Ingrid Martinez, Maria Abrego & Greta Córdova

Language A1 Paper 2 Essay Questions

Analysis

Book: “Glengarry Glen Ross”

Scene: Act-1 Scene 3 pages 47-51

General areas of focus

a) How the writer is portraying his themes, characters, mood, atmosphere, etc.
Mood: Relaxed.

b) Moments of change in character(s) and their relationships with one another,

atmosphere, setting.
There aren’t big changes in atmosphere and setting, as the scene is relaxed
throughout, and occurs in the same place. The change between characters is
discussed in depth in the CHARACTERS section.

c) Moments of crisis. What is the climax moment of the play?

The climax of this scene is when we realize Roma’s real intentions on merely
selling land.

d) Does it have a satisfactory conclusion? Why not?

This scene doesn’t have a satisfactory conclusion, as we are unsure whether
Lingk bought the land or not. It ends with Roma proposing the idea to Lingk:
Roma: ‘Listen to what I’m going to tell you now:’

Structure

a) Moments of comic relief

Comic relief can be appreciated in the language in Roma’s speech:
a. Irony: ‘Some poor newly married guy gets run down by a cab. Some
busboy wins the lottery.’
The use of irony is effective to portray Roma’s philosophies of life.

b) Moments of climaxes, crisis, turning points.

The biggest turning point in this scene, is when we realize that Roma is just
trying to sell Lingk some land. We realize what he was just trying to get Ligk
interested, so that the whole idea of selling land sounded more appealing and
less abruptive.

c) Use of narrators – omniscient/character as narrator / multiple narrators

Not applicable.

d) Use of stage directions / adverbial / movements

Mamet uses few stage directions throughout the whole play. The one used in
this scene are:
- Roma is seated alone at the booth- This can portray how lonely a salesman
life can be, as they only seek to take advantage of society, but not actually to
interact personally with them.
Ingrid Martinez, Maria Abrego & Greta Córdova

-They shake hands- This action, although may seem insignificant in a

superficial level, in a deeper analysis, it might indicate how cunning Roma is,
as he pretends to be polite and respectful at first, although the readers are
perfectly aware he isn’t.
-Pause. He takes out a small map and spreads it on a table.-

e) Beginnings and their impact / establishing character, mood, scene/situation

(the problem).
The beginning of the scene is engaging, as the readers are intrigued by Roma’s
speech. This tells us a lot about Roma, as we find out his view on life, as well as
his philosophies and his ideal way to live life.

f) Endings – resolved/unresolved
The ending of this scene is unresolved, because we don’t know if Lingk has
bought the land or not.

g) Chronological
The whole play is chronological.

h) Not chronological (parallel narratives, flashbacks, hindsight,etc)

We can see a hindsight in Romas speech. ‘It’s looking forward or its looking
back.’

Characters

a) How they are presented to you (movements, actions, what they say, what they
don’t say – silent presence on stage-)
Roma:
We get a first impression of Roma, as this is the first time he comes into
scene.
Roma is portrayed as a smooth talker, and a quick thinker, as he comes up
with several philosophies of life. ‘I will deal with it, just as I do today, with what
draws my concern today.’
We also learn his way to live his life (motto):
‘You did it, live with it’
‘It’s looking forward, or its looking backwards. And that’s our life’
He is an amoral character: ‘You think you are a thief? So what? You get
befuddled by middle class morality?’
He is a fearless man, since he thinks he can do bad deeds, as he dosnt fear
being punished. ‘Bad people go to hell? I don’t think so.’
Quick witted.
He is very persuasive, as he discusses several ideals of life, to get ravel Lingk
into buying some land.
Pessimistic: ‘There is a one-in-a-million chance that so and so will happen…
fuck it, it won’t happen to me.

Lingk:
Timid and shy person. ‘Did i…?’
He seems unable to think for himself. Similar to Aaranow.
Easily persuaded.
Ingrid Martinez, Maria Abrego & Greta Córdova

b) Relationships with each other and how they change

What at first seems to be a friendly chat, ends up being a complot from Roma
to get Lingk to buy some land.

c) How your reaction to characters changes as the play progresses

We see how cunning Roma is, as he only cares about selling land.

Lighting

a) How this helps convey the mood of a character

No reference made.

b) How this helps convey atmosphere of a scene

No reference made.

c) Moments when this change

No reference made.

Sounds

a) How this helps convey the mood of a character

There are several pauses in this scene, which indicate silence.

b) How this helps convey atmosphere of a scene

This conveys an atmosphere of uncertainty, because at point we are not sure
about characters real intentions.

c) Moments when this change

There are more pauses towards the end of Roma’s speech. These pauses get
more marked towards the end.

Setting

a) Use of historical, cultural, political and geographical setting

Geographical setting: The action takes place in ‘the restaurant’. The restaurant in
this play, is linked strictly to work.

b) Setting as character
Not applicable.

c) How setting can help portray themes, issues

The fact that they are in a restaurant signifies that

d) How setting can help portray character traits and moods

No reference made.

e) How setting can help portray atmosphere

Ingrid Martinez, Maria Abrego & Greta Córdova

No reference made.

There isn’t too much reference made to setting, because the whole play focuses on
language.

Images/Motifs/Symbols

a) How they are used to help portray key themes, issues and ideas
Cons, scams and angles- Roma uses his philosophy of life, to trick Lingk into
buying some land.

b) Where are they fore-grounded in the play (what is they key moment?)
The key moment where they can be seen is when Roma tries to sell him the
land: ‘Florida. Glengarry highlands…This is a piece of land.’

c) How they are used to reflect / portray:

- Changes in characters and their relationships: The scams later affects
the relationship between Lingk and Roma. Roma tries desperately to
ignore Lingk’s urgency to cancel the deal. This lead to Lingk finally
discovering what Roma is really made of, thus, damaging their
relationship.
- Changes in mood/ atmosphere: In this particular scene, Romas scam
hasn’t a huge effect in the mood and atmosphere, as Lingk hasn’t
realized yet what Roma is planning.

Costume

a) How this helps character traits / personality

No reference made.

Props

a) their symbolism
‘Small map’  ‘He takes out a small map and spreads it on a table’ This is a clear
symbolism of work, and how these salesman are absorbed by their work.
Gimlet ‘Roma: Well let’s have a couple more’ This indicates Romas
cunningness, and how he is willing to take advantage of Lingks state.

b) How they help convey themes, character traits

The map can be linked to the theme of work.
Gimlet can be linked with the theme of cons scams and angles. It is used as a
mean to get Lingk to accept more easily.