Character Analysis: Pam Beesly

Pam Beesly

Played by: Jenna Fischer

Job: Receptionist/ Office Administrator

Character Rating: 8

     Pam Beesly is essentially the woman lead of the show. We find Pam early in the show as a young woman who is working for a paycheck. Her has been engaged to the same man for three years, Roy, but she feels closest with a certain salesman in the office, Jim. Though she loves Roy, she slowly finds herself waning between Jim and Roy and which one of them does she want to spend her life with. At first, she hardcore "friend-zones" Jim as shown in the first season; however, we see several instances throughout the first two seasons where the two share romantic moments that makes the crowd go "Ugh! Just date already!" As usual, this blog will discuss Pam's personal life, professional life, and why she received her character rating.

     In Pam's personal life, we see the constant struggle of Jim trying to win over Pam. After a cliff-hanging scene in the second season's finale, we see that Pam turned him down and Jim moved to a different branch of Dunder Mifflin. She cancels the wedding between her and Roy, however, and Jim comes back to Scranton, Pam realizes what she had done and fights to win Jim back. Jim is dating Karen at the time, but this does not stop Pam's slow and subtle advances towards Jim. After a season of Pam fighting to win over Jim, she consents to losing him when he leaves for the job interview, and just when she has given up hope about the two of them, Jim interrupts Pam's interview with the camera crew and asks Pam on a date. And from her baffled "yes," the rest is history. As mentioned in the post about Jim, the to of them date for a while, get married, and have two children, Cecelia and Phillip Halpert.

     From a professional standpoint, Pam is a hard worker who is creative and compassionate. Aside from being the receptionist, Pam is very artistic and even displays her work at an art show in the third season. Michael even offers to buy a picture she drew of the office building to hang in the office as decoration, with which Pam gives him a hug, and the two of them bond. Pam goes to art school for a while in the fourth season, but she quits to come back home to Jim. A season later, Pam quits her job with Michael and they, along with Ryan, start their own paper company, in which Pam is a salesman. When they get their jobs back at Dunder Mifflin after a buy-out, Pam remains a salesman. However, she was not a great salesman, so she invented an office administrator position for herself in the office, and she remained office administrator for the remainder of the show.

     Pam is a great character in the show, and her relationship with Jim is one of the most iconic television romances of its time. Pam is funny, quirky, and fun, and she is a perfect fit for Jim. She always loves participating in pranks with Jim and she helps Jim mature from a young salesman to a family man with goals. My quarrel with Pam comes from the last season of the show. When Jim wants to live out his dream at Athlead, Pam is not supportive. She is forced to comply when Jim invests in the company, and the arguing comes to a head near the end of the season, finally being resolved in the end. My argument is traced in season four when Pam has the full support of Jim for her to follow her dreams, but then when Jim wants to follow his, he is turned down because he has a family. In my personal opinion, she should have still supported him. And by the end of the season, she does. I just wish it would have happened sooner. Other than this, she is an amazing character, so that is why i have chosen 7.9 as her character rating.

Thoughts? Am I wrong about Pam? This blog had a little extra sprinkle of bias in it, so if there is debate, please comment below. Prove me otherwise. Have you met the "Pam" in your life? If you feel like sharing, comment section is wide open to share.