“Happiness comes not in fulfilling the dream but in ever believing in it and reaching for it" - Theodore Dreiser[1]
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“The American Dream is that dream of a land
in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with
opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult
dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many
of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of
motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each
man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which
they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are,
regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.” ― James Truslow Adams, The Epic of America |
“This is a piece of land. Listen to what I’m going to tell you know” – Roma, ‘Glengarry’, (1,29)[2]
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At the heart of Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ (1949), David Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’ (1983) and Addam’s American Dream itself; is a pulsating and fundamental vein of ambition, competition and hope. These are too the driving goals of all salesmen. America itself has been sold for centuries. Advertising designer Chris Wall stated “The American Dream was [always] a product”[3]. Direct this back to the frontier ethic that fuelled The American Dream. Bigsby quotes Mamet describing “America [as] still suffering from loving a frontier ethic... an idea promulgated playing on greed”[4]. Mamet goes on to quote W.C Fields; “You can’t cheat an honest man”. What the gold rush and The American Dream offered such “honest men” was the capability to provide for their families in the manner they always longed for. This is the sort of propaganda that corrupts such “honest men”, when they find it to be nothing more than a ‘phoney sales pitch’. We find such corrupted men in both texts. What I intend to posit within this essay is what occurs when salesmen of this dream are corrupted by it themselves. Specifically the figures of Shelly Levene (‘Glengarry’) and Willy Loman (‘Salesman’); two aged salesmen who the industry and The Dream have failed as they both reach inevitable tragic ends. I plan to illuminate the natural paradox for these men as they attempt to sell said dream as it fails them, comparing and contrasting their experiences in relation to the context of Addam’s quote. Exploring also through the presentation of American ideals - Miller and Mamet’s political, social and cultural commentaries on them; and particularly the romanticism of The American Dream. Romanticising being, after all, the chief role of any salesman.
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Advertising executive Dr. Bernard McGrane subscribes to the ‘owed’ core of Addam’s definition; commenting that “The American dream itself is already a commercial inspiration. It’s that what you ought to own”[5]. An opinion backed by Arlene Manos (another figure in advertising), who dictates that America is a fundamentally “materialistic society, [it is] a capitalist society [that thinks] the American dream can be purchased”[6]. The chief goal of both texts is to highlight this, primarily through deeper social commentaries and the conduits of Levene and Loman. Within the initial stage directions of both works, we come to understand the America’s that Miller and Mamet are presenting. ‘Salesmen’ is one of Miller’s most expressionist pieces, the original concept being for Loman’s skull to be the set. Miller’s chose instead to set the play “in [Loman’s] house and yard and in various places he visits” (129). Miller continues, commenting; “the entire setting is wholly or, in some places, partially transparent” (1,130). Reza comments on the visual irony of this in that “the house, while appearing from a certain perspective to be solid and whole, in fact is merely a shell”[7]. Much like the juxtaposition of Levene and Loman’s public persona’s to their brutal realities. There is a further implicit voyeurism in ‘Salesman’ raised by its subtitle, “certain private conversations in two acts and a requiem” (129). The expressionistic elements are furthered by the score of the piece (From Alex North). Reza states how “Music is used to set atmosphere and tone. While it may be thought of as pastoral, one can also see the haunting flute... as forlorn and gently tragic”[8] – the play opens immediately with Miller citing the score; “A melody is heard, played upon a flute. It is small and fine, telling of grass and trees and the horizon” (1,130). A melodic encompassing of Addam’s quote. Harold Barnes spoke specifically of how “Jo Mielzner’s inspired setting and lighting for ‘Salesman’”[9] position the play in an ethereal space, making the play explicitly un-explicit in as to who the central issues effect. Although the play is largely about the struggle of the working class, there is an ambiguity making it reflective of all classes and social backgrounds. Mamet takes a different tact for ‘Glengarry’; a play often described as “A latter day [‘Salesman’]”[10]. Mamet in his stage directions emulates his idol Harold Pinter who the play is dedicated to, through minimal notes creating a vague unfeeling space clashing with the volatile and impassioned speech of its inhabitants. Mamet cites in his “Authors note” the specifics of the sales contest rather than the set; “We are in a real estate office. There is a sales contest near its end. The top man wins a Cadillac... The bottom two get fired” (4). It is the opinion of Blansfield that the competitive nature of the office serves as microcosm of America “reiterating [Mamet’s] view that one attains the American Dream only through another’s loss”[11]. Blansfield solidifies that the difference of set emulates the difference between the entirety of the plays; “’Salesman’ focuses more on the individual and Willy’s mental unravelling... ‘Glengarry’ is very much about business”. These are the America’s and the values that the playwrights are presenting.
People have spoken off ‘Salesman’s’ political undercurrents since its opening night; Richard Watt’s JR wrote that “it manages to go deeply enough into contemporary values to be valid and frightening social criticism”[12]. Williams Hawkins was more direct in what he felt Miller was trying to illuminate; “The play is a fervent query into the great American competitive dream of success”[13]. ‘Glengarry’ too is often cited as a play with a deeply political core. In 1983, a gallon of milk had gone from $0.95 in 1965 to $2.37 in 1980. Under current president Ronald Reagan was Paul Volcker, chairman of the Federal Reserve, whose aim was to stop this constant spiralling of the economy. The major issue birthed from Volcker’s regime was unemployment. The central propellant of ‘Glengarry’. “Here is [Miller’s Loman] at work in the 1980’s: just as vulnerable but even more driven, even more... distorted by the pressures of commerce and the harshness of American society”[14]. This is Nightingale’s description of the salesman of ‘Glengarry’, posing the question; had things become tougher in the thirty-five years since ‘Salesman´? Nightingale continues; “Mamet was responding to the economic and social ruthlessness of Reaganism”, citing an interview from 1984 where Mamet “explicitly compared the President’s values with those of the world he had depicted”. Historian Howard Zinn described the policies of Reagan’s rule as greatly destructive and “crass – cutting benefits to poor people, lowering taxes for the wealthy... Under Reagan and Bush concern for corporate profit, dominated any concern for workers”[15]. This is the self-serving ego of Mamet’s Richard Roma, who epitomises the monitory morals of Reagan. Roma being a ghostly vision of what Levene and Loman once were. Roma directly vindicates this new wave morality, even utilising it as an enticing pitch to win over a prospective buyer. “You think you’re a thief? So what?... You cheated on your wife? You did, live with it. You fuck little girls, so be it. There’s an absolute morality” (1,27). Roma sells a new world where adultery, theft and paedophilia are without repercussion. Mamet is positing a new American Dream, an antithesis to Addams. The American Dream of 1983 or at least Mamet’s view of it – is one not for the “honest men” of W.C Fields but rather the dishonest men that truly run the country.
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Nightingale comments that the largest social issues since ‘Salesman’ are due to a loss of morals; “In Miller’s 1949 the American Dream was deeply compromised but still had its moral... By Mamet’s 1983 it had become heartless and soulless”[16]. Mamet makes the dream purposely about “motor cars”, practically ridiculing Addams comment that the dream “is not one of motor cars”, making a Cadillac the central prize for the sales contest. “Somebody wins the Cadillac this month. P.S. Two guys get fucked” (1,18). Roma directly usurps a policeman fuelled by anger for possibly losing the Cadillac; “Don’t fuck with me, fella. I’m talking about a fuckin’ Cadillac car that you owe me” (2,30). Mamet highlights the entitlement of these men, making Roma claim that the policeman “owes” him his Cadillac. Miller rather embeds the danger of this commerce by having the car be the chosen destruction for Loman, punctuating this destruction through dramatic means of music; “The car speeds off, the music crashes down in a frenzy of sound” (2,220). Cars are instrumental to the demises of Levene and Loman.
Hayen interprets Franklin’s vision of America in direct comparison to Willy’s. Stating, interpreting Franklin; “Virtue would bring a man money... Money was nothing to be ashamed of... The man of means would be likely to find, too, that he had enough love and respect”[17]. Hayen offers Willy’s late brother Ben as a ghostly vision of Franklin, “Ben is a sort of walking talking Franklin, sort of a ghost of America’s past”. Ben offers a perverse helping hand as Willy comes to his ultimate decision of suicide; “Twenty thousand – that is something one can feel with the hand, it is there” (2, 212). Loman’s human worth is turned into a monitory value, not unlike the looming sales chart of Hayden Griffins original 1983 ‘Glengarry’ staging, where the characters are worthless beside the enormity of what the tallies beside their names represent. Levene and Loman end their plays, merely numbers on cheques or charts.
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The range of influence and effect of the two texts can be
seen in the varying productions since there premieres. Many critics have noted
the endurance of ‘Glengarry’.
Billington has never been of the opinion however that the two plays properly
compare. Stating in 1983 that “[he] wouldn’t
class the play with [‘Salesman’],
which poignantly shows how the American Dream of individual initiative has been
soiled by the corrupt ethos of the sales-pitch”[18]. Standing
by his opinion for his somewhat retrospective review of the 2017 London
production, commenting that the “play [does] not have the tragic weight of [‘Salesman’]”[19] –
however highlighting the relevance of the play’s gritty realism as a means to
subvert how “today the elimination dance of capitalism has been turned into TV
entertainment with The Apprentice”. Completely removing the voyeurism from ‘Salesman’ in the modern era.
Miller himself has noted the nature of how ‘Salesman’ has a regrettably universal relevance. In his
novel “Salesman in Beijing”, in which he describes his time directing the play
in Beijing, he comments that “One thing about the play that is very Chinese is
the way Willy tries to make his sons successful... The Chinese father always
wants to his sons to be dragons”[20]. The Dream that the American’s have adopted is
far more universal than it is pitched. Although ‘Salesman’ is one of Miller’s more expressionistic works,
there is a distinct realism in the text also. One that has led to the play
losing its effect when removed. Such was the case for a production from 2018,
cited by Soloski as featuring a Loman “Scurrying around in a wrinkly white
mask, singing many of his lines, arguing with a refrigerator... several of the
men [being] played by fluorescent bulbs”[21] –
ultimately coming to the conclusion that play “deserves more”. A further
product (both influencer and influenced) is the documentary ‘Salesman’ (A.Maysles, D, Maysles, C.
Zwerin, 1969), a very important film in regards to the two texts and the
representation of the salesman in popular culture. Brian Geldin reported that “Mamet
after seeing ‘Salesman’ for the first
time told Albert [Maysles] that [it] was what he was trying to do with ‘Glengarry’”[22].
The most famous quote from the film (“If a man’s not a success, he’s got no
one to blame for himself”[23])
mirrors the ‘practical sales maxim’ that Mamet prefaces ‘Glengarry’ with; “Always be closing” (1). Age old mantra’s that
boil down The American Dream to its fundamental core. Pulver notes the
similarities between the documentary and Miller’s text also. In that they “have
in common an elegiac appreciation for loss and humiliation, and the failure of
grand dreams” Noting the further associations between the pieces, in that “the
Badger even talks moodily of Alaska, echoing a key motif in ‘Salesman’”[24];
“In those days I had a yearning to go to Alaska” (2,180). The salesmen of the
documentary also go by animal based nicknames; “The Rabbit, The Badger, The
Bull, The Gipper”[25] –
mirroring the nicknames of ‘The machine’ Levene and the rest of Mamet’s men. Inspiration
seen in the advertising for the 2017 London production of ‘Glengarry’ (as seen below).
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Author
Jim Cullen comments in his novel “The American Dream” (2003) that “those who
fail may confront troubling, even unanswerable questions: Do I blame myself?”[27] Two such men faced with these questions are
Levene and Loman. Levene “is going away” (2,63) to prison for theft and Loman
kills himself, with act two ending with his loved ones staring “down at the
grave” (2,220). Nightingale comments
that Levene’s end is just as tragic
as Loman’s, “Loman ends up committing suicide and... Mamet’s real-estate
salesman ends up broken and headed for prison”[28].
He goes on however to note that Levene’s loss is futile in the overall engine
as “it will take more than the odd arrest... to clean up inherently corrupt
American business”. Levene has all stripped from him, despite Roma’s attempts
to give back dignity in recalling his name of days past; “That’s ‘the machine’.
That is Shelly ‘the machine’ lev...” (2,65) only to be interrupted by the
policeman. Miller presents the inconsequence of the individual in Nightingale’s
“overall engine” in the epilogue requiem as Linda questions fruitlessly “why
didn’t anybody come” to Willy’s funeral (2,221). The underpinning futility of
attempting to realise The American Dream in one’s life is most definitely the
tragedy that many speak off in regards to ‘Salesman’
– The basis in fact for much of the studies of Esther Merle Jackson,
specifically her essay “Death of a
Salesman: Tragic myth in the modern Theater” (1963). The core of Jackson’s
argument being that Loman “like the traditional tragic protagonist, symbolises
the cruel paradox of human existence”[29].
Hayen comments on this paradox and his own “hurt for The American Dream salesman
who buys his own dreams”[30].
Stating definitively that that “is the play’s complex position”. However, Jason
Snart refers in reference to ‘Salesman’
that we should refer to the “concrete rather than defaulting to the very
broad and not very useful theme of the American Dream”[31].
He continues, commenting that “The American Dream has become this phrase that
is attached to the play so easily... as if that says it all”. Stating only that
“It is in some aspects part of the
play” and not as intrinsic as most critics pose. The title of the video itself
simplifies this rather didactically; “Death of a Salesman is NOT about the
American Dream”. Mamet states often that his plays roots are in that of the
gold rush, the nexus for The Dream. Dorff in her essay (‘Things (ex)change’)
talks specifically about the imagery of money in ‘Glengarry’; “Gold is the ultimate icon sign of money...
making it a perfect target for Mamet, who has said his plays are
iconoclastic... in the sense of tearing down some of the myths about [the]
country”[32].
Bigsby relates the title of ‘Glengarry’ to the romanticism of America itself in its naming. “Glengarry and Glen Ross sound and are designed to sound romantic and reliable”[33]. Mamet emulates the names of real life idyllic properties of the eighties; Golden Gate Estates, Sky Station, Devonwood. There is an inferred luxury in these names; the salesmen are turning pieces of land into Eden’s. Such is the way that “the Salesman has to construct an alternative world with nothing more substantial than words”[34]. In fact the naming of America itself links to entitlement, as Richard Amerike insisted on any new found lands to be named after him following his investments into Columbus’s expeditions.
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Has Addams dream resurfaced? Bernie Sanders stated in 2007 that “for many, the American Dream has become a nightmare”[35]. Is this due to impossibility at its foundation? Each playwright exposes this impossibility through highlighting that the people selling the dream are not fulfilled by it themselves. A vicious circle is brought to light. In 2004 surveys found one-third of Americans stating they were not living The American Dream, with half adding it was impossible for them. Miller highlights the undercurrent of impossibility as “Willy chooses meaning over meaninglessness” (Hayen)[36]; the American Dream at its core. However this is only attainable for Willy through suicide and Levene; theft. Mamet described America as “a society with one bottom line: How much money you make”[37] – When this is your ethos how can one survive? Addams speaks of “a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone” – but the America he is speaking of does not allow such acceptance and never has. Both playwrights deconstruct these pitfalls through the conduits of Levene and Loman. There is a need for us to dream. Hayen comments that Loman “so much needs to believe in his dream”[38]; such as America itself needs to believe in the intangible myth that it has unwittingly damned itself with. Hayen notes an inevitable demise for any such dreamer; that “admission of failure would have led to [Loman’s] suicide the same way as his enduring dream” does.
Addam’s Dream
offers more than capital and a picket fence; it offers a second chance. The
manner it is sold however offers a 100% success rate. The no-returns policy is
always neglected to be mentioned. The sales pitch is fundamentally phony. It is
offering the life everybody wants, a
dream surmised perfectly by the band Loverboy in 1981...
“Everybody’s working for the weekend...
Everybody needs a second chance”[39].
How can anybody decline such an offer? No matter the consequences.
BIBLIOGRPAPHY
Primary Sources Specified
editions of ‘Death of a Salesman’ (Arthur Miller, 1949) & ‘Glengarry Glen
Ross’ (David Mamet, 1984); referenced within this document
1.
Arthur Miller (2007). Arthur Miller (Plays:
One), All my sons, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A memory of two Mondays,
A view from the bridge. London: Bloomsbury Methuen Drama
2. David
Mamet (1996). David Mamet (Plays: three), Glengarry Glen Ross, Prairie Du
Chien, The Shawl, Speed The Plow.
London: Methuen Drama
Cited Sources
1. Many of the reviews cited regarding ‘Salesman’ were found in the complied collection; - Christopher Bigsby (1987). File on Miller. London: Methuen. These reviews were; - Howard Barnes, 1949. Death of a Salesman review. New York Herald Tribune. - Richard Watt’s JR, 1949. Death of a Salesman review. New York Post - William Hawkins, 1949. Death of a Salesman review. New York World telegram
2.
Many of
the reviews cited regarding ‘Glengarry’ were found in the complied
collection; -
Nesta Jones, Steven Dykes (1991). File on
Mamet. London: Methuen Drama.
These reviews were;
- Michael Billington (1983) Glengarry
Glenn Ross review. The Guardian
- Shannon Morley (1986) Glengarry
Glenn Ross review. Punch
3.
A certain
essay cited was taken from the collection;
- Leslie Kane (2000). David
Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’: Text and Performance. U.S.A: Garland
Publishing Inc. A member of the Taylor & Francis group.
This essay was acknowledged without
date or publication, and was;
- Linda Dorff. Things
[ex]change: The value of money in David Mamet’s ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’
4.
C.W.E Bigsby (1985). Contemporary writers: David Mamet. London: Methuen & Co Ltd.
5.
Mathew Weiner, “Advertising The American Dream,” disc 2, Mad Men:
Season One [BLU RAY] UK: Lionsgate home entertainment UK Ltd,
2007.
6.
Theodore Dreiser (1900). Sister Carrie. U.S.A: Doubleday, page
7. Mohammad
Reza (2006). The stage direction in Death
of a Salesman: The nature of stage directions. Available at: http://mypamphlet.blogspot.com/2006/08/stage-directions-in-death-of-salesman.html
[Accessed: 2018-11-17]
8. Karen
C. Blansfield (2004) Commentary on
“Glengarry Glen Ross”, “Glengarry Glen Ross” Methuen drama student edition. London:
Methuen Publishing Ltd.
9.
Benedict Nightingale (2004) Glengarry Glen Ross – From The
Cambridge companion to David Mamet, Edited by Christopher Bigsby.
Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
10.
Howard Zinn (1980) A peoples history of the United States. New York: Harper Collins
Publishers.
11.
William Hayen (1975) Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ and the American Dream. American
drama and theater in the 20th century. Germany: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht
12.
Michael Billington (2017). Glengarry Glen Ross – Christian Slater is top dog among cut-throat
conmen. The Guardian.
13.
Alexis Soloski (2018). Review: ‘Death of a Salesman,’ Diluted by Too Many Experiments. The
New York Times.
14.
Arthur Miller (1984). Salesman in Beijing. New York: Viking press
15.
Salesman (1969). [DVD] USA: Albert Masyles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin.
16.
Andrew Pulver (2008). Salesman: a truly Millerian experience. The Guardian
17.
Holland, E. (2017). Emma Holland PR, Glengarry Glen Ross[Image]
Available at: http://www.emmahollandpr.com/view/?permalink=glengarry-glen-ross [Accessed:
20/11/2018]
18.
Brian Geldin, 2012. Documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles discusses his film ‘Salesman’. The
Christian Science Monitor.
19.
Jim Cullen (2003) The American Dream: A short history of an idea that shaped a nation. New
York: Oxford university press
20.
Jason Snart, 2013. Death of a Salesman is NOT about the American Dream [online video]
Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f6PvAtLKerI&index=6&list=WL [Accessed at 19/11/2018]
21.
Esther Merle Jackson (1963). Death of a Salesman: Tragic myth in the
modern theater. CLA journal 7, no. 1. College Language association.
22.
Benedict Nightingale (2004) Glengarry Glen Ross – From The
Cambridge companion to David Mamet, Edited by Christopher Bigsby.
Cambridge: Cambridge University press.
23.
William Hayen (1975) Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ and the American Dream. American
drama and theater in the 20th century. Germany: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht
24.
David Mamet (1984). New York Times.
25.
Catholics 4Bernie, 2015. Bernie
Sanders: The American Dream Turned into a Nightmare (9/4/2007) [online video]
Available at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k-xTdbBn8d0 [Accessed:
20/11/2018]
26.
William Hayen (1975) Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’ and the American Dream. American
drama and theater in the 20th century. Germany: Vandenhoeck &
Ruprecht
27.
Loverboy. (1981) Working For The Weekend. [Online]
Vancouver: Columbia. Available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zL8G5pBZ5CI
[Accessed 19/11/2018]
Further Research
1.
Harold Bloom (1988) Modern critical interpretations: Arthur Miller’s ‘Death of a Salesman’.
U.S.A: Chelsea house publishers, a division of Main Line Book Co.
2.
Stephen Marino (2015). Arthur Miller: Death of a Salesman/ The Crucible. London: PALGRAVE
3.
Kenneth C. Davis (2011). Don’t know much about history (anniversary edition): Everything you
need to know about American History but you never learned. New York: Harper
Collins Publishers.
4. Wayne
Bradford (2018). The American Dream in
“Death of a Salesman”. ThoughtCo. Available at: The 'American
Dream' is one of the key themes in Arthur Miller's
'Death of a Salesman.' Explore how the characters Willy, Ben,
and Biff define that dream. [Accessed: 2018-11-17]
[1]
Dreiser, T (1900)
[2]
All quotes are referenced as (Act, Page) – The specified editions for ‘Glengarry’ and ‘Salesman’ are listed in the
bibliography.
[3]
“Advertising The American Dream.”
Disc 2. Mad
Men: Season One. [BLU RAY]. 2007.
[4]
Bigsby, C.W.E (1985)
[5] “Advertising The American Dream.” Disc 2.
Mad Men: Season One. [BLU RAY]. 2007
[6] “Advertising The American Dream.” Disc 2.
Mad Men: Season One. [BLU RAY]. 2007
[7] Reza, M (2006)
[8] Reza, M (2006)
[9]
Barnes, H (1949)
[10]
Morley, S (1986)
[11]
Blansfield, K. C. (2004)
[12] Watts JR, R (1949)
[13]
Hawkins, W (1949)
[14]
Nightingale, B (2004)
[15]
Zinn, H (1980)
[16]
Nightingale, B (2004)
[17]
Hayen, W (1975)
[18]
Billington, M (1983)
[19]
Billington, M (2017)
[20]
Miller, A (1984)
[21]
Soloski, A (2018)
[22] Documentary
filmmaker Albert Maysles discusses his film ‘Salesman’ (Brian Geldin, 2012)
[23] Salesman (A.Maysles, D, Maysles, C.
Zwerin, 1969)
[24]
Pulver, A (2008)
[25] Salesman (A.Maysles, D, Maysles, C.
Zwerin, 1969)
[26] Holland, E (2017)
[27]
Cullen, J (2003)
[28]
Nightingale, B (2004)
[29]
Jackson, E.M (1963)
[30]
Hayen, W (1975)
[31] Death of a
Salesman is NOT about the American Dream (Jason Snart, 2013)
[32] Dorff, L (1996-2000)
[33]
Bigsby, C.W.E (1985)
[34]
Bigsby, C.W.E (1985)
[35] Bernie Sanders: The American Dream Turned
into a Nightmare (9/4/2007), (Catholics 4Bernie, 2015)
[36] Hayen, W
(1975)
[37] Mamet, D
(1984)
[38]
Hayen, W (1975)
[39]
Working For The Weekend (Loverboy,
1981)
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