Deception in Good Country People and Glengarry Glenn Ross
In David MametÆs Glengarry Glen Ross and Flannery OÆConnorÆs ôGood Country People,ö the theme of deception is pervasive and has a profound impact on the lives of the characters in each respective work. In Brass Balls, Andrea Greenbaum (p. 34) informs us that the message of the unnamed executive in the film of MametÆs play is clear, ôTo be a successful salesman, you must have the æballsÆ to be ruthless, cunning, competitive, and aggressive. Anything less, the character taunts, and you æcanÆt play in a manÆs game.Æö In MametÆs play, the salesmen deceive others for their own benefit in a game where being poor at deception leads to loss of revenues and loss of masculinity. In OÆConnorÆs short story, the deception of Joy-Hulga also occurs in what is traditionally a ômanÆs game,ö sexual intercourse. However, despite the deception of the salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross and the salesman in ôGood Country People,ö it is actually self-deception that most affects the characters in these works.
There are a number of similarities in Glengarry Glen Ross and ôGood Country People.ö In each of these stories, salesmen deceive others in order to achieve their own self-interests. In Glengarry Glen Ross, the salesman are eager to prove their masculinity and self-worth based on the number and value of homes they sell. They do this eagerly for material reasons as well as to keep their job in a corporate environment that only rewards economic performance. In the contest between Murray and Mitch we learn, ôThe top salesman will win a Cadillac; second prize is a set of steak knives; third prize is youÆre fired,ö (Greenbaum, p. 34). Likewise, the Bible salesman in ôGood Country People,ö deceives Joy-Hulga in order to increase his income from selling Bibles but he also does so in order to take advantage of her sexually. Joy-Hulga is taken advantage of by Man...