Selling Jesus and Houses: Deception in Good Country and Glengarry Glenn Ross

Deception in Good Country People and Glengarry Glenn Ross

In David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross and Flannery O'Connor's "Good Country People," 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 Mamet's play is clear, "To be a successful salesman, you must have the �balls' to be ruthless, cunning, competitive, and aggressive. Anything less, the character taunts, and you �can't play in a man's game.'" In Mamet's 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 O'Connor's short story, the deception of Joy-Hulga also occurs in what is traditionally a "man's game," sexual intercourse. However, despite the deception of the salesmen in Glengarry Glen Ross and the salesman in "Good Country People," it is actually self-deception that most affects the characters in these works.

There are a number of similarities in Glengarry Glen Ross and "Good Country People." 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 j

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is superior in intellect to those around her. She believes she has special insight into her self and others that they lack, and she is proud of her nihilism and atheism. When she berates her mother, we see this sense of superiority from her advanced "education." As she tells her, "Woman! do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!" (O'Connor, p. 276). Joy-Hulga's "salvation" comes from philosophy. However, we are told very early in the story that she suffers from a "weak heart," that prevents her from living the life she prefers, (O'Connor, p. 276). Joy-Hulga's weak heart is more than a physical ailment, however. It also represents a spiritual defect in that she is unable to relate to others or feel compassion for anyone but herself. She is selfish and believes herself superior to others in intellect and her ability to see through the dogma and myth of religion. As she assertively tells Manley, "I don't have illusions," (O'Connor, p. 287). However, because she thinks she knows everything, Joy-Hulga deceives herself when it comes to Manley. She thinks he is a reserved, inexperienced country boy who she might seduce at will. She has replaced religion with philosophy and has become v

Category: Literature - S