Mosbacher. New York: Harper & Row, 1973. Rpt. of Marxismus und Geschichte. Frankfurt am Main: Suhrkamp Verlag, 1969. An examination of Karl Marx’s theory of history and the problems arising from these theories. This book also disputes and clarifies varying interpretations of Marxism.
Jameson, Fredric. Marxism and Form: Twentieth-Century Dialectical Theories of Literature. Princeton: Princeton University, 1971.
An introduction to the principal theories of Marxism and its relationship to modern dialectical theories of literature.
Johnston, Carol Ann. Eudora Welty: A Study of the Short Fiction. Twayne’s Studies in Short Fiction 67. New York: Twayne, 1997.
A critical appraisal of Eudora Welty’s work and her influence on short fiction as a whole, taking into account her experience as a photographer and emphasizing Welty’s perceptive power of observation.
Kornblum, William. Sociology in a Changing World. Ed. Sabra Horne. 6th ed. Belmont: Wadsworth/Thomson, 2003.
A sociology textbook teaching the basic concepts of sociology and its application in today’s society.
“Marx and Marxism.” The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Macropædia. 15th ed. 1998.
An overall description of Karl Marx as a revolutionary, sociologist, historian and economist and of Marxism as a theory stemming from Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
McLellan, David. Karl Marx. Ed. Frank Kermode. Modern Masters. New York: The Viking Press, 1975.
An attempt to explain and clarify common misunderstandings about Karl Marx’s life, thought and reputation.
Nielsen, Kai. Marxism and the Moral Point of View: Morality, Ideology, and Historical Materialism. Boulder: Westview, 1989.
An exploration of the contradicting viewpoints of Marxists on conventional morality and its application in society.
Pierpont, Claudia Roth. Passionate Minds: Women Rewriting the World. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2000. New York: Vintage Books, 2001.
A profile of the lives and works of twelve women writers, including Eudora Welty, and their contributions to modern literature, popular culture and political life.
Welty, Eudora. “Death of a Traveling Salesman.” Anthology of American Literature. George McMichael, et al. 7th ed. Upper Saddle River: Prentice Hall, 2000. 1416-1424.
A reprint of Eudora Welty’s short story originally published in 1936.