Wednesday, January 15, 2014

What can Roma learn from Levene's plight in Glengarry Glen Ross?

David Mamet's play Glengarry Glen Ross is perhaps the closest examination of the life of salesmen since Death of a Salesman. The aging Levene is in despair throughout the narrative, while Roma seems to be calm and in control of his situation. Roma sits at the top of the sales board, exactly the position Levene did many years before. Levene can't procure any good leads, ends up stealing new leads from the office, and is caught when he gives himself away. Roma should be able to look at how far Levene has fallen and see that his future can and probably would end up the same. The life a salesman leads is nice, as long as he is making sales. The minute Roma loses his touch, gets a string of bad leads, or drops a huge sale (as happens in the play), he will be standing in Levene's shoes glancing across the room at a young lion who has taken his place.

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