In the play Glengarry Glen Ross, selling is like a complicated courtship. Richard Roma is sales. Throughout the play, we never once get a true insight into the real Richard Roma. All we know is that he is good at his job, greedy and calculating. His demeanor changes on a dime; he is whoever he needs to be in whatever situation he happens to be in. This is his edge.
Roma starts out as a pseudo-intellectual sitting in a restaurant. He sees a man that he has never met before, Mr. Lingk, sitting by himself. Roma decides to try and make a completely unplanned sale. Roma starts out easy, not wanting to raise the stranger’s defenses by saying immediately that he is a salesman. Roma begins talking about simple things that any man could relate to. Roma captures Lingk’s interest, gains his trust, and artfully pitches his sale in the guise of a disillusioned salesman just trying to help a fellow man out.
The last thought on Lingk’s mind is to invest in real estate, but Roma puts on his “good ol’ boy” face, and makes the sale anyway.
When Lingk comes to see Roma at the office the next day to cancel the sale, Roma is ready to play the game. Without any preparation time, Roma cues Levene, and slips easily into his façade of the night before.
First, Roma tries to distract Lingk from the purpose of his visit by introducing him to an “impressive businessman” that Roma supposedly does much business with. Levene is an old campaigner himself, and has no problem slipping into his part. By making Lingk think that Roma does business with someone of so much influence, Roma is also hoping to increase his credibility and authority with Lingk.
When Lingk persists in his urgency to talk with Roma about the cancellation of his sale, Roma makes an excuse to leave the office, wanting to stall Lingk until the sale is irreversible. Lingk is not put off, so Roma tries to shame Lingk by making him admit that he is bowing to pressure from his wife. This strikes a nerve within Lingk, so Roma persists, and starts to convince Lingk that the problem lies not within the purchase of land, but within Lingk’s lack of authority in his marriage. This, of course, is a very subtle but vicious move. Roma is basically insulting Lingk’s manhood.
Bitter about the evolution of the corruption of society, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell plays the official hero clinging to old traditions and reminiscing about the old days in No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy. Delusions of a peaceful utopia during the time his grandpa Jack was a sheriff has left Bell looking at the world through hopeless eyes; a world on its knees with only one explanation for its demise: Satan. Not necessarily a religious man, Sheriff Bell, when asked if he believes in Satan, remarks: “He explains a lot of things that otherwise don’t have no explanation. Or not to me they don’t” (218). Throughout No County for Old Men, Sheriff Bell is determined to save Llewellyn Moss in order to prove that justice can be served in a world now drenched in decay. Throughout the book and the film adaptation, the audience can see Sheriff Bell, a tormented old man, sink deeper into his bitterness and his hope sizzle away in the Texas heat.
The Worst Hard Time is all about surviving the dust bowl days in the panhandles of Texas and Oklahoma, commonly referred to as no man’s land. The author, Timothy Egan, wrote this because he knew the sources for first hand accounts were dwindling as many people who were alive during that time are now growing old. Egan begins by describing breakup of the XIT ranch which covered most of the Texas panhandle. All this land was then sold in small sections to new homesteaders, or nesters, who then began to turn sod, till the land plant wheat, corn, and other crops on this newfound inexhaustible resource. Egan describes the forces that led to European settlement of the Great Plains. The U.S. government cleared the land of the Indians and bison by the
Hughes story overall was funnier because it leaves the reader with a positive situation of him overcoming heartbreak and continuing his pursuit for knowledge. Brody’s story wasn 't as funny because it ends on a sad note and makes the reader forget any funny elements and focus on the sad irony of the
First, Egan believes that the Chicago Syndicate, as well as the government, took part in causing the Dust Bowl. The Worst Hard Time began with an explanation of how the land was inhabited after the Comanche were kicked off. Texas wanted an extravagant state capitol building after the Civil War. In order to fund this building, Texas agreed to give land to whoever would take on the endeavor of building the structure. The Chicago Syndicate decided
The majority of the game takes the player through Niko’s troubles as he searches for a place in Liberty City while trying to achieve the American dream. Along the way, Niko finds employment working for government agencies, mob bosses, and political candidates. Through his connections Niko finds Darko Brevic, the man who betrayed him, and has him handcuffed in a secluded location. After interrogating Darko, Niko learns that Darko sold his entire company for a measly $1000. Niko is infuriated and Roman tries to calm him down. At this point, the player can either deci...
Managing to save 1,200 Jews. This quote also shows courage because at his own expense he provided his Jewish employees with the life sufficient diet they needed unlike the Nazis did. Secondly, Schindler didn't want to sneak away the jews he only wanted to make a hoax for the Nazis. He wanted the Nazis to believe that he was helping them with the German war effort but really he was trying to save the Jewish community from final liquidation. The narrator describes, “He only wanted to keep the hoax up long enough to survive the war” (2). this quote demonstrates how Schidler stands up to the German command to help out the Jewish community without getting himself in the line at danger but still manages to save 1,200 Jews. He also demonstrates courage because if he got busted for what he is doing he would be imprisoned or even
Titus Livius Patavinius was a patriot who believed in the "purer morality" of the Roman Empire and Republic that had sustained its existence for so long. He also saw, however, a gradual decline in morality and virtue over time as Roman society became richer and more prone to greed. As a result of this observation, he did not trust that any modern ruler would possess the moral integrity of the great leaders of the past, but perhaps if they read his book they could learn from the good examples and be warned by the bad ones. Machiavelli also agreed that history should be studied and applied to the present, but he believed that when people read Livy, they took “infinitely more pleasure in knowing the variety of incidents that are contained in [Livy’s writings], without ever thinking of imitating them.” In other words, Livy’s account of Rome was more of a glorified fairytale which no one could possibly use as a reference for solving current problems so he decided to write a commentary explaining what he believed to be the real reasons for the rise (and fall) of Rome. Both Livy and Machi...
Upon examination, one finds capital punishment to be economically weak and deficient. A common misconception of the death penalty is that the cost to execute a convicted criminal is cheaper than to place a convict in prison for life without parole. Due to the United States judicial system, the process of appeals, which is inevitable with cases involving death as the sentence, incurs an extreme cost and is very time consuming. The cost of a capital trial and execution can be two to six times greater than the amount of money needed to house and feed a prisoner for life. "Studies show incarceration costs roughly $20,000 per inmate per year ($800,000 if a person lives 40 years in prison). Research also shows a death-penalty ease costs roughly $2 million per execution," (Kaplan 2). Capital punishment is extremely expensive and depletes state governments of money that could be used for a wide range of programs that are beneficial. As Belolyn Wiliams-Harold, an author for the journal Black Enterprise, writes that county governments are typically responsible for the costs of prosecution and the costs of the criminal trial, including attorney's fees, and salaries for the members of the courtroom. All this money is spent at the expense of the corrections department and crime prevention programs, which are already is strapped for cash (Williams-Harlod 1). These "financial constraints," such as capital punishment, do not promote a healthy, commercial society, but actually cost and harm the public.
The American dream, this is what draws the most people to move to America, whether it be legally or illegally. Everyone wants a piece of this dream. To people who look at America this dream means the perfect life. This is one of the similarities concerning the American dream in both The Great Gatsby and Glengarry Glen Ross. Both of these literary works have the American dream as a fundamental theme throughout. The ideas shared in both of these works range from success and freedom to self-creation and failure. These works portray these ideas in two different lights. However, are the ideas that they show truly so different?
In the novel No Country for Old Men by Cormac McCarthy, the increased brutality and violence along the Texas-Mexico border leads to various moral conflicts among the citizens as well as authority figures. Because of this ominous presence, the characters, especially the older men, are forced to combat such violence and brutality, with varying degrees of success. Although experience and ethical obligations can allow for some success, it is ultimately achieved by those that are able to conform to such brutality rather than fight it. In the novel, Anton Chigurh represents the new era of men in Texas through his defiance of law and justice whereas Sheriff Bell stands for the old values of the country and Llewelyn Moss holds a position in the world between the two ultimatums. Throughout the novel, the drastic societal alterations affect characters differently depending on their moral values and physical capabilities thus revealing how the country has become too violent and brutal for the men who rely on justice
Many people, including some higher educated people, tend to believe that executing someone is a lot cheaper than the alternative, which is life in prison without the possibility of parole. Indeed, this thought seems like common sense. However, extensive research has been conducted that contradicts that belief. For instance, a study conducted in Maryland, in 2008, found that the state spends roughly 1.9 million dollars more per capital case, compared to non-capital cases (Warden, 2009). But how can this be some may ask. Well, the reason capital punishment costs more than life without the possibility of parole, is because death penalty cases are longer and more expensive. Because the capital punishment is an irreversible sentence, the state, or government, is required to heighten the defendant’s due process in order to decrease the chance of the defendant being innocent (DPIC). Furthermore, not only is it more expensive for the trial phase, it is also a higher price for a state to imprison death row inmates compared to other
After all of the years of wars and nothing but hard work, I’ve finally declared myself dictator for life just a few weeks ago. War was hard, and I‘ve been through a lot, I feel like I deserve this privilege in the Roman Republic. If I haven’t taken the path I walk on today, I would’ve never met my dear Cleopatra and had a son with her, I’m glad I’m not writing this to my other spouse Calpurnia. My ruling before dictator proves me worthy because I reformed Rome to the great power it is today. Without me they would’ve never fixed the hole they’ve dug themselves into. I knew it would be helpful to place allies in the Senate to proceed with my agenda for the Roman Republic, without them I wouldn’t to be able to do anything.
In the beginning of the story Lupe is determined to find a sport. She has been trying to find one but can’t. Lupe had tried many sports before, but she had not found one. “I wish I could win something anything, even marbles.”
After having a conversation with the man who brutally attacked his father and left him to suffer, Don Lupe’s son takes pity on Juvencio and tells his men to kill Juvencio quickly. Juan Rulfo describes this merciful action in the passage, “There he was, as if they'd beaten him, waving his hat against the ground. Shouting. Immediately, the voice from inside said, ‘Tie him up and give him something to drink until he gets drunk so the shots won't hurt him.’” In this scene, Juan Rulfo shows that the son, even after reliving the story of how Juvencio murdered his father, still has a certain amount of empathy for Juvencio, though it is clear that Juvencio felt no empathy for Don Lupe. The son still orders his men to kill Juvencio quickly and to get him drunk, unlike when Juvencio killed Don Lupe and left him to suffer for two days. This demonstrates that Don Lupe’s son is still a compassionate person, even when dealing with the man who murdered his father. Juan Rulfo uses this scene to show the empathetic nature of Don Lupe’s son and the fact that every main character in the story, except for Juvencio, exhibits
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