Glengarry Glen Ross Act One

If I had to pick a character to play in "Glengarry Glen Ross", I would definitley pick Shelly Levene.

Scene One starts off with Levene fighting to keep his job. The whole real estate jargon kind of threw me off guard, but it wasn't hard to catch up. Shelly Levene reminds me of my mother and how she would threaten to take someone's job that she thought was under performing. These words on page twenty-six could have possibly come out of her mouth: "wasn't long I could pick up the phone..and I'd have your job". I love this guy! He knows that two people will lose their jobs at the end of the month and there is no way he can get on the board by selling the crappy land he has been given, so he strikes a deal with his boss. After the office was broken into, Levene is celebratory in the fact that he sold eight units and wants to tell everyone the story of how he did it. Since everyone else is doing poorly, nobody really wants to hear it. But, Levene continues his story and tells of how he described the American Dream to the couple and got them to sign: "This is that thing that you've been dreaming of, you're going to find that suitcase on the train, the guy comes in the door, the bag that's full of money. This is it..." (p. 72). I love Levene and his persistant nature.

When people know that their financial security is at stake, they become selfish. This is what I see from Williamson. On page 23 he does not trust Levene enough to know he will sell and that he won't lose his job. I could definitely see this play happening in today's current economic situation. Even after they strike the deal, Williamson wants the money then and there, of which Shelly does not have.

Scene two provides the reader with two new characters. Moss comes across as rude, desperate, and controlling. While Aaronow seems confused and timid. Moss uses racial slurs that are quite offensive. He ultimately talks Aaronow in circles and gets him to commit the robbery. From what I know in the rest of the reading, I am not completely sure who eventually committed the crime. Aaronow and Moss have a very weird friendship. They either finish each other's sentences or repeat for clarification. This scene was very hard to read. The whole definition of the word "talking" is used in various ways throughout this scene (p. 39 in particular) that get Aaronow trapped. I guess since they are salesmen that they have ways with words, but Aaronow just could not "out-talk" Moss.

Scene three provides the same setting. Who knows if they were all there at the same time? I doubt it. Roma seems sketchy. He is very long-winded in his speaking parts. I think it is also crazy that he would be asking these crude things of someone he just met. I find it funny and ironic that Roma dismisses the idea of God protecting people from the day's worries, but pretty much sums up my favorite verses of the Bible, Matthew 6:34, "So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Today's trouble is enough for today". He also wants the man to buy land in Glengarry Highlands, which for right now, I don't know if that is good or bad, but he tells him to have a couple more drinks which can't be good. The scene closes with him telling him to listen, but then nothing is said. That is what you call good suspense. (haha!)

In Act Two, all the characters finally meet together in the office. Their different personalities are hard to keep up with and remember what kind of person they were in the aforementioned act. But, Aaronow is really nervous and continues to mention insurance, which makes me think that he did it and has a guilty conscience, but he hopes everything can be restored. He asks Roma what he should tell the police, and Roma states something very important: "Always tell the truth. It's the easiest thing to remember" (p. 61). This doesn't match my previous notion of Roma being sketch. Oh, well.

Also, Moss was rude as usual. He was mad that the police were talking to him in such a way, but it was his conspiracy. Maybe he was acting out in order to not stand out. But, they would not have thought of questioning him so harshly had he not spoken to Roma about a robbery.

So far, it's great.