Hi Ho Hi Ho It's Off to Work We Go

Work, in the novel Super Sad True Love Story, means different things to the different characters. In the beginning of the novel for one of the main characters, Lenny, work is a means for survival. On pages 50 and 51, Lenny has a list of his “Strategy for Short-Term Survival and then Immortality Following Return to New York After European Fiasco.” The number one item on this list is “Work Hard for Joshie.” Lenny knows that it is important for him to keep the job that he has if he ever wants to live forever. He views his work as a means to an end.

A second passage that deals with work can be found on pages 59 and 60. This passage talks about Lenny’s coworker Howard Shu and the employees of Post-Human Services in general. Lenny says that there is something sad about the employees and that Howard Shu exemplifies this sadness. Lenny says, “The truth is, we may think of ourselves as the future, but we are not. We are servants and apprentices, not immortal clients” (60). This shows that no matter how much they work or how good they are at their jobs, they are not the ones who are becoming “immortal.” Work can only get Howard Shu so far in life, and will not necessarily help him to live forever.

A final passage that I would like to talk about can be found on pages 228 and 229. In this passage, Eunice and her father volunteer at one of the LNWI camps in Tompkins Square. This shows work in a completely different way than the rest of the novel. It was almost strange to see people volunteering and caring for other people in this very self-promoting society. Seeing Eunice’s father, whom we do not think very highly of at this point, caring for the poor is very refreshing. It is the only time we see work used to help others instead of for personal gain.