Act Two:
Selected passage
(inc. page #)
“Fuck you, Dave…” (Mamet
67)
“Roma: you hear what i said?
Moss: Yeah. He closed a deal
Roma: Eight units. Mountain
view. Moss (to Levene): You
did that? Levene: Yeah.
(Pause) Moss: Fuck You.”
(Mamet 66)
Analysis
In the play Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet, the character
Richard Roma is shown to have an exciting journey in his character
development. At first, Roma is portrayed as pretty confident when
selling to a client. However, after the robbery of the office, his
interactions with the other characters cause the portrayal of his
character to shift. Roma seems concerned about the theft once he
discovers that the contracts he closed the day before are missing. The
shift in his tone once he discovers that the robbery has affected his
chances of getting more money and a Cadillac portrays his character
as more of an egotistical narcissist. His frustration from his stolen
contracts is being taken out on his co-workers disrespectfully and
rudely. Roma says, "Fuck you, Dave" (Mamet 67) to Moss after he
simply makes a comment and seems to get even more worked up
once he hears that Levene has sold eight units. Hearing about
everyone's success and possible failure jeopardizes his chance at
winning the Cadillac, which upsets him. His anger and frustration
because of this incident conveyed his personality as more
self-absorbed in contrast to being portrayed as a confident salesman
initially. Richard Romas's character development relates to Thomas
C. Foster's claim in How to Read Literature Like a Professor that
authors evolve certain characters responding to challenges and
experiences because it becomes a vital narrative driver.
In the play Glengarry Glen Ross by David Mamet, the theme of
power is prominently shown through the interactions between the
salesmen and the power of dialogue. In this excerpt, Moss' "Fuck
You" gives off an abrupt and dismissive tone conveying that the
success of others can be used as a way to assert their dominance.
Moss' response shows that power can be closely tied to the success of
closing a deal. Each character establishes where they sit on the power
hierarchy based on their success in closing deals. The aggressive
language also suggests that closing a deal could mean more than
winning Cadillac, like maintaining the ruthless persona to stay on
top. The play's underlying theme can be connected to the interlude
from Thomas C. Fosters's How to Read Literature Like a Professor.
Foster explains that writers intentionally work in many allusions,
symbols, and patterns to create a deeper meaning or theme
throughout the piece of literature. Mamet's inclusion of the
constant trying to one-up each other creates the underlying theme
of power throughout the play.