Success and Happiness Theme Analysis

A Little Life follows four close friends (Jude, Willem, Malcolm, and JB) as they graduate from college and move to New York in pursuit of fame, success, and wealth. The friends are all ambitious and talented, and over the course of the novel, each achieves great success in his chosen field (Jude is a lawyer, Willem is an actor, JB is an artist, and Malcolm is an architect). Yet, as they advance in their careers, they discover that success doesn’t guarantee happiness and personal fulfillment. What’s more, they find that success often comes at a cost. After years of being overlooked, for instance, JB finds fame and success as a painter, but he develops a drug addiction and alienates some of his closest friends in the process. JB’s first solo show is called “The Boys,” a series of paintings he modeled after photographs he took of Jude, Willem, and Malcolm. Though JB had promised Jude, who is extremely private and guarded against the way people see him, that he would seek Jude’s approval before painting any photographs of him, JB goes back on his promise and hangs a photo of Jude, looking exposed and vulnerable, at his first show. Jude and Willem take JB’s betrayal badly, and their friendship with him is never the same. JB prioritizes ambition over friendship, and he suffers for it. Jude, meanwhile, joins Rosen Pritchard and Klein—one of the city’s most prestigious law firms—to ensure that he’s wealthy enough to afford proper, dignified care as his health and mobility worsen with age. After Willem dies suddenly in a car crash, though, Jude wishes he had spent less time at work and more time with Willem. And while the trajectory of Jude’s life might be outwardly successful—he overcomes an abusive childhood to become a brilliant, wealthy lawyer with a movie-star partner—ultimately, his childhood trauma continues to haunt him throughout his life. A Little Life suggests that outward success does not guarantee inner happiness and fulfillment—and more often, prioritizing success and ambition leads to unhappiness, alienation, and regret.