Characters
- Richard "Ricky" Roma
- The most successful salesman in the office. Although Roma seems to think of himself as a latter day cowboy and regards his ability to make a sale as a sign of his virility, he admits only to himself that it is all luck. He is ruthless, dishonest and immoral, but succeeds because he has a talent for figuring out a client's weaknesses and crafting a pitch that will exploit those weaknesses.
- He is a smooth talker and often speaks in grand, poetic soliloquies.
- Shelly "The Machine" Levene
- An older, once-successful salesman, who has fallen on hard times and has not closed a big deal in a long time. In Mamet's original 1983 stage version, Levene mentions his daughter as a final ploy to gain Williamson's sympathy in order to get better leads. However, in the 1992 film version, Levene's discussion of his daughter also includes comments about her poor health in order to gain additional sympathy from Williamson.
- James Lingk
- A timid, middle-aged man who becomes Roma's latest client. Lingk is easily manipulated and finds Roma highly charismatic.
- John Williamson
- The office manager and main antagonist. The salesmen despise Williamson and look down on him, but need him desperately because he's the one who hands out the sales leads.
- George Aaronow
- An aging salesman with low self-esteem who lacks confidence and hope. A follower who lacks the ability to stand on his own.
- Dave Moss
- A big-mouthed salesman with big dreams and schemes. Moss resents Williamson, Mitch and Murray for putting such pressure on him and plans to strike back at them by stealing all their best sales leads and selling them to a competitor. Moss sees Aaronow as a potential accomplice.
- Baylen
- A police detective. He appears in the final act to investigate the office break-in and interrogate each cast member behind closed doors.
- Mitch and Murray
- These unseen characters are the owners of the real estate agency. They have set up a cruel sales "contest" that has put enormous pressure on the salesmen to produce or to lose their jobs.
Read more about this topic: Glengarry Glen Ross
Famous quotes containing the word characters:
“Though they be mad and dead as nails,
Heads of the characters hammer through daisies;
Break in the sun till the sun breaks down,
And death shall have no dominion.”
—Dylan Thomas (1914–1953)
“The naturalistic literature of this country has reached such a state that no family of characters is considered true to life which does not include at least two hypochondriacs, one sadist, and one old man who spills food down the front of his vest.”
—Robert Benchley (1889–1945)
“My characters never die screaming in rage. They attempt to pull themselves back together and go on. And that’s basically a conservative view of life.”
—Jane Smiley (b. 1949)