Introduction
Literature has always witnessed transformations according to the society it is created in, its culture, and its values as Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer to Miller’s Death of a Salesman. The modern period which started quite lately in literature, as compared to modernity, reached its peak following WWII, and then after further evolution it entered into the postmodern world where cultural values, beliefs, and morals witnessed sea changes. The transformation in these values, morals, and beliefs could be seen in the respective literary pieces. Not only that the literary ideals such as tragic heroes and their representations have changed, but also themes and structures, language, and moral values have gone through massive changes. Written by Arthur Miller, Death of a Salesman presents a modern literary piece that presents modern tragedy, values of the society, modernist language structures and themes of faith, hope and dreams, while contrary to it, its supposed sequel Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer demonstrating postmodern trends of literature sans tragedy, sans morality, transparent and language to be inferred by the audience.
Tragedy and Glengarry Glen Ross
As far as the idea of tragedy is concerned, the debut of Death of Salesman created a stir in the literary circle regarding presentation of a common man as a tragic hero, for which Miller has to write an essay to explain his idea of tragedy in this play which he states, “the common man is as apt a subject for tragedy in its highest sense as kings were” (Miller 3-7) and Willy Loman is a down-to-earth common American who is disillusioned by the mythical American dream. Contrary to the classical idea of Aristotelian definition of tragedy, having heroes with grand stature, Miller has touted that “The commonest of men may take on that stature to the extent of his willingness to throw all he has into the contest, the battle to secure his rightful place in his world” (Miller 3-7) which in Willy’s case is his two sons, his whole career and family that he bets in order to make himself equal to either Ben or his own father that Ben mentions or others in his familiar circle. However, none is achieved. In other sense, everything seems to him in “disorder” (Klages) through which Miller has tried to bring out the “order” (Klages) of the moral values that is to dig out “meaning which has been lost in the most of modern world” (Klages) which Biff states at the end that “He had the wrong dreams. All, all, wrong” (Miller). He is followed by his younger son Happy, who says that “I’m gonna show you and everybody else …that …he had a good dream” (Miller) which is that Willy wants to bring order by realizing his dreams that were not right according to Happy, but he could not, which is why he seems to be a common tragic hero of Arthur Miller. However, opposed to this modern view, there are no morals, no scruples and no values whatsoever in Glengarry Glen Ross. There is only “talk” (Mamet) about “leads” (Mamet), “close and sales” (Mamet) devoid of all morals that shows Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer. If Levene seems to the central character, he acts just like a common salesman but unlike Willy, he is devoid of any dream and therefore no order exists for him.
Glengarry Glen Ross Seems a Postmodern Answer to Morality and Values
Whereas the question of morality or moral values is concerned, in Aristotelian and Elizabethan tragedies, the protagonist is always on the guard to set right that “Something is rotten in the state of Denmark” (Shakespeare 90) and takes the entire onus of doing this on himself and the piece presents a “clear-cut moral position” (Klages). However, in modern literature, this does not mean that the common man, as a hero, is morally upright similar to the classical heroes, but that “if it is true that tragedy is the consequence of a man’s total compulsion to evaluate himself justly, his destruction in the attempt posits a wrong or an evil in his environment” (Miller) which Willy sees in the shape of situation and his own ideal of achieving the American dream. Even his affair does not mean that there is no morality, but it means that he realizes that he has done due to which he could not achieved his desires and expectations which Miller has presented a modern view of “clear-cut moral position” (Klages) that this cut-throat competition takes its toll form the people involved in the rat race for money. Also, there does not seem to be any morality in it, Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer and the characters are living in world where stealing, lying, cheating, burglaries, sex, and drinking are the order of the day in which man has become a machine as Roma says about Levene “That’s the “Machine.” That is Shelly “The Machine” Lev…” (Mamet). It is on the audience to deduce the meanings from the situation presented to them. At least there is a faith, hope and dreams in Death of Salesman which Willy demonstrates but there is no such thing in Glengarry Glenn Ross, a typical postmodern feature of the literature. In fact, it is Roma who seems to be the epitome of the postmodern era whose lengthy and baffling monologue regarding absence of “an absolute morality” (Mamet) in this world shows a world sans conscience.
Glengarry Glen Ross Seems a Postmodern Answer to Transparency of Language
As far as the question of language is concerned, there is a modern idea that “language is transparent, that words serve only as representations of thoughts or things, and don’t have any function beyond that” (Klages) which seems to be true in the case of Willy Loman and he has “Big” (Miller) ideas, “contacts” (Miller) and above all the idea of “well-liked” (Miller) through which we could assess his dreams. He is the “signified” in which the “reality resides” (Klages). However, the case of Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer. There is no idea and “only surfaces” (Klages) and only “signifiers, without no signifieds” (Klages) which is clear from the language used by Levene, Roma and Williamson. Contrary to Death of a Salesman, where language is a vehicle to communicate the reality, the characters in Glengarry Glenn Ross do not use language for communication but for hiding, manipulating and exploiting truth and hooking the customers and others of their ilk. Miller’s ideas are clear that he wants to show the other side of capitalism and he presented it through Willy but Mahmet has left everything on the reader to deduce from the use of language.
Conclusion
In nutshell, the difference lies in the periods in which both plays have made their debuts where Death of Salesman represents the modern idea of tragedy as expounded by the author himself. On the other hand, Glengarry Glen Ross does not present any tragedy, hence no catharsis of any emotions in it. Whereas Death of a Salesman is a journey toward the realization of a moral system, beliefs, and hopes or better to say order, Glengarry Glen Ross is the epitome of a world sans moral values, beliefs, or creeds except material gains by hook or by crook. If Death of Salesman uses transparent language to point out the reality, the same reality disappears as Glengarry Glen Ross seems a postmodern answer. It is true that both have the same theme and one seems to be the sequel of the other, but both present a world poles apart from each other where one is a modern play and the other is a postmodern one.
Works Cited
- Klages, Mary. “Postmodernism.” Postmodernism. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 May 2014.
- Mamet, David. Glengarry Glen Ross: A Play. New York: Grove, 1984. Print.
- Miller, Arthur. Death of a Salesman. Oxford: Heinemann, 1994. Print.
- Miller, Arthur. “Tragedy and the Common Man.” The Theater Essays. New York: Viking, 1978. 3-7. Print.
- Shakespeare, William. “Hamlet”. Shakespeare Online. 1999. Web. 29 May 2014
Relevant Questions about Glengarry Glen Ross Seems A Postmodern Answer
- How do the themes of disillusionment and the American Dream in Glengarry Glen Ross and Death of a Salesman reflect the postmodern critique of traditional values and narratives in American society?
- In what ways do the characters in Glengarry Glen Ross and Death of a Salesman challenge or subvert the conventional portrayal of the salesman figure in American literature, and how does this reflect postmodern perspectives on identity and success?
- Both Glengarry Glen Ross and Death of a Salesman depict the harsh realities of the capitalist system and its impact on individuals. How do these plays engage with the postmodern notion of a fragmented and uncertain reality, and how does this influence their portrayal of the characters’ struggles and aspirations?