Case Study on Pursuit of Happyness

Case Study on Pursuit of Happyness

Presenting Problems

The story revolves around a central character, Chris Gardner who is living with his wife Linda, and his only son Christopher in a simple apartment in San Fransisco.

The first impression of the problem faced by the family is their poor financial situation.

The reason of their hardships is because of Chris Gardner's impulsive decision of spending his entire life's savings on portable bone scanners. According to him, the doctors in the famous hospitals would be readily willing to buy this 'revolutionary machine', earning him a handsome amount of profit, which turned out to be otherwise. He seems to have accepted the fact that the scanners will not earn him much money because of the doctors' negative response, referring to it as 'unnecessary luxury'. However, he is still hopeful about making use of these machines and expects to sell at least two, to be able to meet the needs of his family. Besides, his wife works part time in a blue collar job, which is clearly not sufficient to support a family of three. Consequently, misfortune grips Chris Gardner's family, being unable to meet the demands of daily living such as taxes, parking tickets and daycare fee for their son.

The interference of this economic drawback in the family's relationship with each other becomes a serious concern for Chris Gardner. His wife seems to be facing emotional distress leading to conflicts between the couple, adding troubles to his already stressful life. This is because he seeks support from his family in achieving his goals.

Meanwhile, Chris Gardner happens to meet a broker in front of his impressive office building, who motivates him towards a career as a broker. His friend further encourages him to apply for an internship program even if he does not possess the required education background and experience. This strategy seems to be a risk but worth a shot if he aspires to be a rich and settled man in the future. He begins to consider this opportunity which makes his relations with his wife even worse. Linda taunts him of going down the career path, from a salesman to an intern and tells him to be an astronaut instead! Eventually, Linda decides to abandon Chris in such impoverished conditions and leaves to New York, leaving Chris and their son without any emotional support.

From this point onwards, Chris faces an additional problem of helplessness in handling his son and career all alone. However, he does not lose hope and sticks to his motivation.

Although, he begins to work as an intern, there is no income and no job security at the end of his internship. He remains steadfast to fulfill his dreams and strives to maintain at least a decent life for his son. He has to leave his apartment and live in a motel for a few days, from where he ends up in a shelter for homeless families. During this time, he faces extreme poverty and ...