Glengarry Glen Ross Ether Pad Chat Thingy
1. To what extent is Glengarry Glen Ross a tragedy?
Zha Rule and Jizzy T:
A tragedy is art based on human suffering. Glengarry could be considered a
tragedy in that Levene is a victim of his own situation, suffering as he is trapped
by lack of good leads which leads him to steal. It is tragic in that all the salesmen
in the play are in somewhat similar situations which are caused by fear of losing
their job and the need to make sales at whatever cost. Levene’s story is quite
classically tragic in that he experiences a highpoint when he believes he has
made a good sale, but is crushed later when he finds out it was worthless and is
caught for stealing leads.
2. To what extent can Glengarry Glen Ross be referred to as a comedy?
Zha Rule and Jizzy T:
To some extent it could be considered comedic in that the excessive profanity
could be considered funny at times. The crudeness of some of the characters'
speech could also be considered comedic (e.g. "you ever take a dump made you
feel you just slept for twelve hours...?" - Roma). This is also seen with the
extreme racist comments made by Moss in his conversation with Aaronow (e.g.
"their broads all look like they just got fucked with a dead cat" - Moss on
Indians), which are so over-the-top that the audience might find them funny.
3. Discuss the tragic arc of Levene's character.
Jean ~(:3=
Levene begins in a tragic position due to his lack of good leads and inability to
make a sale.
- He has a fear of failure, blaming it on 'bad luck' instead.
- Clings onto anything that will make him feel more successful
- His tragic position is contrasted with his past successful sales to emphasise his
current position.
- He appears to be really, really pathetic.
- Makes a large sale to the Nyborgs, which makes him overconfident, and he tells
his story to the office in great detail. As a result, he berates Williamson who
controls the leads.
- Williamson then reveals to Levene that his sale was not real and the Nyborgs
just like talking to salespeople.
The reader does sympathise for Levene a little bit, but also find him annoying
due to his relentless whining. The reader also sees that his downfall is partly
caused by his own behaviour towards Williamson, therefore we reason that he
deserves it. Levene's tragic arc is an opposite of Roma's successful arc.
GabbyIt seems as though his character progresses as the first time we meet Levene, he
is tragically pathetic as he stutters and is struggling to make a sale, then when he
finally does make a sale - it is explained in an 'orgasmic manner', explained
clearly, slowly and dramatically - his change in speech shows the progression in
his character, instead of elipses used to represent nervousness and now there
are very few elipses, but when they are used, they are used for dramatic effect slowing down the pace of his story telling - to make it more effective.
Once he realises that he has been caught for stealing the leads in the office - his
language deteriorates again, as in the beginning "...List...list..listen. Listen" - his
nervousness is back and he realises that he just back where he begain, but it is
worse - his freedom is now on the line. - He is back where he started.
4. How is the structure of the play carefully composed and to what effect?
The play is divided into 2 acts, act 1 consisitng of 3 scenes followed by one in act
2.
The play however, only revolves around 6 main conversations.
Conversations in Act 1 centre around the characters attempting to persuade the
other on some matter, Levene to get Williamson to give him good leads and save
his job in scene 1, Moss convincing Aaronow of the benefits of robbing the office,
scene 2 and Roma selling to Lingk in scene 3. All conversations take place in the
same Chinese restaurant, and possibly even at the same time. Through the
conversations we learn about the atmosphere of the play, the characters,
background information etc.
In contrast, conversations in Act 2 take place in a more conventional setting,
highlighting the difference between the situations/conditions of act 1 and 2. Act
2 develops the action of the play, the robbery, suspicions etc.
5. Discuss the important juxtapositioning of language and dominance in
Glengarry Glen Ross.
Josh & Zac Language and dominance in Glengarry Glen Ross are closely interlinked rim used
through the characters Levene and Roma's use of language. When Levene is first
introduced his dialogue is littered with nervous use of foul language and ellipses.
Conversely, in Roma's opening dialogue to Lingk, he also uses foul language,
however, helivers fluently and with conviction. This is evident in the lack of
interruptions by Lingk and the fact that Roma asks and answers his own
rhetorical questions, whereas Levene's desperate pleas go unanswered.
Jean ~(:3=
Swearing and foul language is usually used by the less dominant/confident
character within a conversation. This is usually used uncontrollaby and
repeatedly. For example, the first conversation between Levene and Williamson
contains a lot of swearing from Levene, but almost none from Williamson. As a
result, we can tell that Williamson is in a more superior and dominant position.
This is only not followed by Roma in his conversation with Lingk. However, in
that conversation, the way Roma utilises foul language is much more controlled
than desperate, therefore it actually puts him in a more confident position.
6. How are non-fluency features of speech (repetitions, ellipses, false starts
etc) important in the speech of the characters?
Josh & Zac It is evident that right from the beginning of the play, there is apparent use of
non-fluency features to suit the situations and character interaction. The opening
speech of Levene consists of the two most consistent features - these being
elipses and pauses. For Levene's character, in this particular situation, such
features represent his desperation and nerves. His use of repetition also
emphasizes this, almost mimicking a stutter. Elipses is used generally between
words of the characters to signify cutting and breaking in above the other, as
well as a pause. Repetition is also used to emphasize a certain idea or word,
which is hand in hand with words in italics used to stress certain words.
7. How is the subtext crucial to an understanding of this play?
Simone-The subtext for the entire play is the understanding that this play takes place
within the context of a real estate agency. Without a basic understanding of some
of the terminology used within this industry (eg "leads", "sits", etc), the audience
will quickly be lost, or may not grasp the full meaning of the play. There is also
the subtext that these bunch of men have known each other for at least several
years, and so they do have a sense of familiarity with each other that is crucial to
the understanding of the play.
8. Compare and contrast Levene's opening speech with Roma's opening
speech.
Gabriela Levene's speech - Swearing used as a sign of deflection and insecurity
- Many elipses to indicate stuttering and selfconciousness
- He cuts off a lot showing desperation and hes trying to win him
over
- He uses differnt 'salesmen' techniques to convince williamson He intimidates, bribes, and tries to make williamson empathize.
- He tries to use salesmen techniques (poorly) to convince his
collegue, which could reflect himself as a salesman - he is about to get fired.
Roma's speech - Roma uses swearing not as deflection but uses it simply within
his speach, as if he already swears - his swearing is fluid within his speech.
- His elipses represent pausing as opposed to stutterng, he thinks
before he speaks unlike Levene.
- Many of his words are italicised and some are capitalised to show
his emotive language and his persuasiveness: "God protect me"
- Many of his lines are monologues, which shows a rhythm and
fluidity in his sales techniques, and since Lingk isnt replying, shows the
effectiveness of his sales techniques.
9. How are Reaganism and Thatcherism important in terms of the context
of the play?
The play is set in the 1980s and reflects the political system of the time. During
the 80s, Ronald Reagan was president in the US following an era of social
discontent and the Vietnam Wars and Watergate scandal. His policies
encouraged concepts of materialism, consumerism and competition. Basically,
the rich gaining money and getting richer, whilst conditions for the poor
worsened. This atmosphere is reflected in the play through the determination
and desperation of the characters to make money and sell the property. His
policies focused on weakening worker's unions to make new work related laws
easier to implement, and created a society in which high paid workers were paid
more and lesser paid workers less, as well as allowing the development of
successful corporations, which increased the competitiveness. This reflects the
desperation of the charcters to get the good leads and a desperation to survive in
the realestate world. The policies of Reaganism are similar to those of
Thatcherism in Britain. The policies of Reagan also created a change in the
working classes. People 'craved success' to escape poverty and achieve the
'American dream'. Mamet's portrayl of society shows a very negative depiction
of this society. Also, the board acts as a symbol of the struggle for success.
Basically - Reaganism - increasing in consumerism and materialism - society
became more money-craving - reflected in realestate world of Mamet - want to
increase in money and success - similar to policies of Thaterism
10. "Glengarry Glen Ross is filled with empty words". Discuss.
Simone-Since much of the language used in Glengarry Glen Ross consists of swear words,
initially it may seem like pointless dialogue. However, the crude language is used
in the play to display the mental mindset of different characters in the play. For
example, Moss and Levene both use crude language as "filler words" when they
can't think of anything else to say. This shows their insecurities, and how
uncomfortable they are in speech (which is to their own detriment, as they are
salesmen). This is in direct contrast with Roma, who is very eloquent and use
swear words more "naturally" than the other two men, to emphasize the points
he is trying to make. Most of the action of the play is conveyed purely through
dialogue, as there are very few stage directions and thus not very much "action".
This can reflect how salesmen may exaggerate the good qualities of what they're
trying to sell - "all talk and no action".
11. Is it important or significant that there are no female characters in the
play?
(Aditi)
Male dominant society,
They repeatedly talk of themselves as 'men' (and they insult others by saying
they're not men e.g. Williamson - Jean)
There's sexual innuendos and tendencies, with the obvious lack of women in the
play.
- Levene's story of how he closed the deal towards the end of the play - which
seems quite orgasmic. Women are thought of in this play in purely sexual terms.
Jean ~(:3= women are barely mentioned at all within the play, except for one of
the Nyborgs - "eating her crumb cake"
Simone -- Levene always brings up his daughter as a way to try and gain
Williamson's sympathy. He fails. (Aditi) Also Lingk's wife is mentioned, whereby
she forced him confront Roma and cancel his contract, Romas asks Lingk to solve
his problems 'man to man'.(Gabby- also the fact that his wife has control over
him - "you know my wife" shows him as a character- but also the role that
women could possibly be playing. Simone -- This shows how though this
particular industry may be dominated by men (as Aditi said earlier), in "real life"
and perhaps in domestic affairs women still have some sort of power. The fact
that it is Lingk being controlled by his wife (the only man in the play to be
controlled by a woman in this way), points further to Lingk being weak-willed,
and thus why he was so easily able to be manipulated by Roma.
(AM) "A man's his job" - Levene tells Willaimson in A2. All the salesmen
continuously refer to themselves as 'men', therefore manhood is something
which is highly important to the individual characters as it suggests through
their work and attempt for success to be something that has to be earned.
12. What is the key theme of the play? Justify your response.
(AM) Failures and Successes:
- All characters commit some form of debauchery, (theft, cheating, tricking
others) in order to further thier own personal success over that of theirtit.
- The sales office is a representation of a capitalist culture that heavily promotes
and encourages success, as the top man wins a Cadillac whilst the bottom man
gets fired. Thus there is hope for each character to thrive in their position yet
having the ability to destroy others in the process to accomplish their gains.
- Furthermore, success promotes further opportunity for accomplishment, yet
failure leads to a firing, suggesting that the system is flawed. - this reflects the
ruthlessness required to become successful - perhaps Mamet is commenting on
the flaws with the set-up of capitalist culture (Zha Rule and Jizzmaster J)
(Aditi):
Business and work;
He shows a classic representation of how a salesman's office works, their drive
to survive, and simply everything for them becomes bussiness, even their
personal lives,
Deception;
There are always hints of deception and lies, it is almost a way of operating for
them. Everytime they are stuck in any situation, they turn to lying or putting up a
show. E.g Lingk in Act II, when he comes in to cancel his contract.
Jean ~(:3=
At the end of the play, Roma aims to manipulate Levene and take his leads.