Well, I spent six or seven years after high school trying to work myself up. Shipping clerk, salesman, business of one kind or another. And it's a measly manner of existence. To get on that subway on the hot mornings in summer. To devote your whole life to keeping stock, or making phone calls, or selling or buying. To suffer fifty weeks of the year for the sake of a two-week vacation, when all you really desire is to be outdoors, with your shirt off. And always to have to get ahead of the next fella. And still - that's how you build a future.
A character reflects on years spent toiling in various jobs like shipping clerk and salesman, describing this life as meager and unfulfilling. He expresses dissatisfaction with long hours on the subway and his mundane tasks, feeling trapped in a routine that places a high value on hard work for little reward. His longing for freedom and connection with nature contrasts sharply with his reality of labor and competition.
This struggle epitomizes the universal quest for meaning in work, where individuals often sacrifice personal joy for the sake of financial stability. The character's yearning to be outdoors and free illustrates the conflict between societal expectations and personal desires, ultimately questioning the true cost of pursuing conventional success.
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All the things you can talk about in anyone's work are the things that are least important.
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