Le 1

Daniel Le
Professor Olson
English 114B
18 February 2015
Project Space:
Personal Life Versus Professional Life
In the novel Counterparts and A Little Cloud by James Joyce, Farrington and
Little Chandler are both grown men who both live a life of sorrow at home and at work
wishing they could do more with their lives. It seems to be that the space that they occupy
changes the way they act or feel. When Farrington is at the business law firm his boss is
enraged with Farringtons work and his lack of skill while Little Chandler seems to mope
around the city wishing he couldve pursued his career as a poet instead of being tied
down as a father and a husband. Both men take their troubles with them to the pub and
seem to remorse a lot during their duration at the pub. They spend most of their time
drinking their feelings out and try to move onto the next day. Anger from work can cause
the depression state theyre in and lead to sorrow at home. The environment they work in
can be the factor to as why theyre depressed. Although Farrington and Little Chandler
assume that work seems to be the problem, the problem could possibly be the way their
personal lives are at home. Having two identities can be hard at times, but some people
can balance out their daily lives and continue to strive forward. Both Farrington and
Little Chandler both come home to their wife and children every single day and recreate
the exact same thing they had done the day before. When professional life intertwines
with personal life, they become more chaotic and very stressful to manage.

Le 2
Farrington and Little Chandler both struggle at home and at work because they
both cannot handle their hectic lives in their space. In the research, The Impact of
Teachers Personal Lives on Professional Role Enactment: A Qualitative Analysis by
Edward Pajak and Joseph J. Blas talk about how qualitative work leads to benefits such
as rewards or raises, which can change ones personal life into an even happier one. Good
performances at work can lead to a better personal life at home. Implicit in these
proposals is the assumption that performance in the classroom is somehow related to
rewards that have real meaning and can be fully enjoyed only outside the context of the
school (Pajak, Blas 284). Benefits at work can shape a persons personality as to why a
person tries harder then another to succeed and earn a reward. Age and gender have
received considerable attention as variables that influence how teachers experience and
reconcile personal and professional role responsibilities (Pajak, Blas 284). Farrington
and Little Chandler are both fathers and are both married. There is nothing much they
could do now, but thats what they choose to believe. They had had both given up on life
and what it had to offer. Little Chandler wants to move away and continue his career path
as a poet while Farrington just mopes around the city wishing he couldve done more
with his life. Both of the characters somewhat gave up their lives at this point and began
to work till their days have come to an end. Several studies have suggested that as
teachers mature in their personal lives and encounter new experiences outside of
teaching, they begin to view professional issues differently (Pajak, Blas 284).
Farringtons personal life seems to be a bit impaired, which causes his professional life to
take its toll. Farrington seems to turn in his work late or incomplete and his personal life
he pawns his items and drinks till he passes out. Professional life and personal life can

Le 3
collide in many other ways and create hectic lives for those who take on the challenge of
facing many different environments.
Farrington and Little Chandler both change their identity when they are at work or
at home. The environment changes the way they act and think and most of the times it
could be good or bad. For example, school and work environment tends to bring out a
professional identity and being at a bar or home brings out a personal identity. Identities
are capable of shifting and changing, so it can never stay constant. Studies of the
internal dynamics of professional-collegial groups suggest that proportions of women
present in a given professional stratum can have dramatic effects on roles and career
attainment open to women (Grant, DuRoss 88). The study shows that women can work
better together and have better professionalism when they continue strive forward. Vice
versa, males can do the same. If Farrington really performed well at work and got all his
worked turned in on time and completed he couldve possibly received a bonus and his
personal life wouldnt be so bad. Farrington could live a more enjoyable life he enjoyed
his work, as characteristics are varied by environment or space. Income and lifestyle, the
high respect associated with the profession, and leadership and authority were considered
extrinsic rewards (Grant, DuRoss 91). If Little Chandler continued to pursue what he
wanted to do that wouldve been his extrinsic reward. Little Chandler can do poetry on
the side and still maintain a happy life. A reward usually brings up the mood of a work
environment or school, such as a raise or earning a good grade. Competitive people tend
to succeed more as they challenge themselves and look for new opportunities to take
advantage of. If Farrington and Little Chandler focused a little more and actually felt
happy about what they did then Farrington would be the happiest man on earth and Little

Le 4
Chandler would be the next Edgar Allan Poe if he really enjoyed his career choices.
Professional life and personal life can be altered with rewards.
Farrington and Little Chandler have a terrible time when theyre at work, but that
isnt everybody. In the movie The Wolf Of Wall Street, Jordan Belfort is a stockbroker
who focuses a lot on his success at work, which leads to a successful personal life at
home. Jordan succeeds at work and continues to receive numerous rewards, which leads
to a problem with his personal life. The name of the game, moving the money from the
clients pocket to your pocket was the companies motto. They followed by this motto
only to succeed and at one point they were doing too good. Jordan got so fixed to
working a lot that his professional life became his entire life. Soon his personal life began
to fall apart, such as his wife feeling lonely leading to their divorce and his time away
from his children leading to the separation. Some people balance out their identities so
they dont intertwine and blow up all at once. Little Chandler follows the same footstep
as Jordan Belfort, both lost at first but then a pathway opens up for them. If Little
Chandler really did try a little harder then he couldve created so much more and have a
wonderful life at home with his wife and children. Farrington and Little Chandler express
their feelings at home by taking their rage out at their spouses or kids. Farrington beats
his kid while Little Chandler does nothing to calm his child. Nothing seems to go right
for these guys cause at work they dont feel good and at home they feel the same way. If
coming home isnt good then going to work isnt good either. If there were rewards
present then it wouldnt be that bad. Farrington drinks a lot leading to his poor choices at
work because he sneaks out to drink while on the clock. Poor choices at work lead to no
benefits, which cause a deep sadness at their work environment. Little Chandler just

Le 5
mopes around saying he couldve done this and that, but really never had the courage to
do anything with his poetry. If they both had really tried then they couldve been doing so
much better with their lives. Personal life and professional life can intertwine at times,
but most of the times balancing identities and habits can lead to great success.
Professional life and personal life are both very hard to manage at times, as
identity is never constant. If people try harder at focusing on what they do then managing
identities shouldnt be a problem. Balancing both identities is the goal everybody wants
to strive for. Personal life can affect professional life and if your personal life is good then
your professional life will be excellent. Vice versa if its bad then its bad. Having two
identities can be hard at times, but some people can balance out their daily lives and
continue to strive forward. Both Farrington and Little Chandler both come home to their
wife and children every single day and recreate the exact same thing they had done the
day before. It could possibly be the people that can affect a persons lifestyle. It is easy to
see why professional life can play an affect onto personal life.

Le 6
Work Cited
Grant, Linda, and Daniel J. DuRoss. "Expected Rewards of Practice and Personal Life
Priorities of Men and Women Medical Students." Sociological Focus 17.2, Special
Issue: Health and Stratification (1984): n. pag. JSTOR. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.

Pajak, Edward, and Joseph J. Blase. "The Impact of Teachers Personal Lives on
Professional Role." American Educational Research Journal 26.1 (1989): n. pag.
JSTOR. Web. 18 Feb. 2015.