Ellen Goodman: Job for Car & House
on Sunday, December 13, 2015Ellen Goodman Money Quotation saying We work in order to be able to afford all our possesions required to work. Ellen Goodman said:
“Normal is getting dressed in clothes that you buy for work and driving through traffic in a car that you are still paying for – in order to get to the job you need to pay for the clothes and the car, and the house you leave vacant all day so you can afford to live in it” — Ellen Goodman
In this quote, Ellen Goodman is providing a critique of modern societal norms and expectations. When she describes “normal” as getting dressed for a job to pay for one’s clothes, car, and house that sits empty all day while working, Goodman is suggesting that for many people, life has become largely defined by financial obligations in a cycle of work.
She implies this routine leaves little time or energy for other important aspects of life beyond economic participation.
The quote conveys Goodman’s view that what society often presents as normality – maintaining employment solely to afford basic costs of living – can represent a hollow or unfulfilling existence centered around materialism and debt repayment with minimal opportunity for other pursuits.