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The Unhappiness of Tony Soprano: An Ancient Analysis

The Unhappiness of Tony Soprano: An Ancient Analysis. By Ricardo Faraj. “Tony on Happiness”. Tony Soprano is a man who has both aim and reach. Tony is not happy, despite “having it all”, Tony feels like such a loser.

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The Unhappiness of Tony Soprano: An Ancient Analysis

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  1. The Unhappiness of Tony Soprano: An Ancient Analysis By Ricardo Faraj

  2. “Tony on Happiness” • Tony Soprano is a man who has both aim and reach. • Tony is not happy, despite “having it all”, Tony feels like such a loser. • He approaches happiness in three different ways: that of the “whiners”, the “happy wanderers”, and the “Gary Cooper”.

  3. “The Rest of Us” • Aristotle summarized that it was a matter of ancient “common sense” the suggestion that happiness is a matter of achieving a list of things. • The Stoics said that in response to a list, “not even” an abundance of goods makes a difference to our hapiness”. • To ancient greeks, happiness has two components: • Happiness is a matter of what we do and how we do it. • To live a happy life requires an effort to understand what really makes life good.

  4. “Happiness Requires Integrated Motivations” • We must start by reflecting upon what it is we are reallyafter when it comes to our pursuits. • If we do come to realize what motivates, the ancient imperative is to continue to pursue only those things whose motivation is one that can integrate all of our pursuits. • Tony actually tries to justify his mob acitvity because it allows him to support his family.

  5. “Objections to the Integrated Motivations View” • The Ancients think they can recommend a happy life as if it and an ethical life are one and the same. • But, really, whatever the psychological benefits of working from a consistent set of motivations, they amount to neither happiness nor morality.

  6. “Gary Cooper” • Tony has to reset his aims. • He is not pursuing the things that will satisfy him and instead acting under a sort of compulsion. • He cannot control his desires, Dr Melfi suggests to Tony that behavior therapy might help Tony to manage his “anger triggers”.

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