![]() He doesn’t want to know, either, because to get over his fears means confronting them. Bob knows his fears aren’t rational, but he doesn’t know why he has so many. He has a long list of fear and phobias ranging from closed doors to public speaking. When Bob isn’t fretting over his job or his wife, he is worrying about something else. Surrounded by all these outward signs of financial and relationship success, Bob is, in fact, miserable and alone. He finds advertising boring and pointless, but again, he refuses to walk away. ![]() As if this weren’t enough, Bob hates his job, too. ![]() He can’t bring himself to ask for a divorce because he doesn’t want to hurt her, and he doesn’t want to lose the air of respectability that he believes marriage brings. ![]() He cheats on her all over Manhattan and he drinks heavily. Although Bob loved his wife once, he despises her now. To outsiders looking in, Bob has a perfect life nevertheless, Bob is chronically unhappy. He has a fancy house in Connecticut, an attractive wife, and three children. Set in 1960s Manhattan, the story is a satire of the so-called “American Dream.” Protagonist Bob Slocum is a mid-level marketing executive at a corporate advertising firm. ![]() American author Joseph Heller’s controversial novel, Something Happened (1974), centers on a character who has everything but happiness. ![]()
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