Write an essay about the setting of the play. What is Mamet saying about the world that these men inhabit? Does he believe they can ever escape it, or does the constant grinding follow them everywhere they go? What lives do they have outside of this world? Divide the essay into two parts analyzing the significance and connection between these two locations:

Part 1) The Chinese restaurant

Part 2) The office

Essay Topic 2

David Mamet's work is nearly always concerned with the idea of the scam. His characters are always scheming against other for their own gain, setting up systems that are rigged in their favor. Write an essay about the scams of this play:

Part 1) How is the business of selling this land a lie? Is the business these men engage in connected in any way to the dreams they promise their customers? Cite the interchange between Lingk, Roma, and Levene in Act 2 as evidence.

Part 2) To what extent is the company scamming the salesmen? Is there any way that these men can win in a system like the sales contest?

Part 3) How does Dave Moss scam both the company and his fellow salesmen over the course of the play? How does he keep himself free of risk, and how does his plan work in the end?

Essay Topic 3

Write an essay on the topic of Glengarry Glen Ross as social criticism. In what way is the real estate office a microcosm for a system of capitalism gone rampant? How are the salesmen figures seen as both victims and perpetrators of this system? Cite examples from the real world - perhaps in the modern derivatives market - of people who have served the same purpose in a wildly unregulated system.

(see the answer keys)

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