Glenngary, Glen Ross by David Mamet

The opening scene provides the play with an initial mood.  Since the play opens in a Chinese restaurant, the reader gets an initial casual feeling that doesn’t suggest any dire urgency or emergency.  In reality, this first impression contradicts the plot, especially in the first and second scenes of act one.  Some of the characters are in danger of losing their job and therefor e search and scheme to find a way to save their jobs.  Secondly, the fact that the play opens in a foreign restaurant may foreshadow a type of unfamiliarity or confusion in the play.  This is proven in act one scene three, where Roma tends to talk on off-topic and confusing subjects.  A second scene involves juxtaposition.  When Moss is explaining the planned robbery to Aaronow, Moss first attempts to suggest that they are “just talking” casually.  Then, when Aaronow suggests that the robbery is a crime, Moss says, “It’s a crime.  It’s also very safe.”  Initially, the word ‘crime’ would not suggest any safety, but quite the opposite.

A theme in the play thus far is the portrayal of a “typical” salesperson.  With a salesperson, come the connotations of dishonesty, scheming, and selfishness.  A number of characters thus far have displayed these characteristics, specifically Moss, Graff, Levene, and Roma.  Moss has the idea of stealing Grengarry leads in order to sell them and save his job.  Though he may not be completely serious in the suggestion, Graff agrees completely and devises a scheme.  At this point, Moss becomes very selfish and conniving, posing threats against Aaronow to ensure the scheme is followed through with.  He is conniving in the fact that he tells Aaronow he is now involved in the robbery “because [he] listened” to Moss speak of it.  In the opening of the second act, when the robbery is first discovered by Roma, Levene enters the scene raving about a sale he’s made.  He’s initially completely oblivious to the mess around him, therefore reflecting his ego and selfishness.  Roma, on the other hand, wasn’t even recognized as a salesperson at first.  This shows that his initial appearance may have been misleading to the characters in the play.  Thus, both appearances and personalities of salespeople in the play are misleading.

Lastly, there may be meanings behind some of the characters names in the play.  For example, moss engulfs trees and can become long and entangling.  Likewise, the character Moss schemes and entangles Aaronow in the robbery plan.  Moss has a way of twisting words until the subject of his scheme feels trapped.  Aaronow, on the contrary, sounds like “arrow.”  An arrow, when shot, stays on track.  Aaronow seems to be one of the only characters thus far that is not attempting to mislead anyone or scheme against anybody.  He chooses to make a good, right choice, suggest the robbery is a crime, thus staying “on track” as an arrow would. 

VOCABULARY:
Connotation: the associated or secondary meaning of a word or expression in addition to its explicit or primary meaning (Dictionary.com)