Student Number: 03421 4080 ENGLISH LETTERS STT]DY PROGRAMME DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS FACULTY OF LETTBRS SANATA DHARMA UNTYERSITY

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

THE CONTRIBUTION OF'THE CHARACTERS IN
DEVELOPING THE CONFLICTS IN DAVID MAMET'S
GLENGA.R^RT GLEN ROSS
AN I.INDERGRADUATE THESIS
Presented as Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
for the Degree of Sarjarn Sastra

in English Leffers

By
A.R. ADI TRI BUDIANTO
Student Number: 03421 4080

ENGLISH LETTERS STT]DY PROGRAMME
DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH LETTERS
FACULTY OF LETTBRS
SANATA DHARMA UNTYERSITY
2010

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

LEMBAR PER}IYATAAN PARSETUJUAI\
PUBLIKASI KARYA ILMIAH LINTUK KEPENTINGAI{ AKADEMIS
Yang bertanda tangan di bawah im, saya mahasiswa Universitas Sanata Dharma

:

:A.R. ADI TRI BUDIANTO

NomorMahasiswa

: 034214080

Demi pengembangan ilmu pengetahuan, saya memberikan kepada Perpustakaan
Universitas Sanata Dharma karya ilmiah saya yang be{udul :
THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHARACTERS IN DEVELOPING TIIE
CONFLICS IN DAYID MAMET'S GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS
beserta perangkat yang diperlukan (bila ada). Dengan demikian saya memberikar
kepada Perpustakaan Universitas Sanata Dharma hak untuk menyimpan, ftengalihkan dalam bentrk media lain, mengelolanya dalam bentuk pangkalan data,

mendisfribusikan secara terbatas, dan mempubhkasikannya di Intemet atau media
lain rurtuk kepentingan akademis rarrpa perlu meminta ijin dari saya fiuilrpnn
memberikan royalti kepada saya selama tetap mencanhunkan il;rma saya sebagai
penulis.

Demikian penryataan ini yang saya buat dengan sebenarnya.

Dibuatdi Yogyakarta
Pada tanggal : 22

Apn120l0

Yang menyatakan

( A.R. Adi Tri Budianto )

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

A Sarjano Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHARACTERS IN
DEYELOPING TI{E CONFLICTS IN DAVID MAMET'S
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

By
A.R. ADI TRI BT]DIANTO
Student l.{umber: 0342 14080

Approved by

March 30,2010

March 30,2010
Co-Advisor

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

A Sarjana Sastra Undergraduate Thesis

THE CONTRIBUTION OF THE CHARACTf,RS IN

DEVELOPING THE CONFLICTS IN DAVID MAMET'S
GLENGARRY GLEN ROSS

By
A.R. ADI TRI BTIDIANTO
Student Number: A3 421 4080

Defended before the board

cf examiners

On March 26,2A10
And Declared Acceptable

BOARD OF'EXAMINERS

Name
Chairman

Dr. Fr. B. Alip, M.Pd., M.A.

Secretary

Drs. Hirmawan Wijanarka, M.Hum.

Member

Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum

Member

Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum

Member

Adventina Putranti, S.S., M.Hum.

April

Yogyakarta"

, 2010
Faculty of Letters
Dharma University

3\
i Isodarus, M.Hum.

nl

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certifr that all ideas, phrases, and sentences, unless otherwise
stated, are the thesis writer's ideas, phrases and sentences. The writer understands

the full consequences including degree cancellation

if

she took somebody else's

ideas, phrases, or sentences without proper references.

Yogyakarta,

3l March 2010

Aurelius Raymundus Adi Tri Budianto

tv

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

..YOU

MAY LEARN
MUCH MORE FROM A GAME YOU
LOSE THAN FROM A GAME YOU WIN!''
From Gary Kasparov'

, t":;:;:ti,!:'H;2

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I

am aware that

I

could never have succeeded

in

finishing my

undergraduate thesis without the help of others.

My greatest gratitude is due to Mrs. Dewi Widyastuti, S.Pd., M.Hum, who
has patiently guided me throughout my study as my academic and thesis advisor.

I

also owe similar gratitude to Mrs. Ni Luh Putu Rosiandani, S.S., M.Hum, who as

my co-advisor has kindly given invaluable suggestion

I would also thank my family for their moral and financial supports I need
in studying and I am thankful to them for their endless love and understanding.

I will also not forget all my best friends in Teater TOEDJOEH.I

thank

them so much for the Glengarry Glen Ross play performance in 2008 since it has

helped me to understand this drama much deeper.

deepest gratitude to

I would like to extend my

my lecturers and the administration staff in Sanata Dharma

University, particularly those in the English Letters. I also thank my friends in my
KKMprogram and my friends in my hometown.
Above all, I thank God for the endless help and blessings.

Aurelius Raymundus Adi Tri Budianto

vl

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

TABLE OF CONTENTS

TITLEPAGE

APPROVAL PAGE
ACCEPTAI\CE PAGE
STATEMENT OF ORIGINALITY
MOTTO PAGE
DEDICATION PAGE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ....
TABLE OF CONTENTS....

...........

..... v
.......... vi
vll
viii

...........xi

INTRODUCTION

.......... I
........... I
............... 3
............4

C. Objectives ofthe Study
D. Definition of Terms

...........4

II: TI{EORETICAL REVIEW
ReviewonRelatedStudies
B. ReviewofRelatedTheories
1. Theory on Character .....
2. TheoryonConflict
C. Theoretical Framework ....

CHAPTER

A.

..

CHAPTER trI: METHODOLOGY
A. Objectofthe Study

C.

.. . ..

..............x

A. Background ofthe Study
B. ProblemFormulation

B.

.............. iv
.

ABSTRACT.....
ABSTRAK
CHAPTER I:

......... i
............ ii
........ iii

...........7
................7
..............9
.

.. . ...

.... 9

.....

16

.......

18

....

2A

.......... 20
........... 2l
........22

Study
Study

Approach of the
Method of the

CHAPTER IV: ANALYSIS .....
........24
A. The Characteristics of the Main Characters in Glengarry Glen Ross... 24
1. Ricky Rom4 a Salesman
..............24
2. Shelley Levene, a Salesman
....28
3. George Aaronow, a Salesman
.............32

4. Dave Moss, a Salesman
........... 33
5. Mitch and Murray, the Bosses
...... 35
6. John Williamson, the Manager.......
.... 37
B. TheConflictsamongtheMainCharacters ..............41
1.

Salesmen versus the

Bosses

2. Salesmen versus the Manager .. .. ..
3. SalesmenversusSalesmen
.

vll

.............. 4l
.

.. ..... 45

........49

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C. The Contribution of the Characters' Characteristics to
the Conflicts

l.

.......

.......

50

The Salesmen' Characteristics versus the Manager's ................ 50
a. Levene's Characteristics versus Williamsonos
.... 50
b. Roma's Characteristics versus Williamson's
..... 51
c. Aaronow's Characteristics versus Williamson's . . ........ . .... 52
2. The Salesmen's Characteristics versus the
......... 53
a. Moss's Characteristics versus Mitch and Murray's ............ 53
b. Roma's Characteristics versus Mitch and Murrayos .... . ...... 54
c. Leveneos Characteristics versus Mitch and Murray's .. ... .... 54
d. Aaronow's Characteristics versus Mitch and Murray's ....... 55
3. A Salesman's Characteristics versus another Salesman's ........... 56
a. Moss's Characteristics versus
....... 56
b. Moss's Characteristics versus
................. 57

.....
.....

Bosses'

Aaronow's
Roma's

CHAPTER V: CONCLUSION.
BIBLIOGRAPITY......

vlll

.................. s8
..............61

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRACT

A. R. ADI TRI

BUDIANTO. The Contribution of the Characters in
developing the Conflicts in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross. Yogyakarta:
Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University,
2010.

Glengarry Glen Rosstells us about four Chicago salesmen, Ricky Roma"
Dave Moss, Shelley Levene, and George Aaronow, who are employees in Micth
and Murray's company. They work together in selling an undesirable real estate at
inflated prices. The play starts as the setting at the end of a month in which the
bosses or employers of the company Mitch and Murray's give an order to
Williamsor5 a Mitch and Murray's manager of the four salesmen, to declare a
o'sales
contest". The contest is to award a Cadillac to the salesman who makes the
biggest sale for the leads they sell. [n addition, two salesmen on the bottom
position of the contest table are to get fired. Levene, who has a sick daughter,
makes a decision to rob his office because he needs money to finance the

medication of his sick daughter. Unfortunately because of his sloppiness,
Williamson discovers what he does.
The objectives of the study are to answer three main problems. First, it is
meant to identi$ the characters' characteristics depicted in the drama. The second
is to find the conflicts among the main characters. The third is to discover how the
characterso characteristics contribute to the conflicts.
This study applies library research to collect the data related to the topic of
the study. This study also applies some appropriate theories to answer the
questions stated in the problems. They are the theories on character and the
theories on conflict. The writer also uses the formalistic approach.
The analysis results reveal the characters' characteristics, which, among
others, are greed, affogance, and over-self-confidence, and also lack of
confidence. This study also discovers that conflicts happen not only between the
bosses and the salesmen but also among the salesmen themselves. The play
depicts the unfair competition among the salesmen, the conspiration among the
bosses to remove their unwanted salesmen, the conspiration among the salesmen
to steal. Finally, it also discovers that the conflicts are made serious because of the
characters' bad characteristics: greediness in Mitch and Murray's characteristics,
unfairness in Williamson's, arrogance in Roma's, hopelessness in Levene's and
lack of confidence in Aaronow's. Their negative characteristics make the
atmosphere in their workplace uncomfortable and lead to no solution in dealing
with their problems.

1X

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

ABSTRAK

A. R. ADI TRI BUDIANTO. The Contribution of the Characters in
developing the Conflicts in David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross.Yogyakarta:
Department of English Letters, Faculty of Letters, Sanata Dharma University,
z}rc.

Glenggary Glen Ross berkisah tentang empat orang karyawan penjual,
Mereka adalah Ricky Rom4 Dave Moss, Shelley Levene, George Aaronow, yang
menjadi karyawan di perusahaan milik Mitch and Murray. Mereka bekerja untuk
menjual produk real estate (tanah dan rumah) yang kurang laku dengan harga
yang mahal. Drama ini mengambil setting di akhir bulan, ketika Mitch and
Murray memberi perintah kepada Williamson, manager keempat karyawan
tersebut untuk mengumumkan sayembara jual: penjual yang dapat menghasilkan
penjualan paling tinggi akan mendapatkan sebuah Cadillac. Selain itu, dua penjual
terbawah dari peringkat sayembara akan segera dipecat. Levene yang memiliki
anak perempuan yang sakit memutuskan untuk merampok kantornya sendiri
karena dia membutuhkan uang untuk pengobatan putrinya. Celakanya, karena
kecerobohannya, Williamson mengetahui apa yang dilakukannya.
Tujuan dari studi ini adalah untuk menjawab tiga permasalahan utama.
Pertama, studi ini berusaha mengidentifikasi sifat-sifat para tokoh utama
Glenggarry Glen Ross, yaitu karateristik para tenaga penjual maupun pimpinan
dan pemilik perusahaan. Kedu4 studi ini berusaha menemukan konflik yang
terjadi di antara tokoh utama. Yang ketiga adalah menemukan kontribusi sifatsifat para tokoh utama tersebut dalam menciptakan konflik.
Studi ini menggunakan metode studi pustaka dengan cara mengambil data
yang mempunyai hubungan dengan topik. Studi ini juga memakai beberapa teori
untuk menjawab masalah penelitian. Teori itu adalah teori karakter dan teori
konfl ik. Penulis j uga menggunakan pendekatan formalistik.
Analisis studi ini menemukan sifat-sifat para karyawan dan pimpinan,
yang antara lain adalah ketamakan, kesombongan, percaya diri yang keterlaluan,
maupun ketiadaan percaya diri. Penelitian ini juga menemukan bahwa konflik
terjadi bukan hanya antara karyawan dan pimpinan tetapi juga antar karyawan.
persaingan antar karyawan. Drama ini memaparkan persaingan yang tidak sehat
antar para penjual, konspirasi antar pimpinan untuk menyingkirkan karyawan dan
juga konspirasi antar karyawan untuk mencuri. Terakhir, penelitian ini juga
menemukan bahwa konflik diperkuat oleh sifat-sifat buruk para tokohnya.
Ketamakan yang ada dalam diri Mitch dan Murray, pilih kasih yang ada dalam
diri John Williamson, keangkuhan yang ada dalam diri Ricky Rom4 keputus
asaan yang ada dalam diri Shelley Levene dan ketiadaan kepercayaan diri yang
ada dalam diri George Aaronow. Sifat-sifat buruk mereka ini yang membuat
suasana kantor menjadi tidak nyaman dan tidak memberi solusi penyelesaiannya.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER

I

INTRODUCTION

A. Background ofthe Study
Drama is a type

of

literature works that is usually created for a play

performance. The advantage given by a theahical performance, however, requires

the limitations of the material

it

can present.

A play must be able to hold

the

attention of a group audience. A higher demand than in prose fiction is placed for
a well-defined plot,

swift exposition, strong conflicts, and dramatic confrontation.

Unless the play is very brief, it must usually be divided into parts separated by an

intermission or intermissions, and each part must work up to its own climax or
point of suspense. It must be written in such a way that its central meanings may
be grasped in a single hearing (Perrine,

1974:9Il-2).

In this thesis the writer analyzes a work of drama because of its wonderful
aspects. Barranger (1994) in his comments about drama or a play states that a

play is written as a process of unfolding and discovery. To successfully read a
play is to understand ohow' the playwright generates meaning scene after scene in

meaningful level patterns. The dialogue communicates feelings and ideas; the
characters give social and economic contracts (Bananger, 1994: 8).

Barranger also states that drama is unique among the representational arts

in that it represents 'reality' by using real human beings -actors- as characters- to
create its fictional universe (1994:338). It means that the reality in drama comes

from the actions ofthe characters that appear in the stage.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Drama

is an imitation of life, which

inhigues us because, like

a

photograph, it duplicates reality. This fact implies that life and literature cannot be
separated. As what Barranger writes

in Understanding Plays (1994: 3), it is stated

that

Drama's characters are images of active human beings. To be credible,
their manner and dress must fit their period, place, and social class. Their
speech must suit their age, sex, personality, class and circumstances. Their
actions must be rooted in situation. The playwright's success depends on
skill in developing characters and events together in believable and
convincing pattems of choice and behavior (1994:339).
Thus, we see what the playwright does with his actors - he uses them as
characters, images

of man in his many

aspects. We pay attention

to what the

playwright does with the space around his characters, how he uses it and enlarges
it until it comes to represent the world in which his characters live.

In this undergraduate thesis, the present writer analyzes David Mamet's
Glengarry Glen Ross.

It is a modern American

drama and an example

theatre of realism which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama

in

of the

1984 because of the

scathing attacks on American Business practices. David Mamet, who was bom in
Chicago on 30 November 1947, is one representative of dramatists whose drama

drew many comparisons

to

Arthur Miller's classic Death

(http://www.sparknotes.com/drama/glengarry/themes.html.,

2I,

2A09).

of

accessed

Salesman

on

January

As a modern playwright, Mamet portrays everyday life of ordinary

people with their sonow,

joy, problems, and emotions

so that

it makes us easier to

catch his ideas and we really feel aware of the environment around us. George
Bernard Shaw (in Farlene, 1970: 129) says that Mamet through his plays gives us

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

not only ourselves, but also ourselves in our situation. The settings that happen to
his stage figures are things that happen to us (Farlene,1970:129).

Basically, a story is learnt through its characterization (Marriot, 1951: 15).

It

means that the existence

of the characters is a must in a literary work. Hardy

(1969: 304-5) mentions that the success of characterization can arouse a trust to a

story which means that the reader must feel that the characters have the

same

behavior in their real life. In sum, the characters are important elements in the
story that cannot be missed in a literary analysis.

The present writer is interested in analyzing the characters in Glengarry

Glen Ross because all characters are desperate of the American business culture
itself. Glengarry GIen Ross tells us about four chicago salesmen or employees,
who work together in selling an undesirable real estate at inflated prices. The
scene takes places at the end

of a month in which the bosses or employers of the

company Mitch and Murray's send williamson, the supervisor
salesmen

to declare a 'osales contest": the

salesman who clears

of the four

a certain high

dollar amount will win a Cadillac, and the two salesmen who perform worst will
be fired.

B. Problem Formulation
Based on the background of the study, there are three questions emerging

from the writer's curiosity that will lead to reach the points of the discussion. The
problems are formulated as follows:

1.

What are the characteristics of each main character in the play?

2.

What are the conflicts among the main characters?

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

3.

How do the characters' characteristics contribute to the conflicts?

C. Objectives of the Study
This thesis is an effort to discover the relationship among the characters in
Mamet's Drama Glengarry Glen Ross. The chief aim of this study is to solve the
questions which the writer has mentioned in the problems stated above. In order to

be more accurate, the objectives of the research in the paper are summarized as

follows:
1.

to identifu the characteristic ofeach character in the play.

2. to

identif

the conflicts among the main characters, and

3. to discover how the characters' characteristics contribute to the development

of

the conflicts.

D. Definition of Terms
In this section, the writer tries to

describe the definition

of the

words

which have appeared in the title and the problems of this study. The terms which
are defined are as follows:

1. Characters
They are some theories about characters. Abrams in A Glossary of Literaty
Terms states that a character refers to a person presented in a dramatic or narrative

work, '\ryho is interpreted by the reader as being endowed with moral

and

dispositional qualities that is expressed in what he says -the dialogue- and by
what he does -the action," (1981:20). Another source says that a character is

ooa

figure that is relevant to every event in the story and usually the events cause
some changes either in him or in the reader' affitude toward

him" (Stanton, 1965:

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

l7).

Baldick gives another definition for the term character.In his opinion, "a

character is a personage in narrative or dramatic work and also a kind of prose
sketch briefly describing some recognizable type of person," (1990: 30).

It can

be

concluded that characters are the persons which appear in the story, or, in other
words, a character is a person who is presented in a literary works. Since Abrams
defines characters as the person in a dramatic or narrative work, (1981:21), while
the adjective main can be interpreted as the most important (Hornby, 2000: 807), a

main character may then interpreted as a person in a dramatic or narrative work
whose role in the work is very important or indispensable.

2.

Characterization

According

to Webster's New

Universal Unabfidged Dictionaty (1972:

304), characterization is "the delineation of character or creation of character in a

play, story, etc, especially by imitating or describing actions, utterances, and
gestures" (1983: 304). In addition, Sylvia Barnet notes that

Characterization or personality, is defined, as in fiction, by what the
character do (e.g. a stage direction tells us that "Nora dances more and
mere wildll'), by what they say (e.g. she asks her husband to play piano),
by what others say about them, and by the seffing in which they move.
(1988: 176).

Another source says that chanctefization is o'the way a writer makes
characters in a book or play seem real" (Homby, 2000: 208)). Similarly, Baldick

(1990: 34) defines characterization as "the representation ofpersons in narrative

or

dramatic works. From Holman and Harmon,

we

understand that

"characterization is the creation of the imaginary person so that they exist for the
reader as

lifelike" (1986: 81).

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

3. Characteristics

According

to Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary (2000:

208), a

characteristic is a "typical feature that something/somebody has", while Longman

Dictionary of contemporary English (2001: 292) defines characteristic as "a
quality or feature of something or someone that is typical of them and easy to
recognize".
3. Conflict

Robert Stanton (1965: 16) mentions that one of the elements of the plot in
the story is conflict.

A conflict is defined by Perrine (1974:44)

actions, ideas, desires, or

as ,,a clash

wills". This conflict is the core of the story's

the generating center out of which the plot grows.

of

structure,

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER

II

THEORETICAL REVIEW
Chapter

II discusses

the theories that are related to the study. The writer

tries to give clear explanation by reviewing some theories which are relevant to
the subject of this study. Based on the topic of this study, the writer divides this
chapter into three parts, namely Review

of Related Studies, Review of Related

Theories and Theoretical Framework.

A. Review of Related Studies
Not many research on this play are displayed in the library. However, we
can obtain some reviews on this play or its playwright in the intemet.

From an internet source, (http ://www. im agi-nati on.com/moo"n slruc.l{c lsc

3l.html, accessed on January 26, 2009), we learn that the most recognized
element of Mamet's style is his sparse, clipped dialogues. Mamet's dialogue is so

unique that

it

has become known as "Mametspeak". His language

"naturalisticoo as

it is a poetic impression of streetwise jargon.

is

not

Other signature

elements of Mamet's style include minimalism and lack of stage direction. Noted

for his strong male

characterso Mamet's plays often deal

with the decline of

morality in a world which has become an emotional and spiritual wasteland.
Most of his works are often controversial because Mamet makes realistic
dialogues but lacks actions. This can be his strength but can also be his weakness.

Lacking actions, his drama is monotonous and not interesting for some people.
However, the realistic dialogues in his works also make some people find his
works very interesting.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Similarly, Harold Pinter (htto://www.theatre.havard.edr/archive/2001falUoleanna/mamet.html&usg, accessed

on December 27, 2008), an English

dramatist, says that Mamet's works lack actions but are

full of dialogues which

are very realistic. They are so because he always recorded some dialogues on the
tape to write in his works.

On the interview with Matthew Roudane (Barnet, Burto, Ferris

and

Rabkin, 2A0I: 1273) about the role of language in his plays, Mamet explains that
its poetic language is not attempt to capture language as much as it is an attempt

to create language. The language in his plays is not only realistic but also poetic.
The words sometimes have a musical quality to them.

It is language which is

tailor-made for the stage. People do not always talk the way his characters do in
real life, although they may use some of the same words. His plays do not mirror
what is going on in the street. It is something different. As Oscar Wilde said, "Life

imitates art. We did not have those big pea-soup fogs until somebody descibed
them" (Bamet et al.,ZAA1:n73).
The role of the language in Mamet's plays is not only realistic but also

poetic. His plays are considered as a realism because according to Baldick (1990)
realism means a mode

of writing that give the impression of recording or

'reflecting' faithfully an actual way of life. It is also stated that modem criticism
views realism not as a direct or simple reproduction of reality (a slice of life) but a
system of conventions, producing a lifelike illusion of some real world outside the

text, by processes of selectiono exclusion, description and manners of addressing
the reader.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Mamet is not primarily thought of as a political playwright, but he is
surely influenced by politics. Once on an opening of his play, Mamet gave an
interview in which he did not hesitate to declare that capitalism was "obviously an

idea whose time has come and gone'. Further, he said that "Americans are
fundamentally dishonest about our aspiration to get something for nothing, and
that's why we're enslaved by the idea of "happy capitalist" instead of observing
that the operative maxim is "Hurrah for me and fuck you." Familiar American

pieties are always linked to criminality. That why they're American pieties."
(Bamet, Burto, Ferris and Rabkin, 2001: 1252).

This paper tries to reveal the hopelessness of employees, victims of
American capitalism, in facing their employers, as depicted in Glengerry Glen
Ross. How they are very frustrated by their unfair treatment and why they cannot

solve this problem. Their bosses plan to kick out the useless employees.
analysis, the present writer does not relate the background of Mamet's

the work the present writer anallzes, but

will

ln the

life with

show the characterization of the

characters that leads them to conflicts. The characters and the conflicts cannot be
separated because they are related to each other.

B. Review on Related Theories

1.

Theory of Character
The most important thing in creating the work is the character because the

work will have no value without characters involved in the story "A character is
someone who acts

out in a particular time and places some kind of conflict in

t0

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

pattem of events"(Rohrberger and Woods, 1981:20).
Joseph

ln Writing with a Purposeo

M. Trimmer gives the explanation that

A

literary work usually focuses on a single character. In poem, this

character is often the speaker, who reveals thoughts or describes events. In
fiction or drama, this character, the protagonist is often opposed by other
characterso the antagonist need not be a person:
might be the
environment, society, or some aspect of the protagonist's personality

it

(1992:335).
Bamet, Berman and Burto (1988: 71) state that the term characler has two
meaning, the first meaning

of character is a figure in a literary work, such as

Hamlet, or Holden Caulfield, and the second is personality, that is, the mental and

moral qualities of a figure, just like when we say that X's character is shong or

weak, or immoral or whatever. Thus, in writing about a character (a figure,
whether Hamlet or Holden), we write about the character's character, namely his
or her personality, traits, characteristics.

A

character

is a person presented in a novel, play, or prose (Yelland,

1950: 29). It means that a novel, play, and prose must have at least one character
to revive the story because a character is the most important thing of the story.
The characters can be divided into two categories based on the importance,
main or major character, and minor character. A major character usually appears
in a whole of the story. This character becomes the focus in the whole of the story.

The events that appear in the story always involve him or her directly and
indirectly. A mirnr character is often said as supporting character because "their

roles are less important than the main character because they are not fully
developed characters and their roles in a story are just to support the development

of the major

character" (Abrams, 1981:20). Apart from that,

we

cannot

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

1l

underestimate the role the minor character because it is also important to make the
story more alive.

An author, in writing the literary work, may present his characters other
directly or indirectly. Holman and Harmon write:

In direct presentation he tells us straight out, by exposition or analysis,
what a character is like, or has someone else n the story tell us what he is
like. In indirect presentation the author shows us the character in action,
we infer what he is like from what he thinks or says or does (1986:68).
Characters basically are also divided into two types on the internal
complexity, namely "flat" and "round'o characters. Abrams, quoting Foster in his
Aspect of the Novel, says that

A flat

character is built around "a single idea or quality" and is presented
without much individualizing detail, and therefore can be fairly adequately
described in a single phrase or sentence, on the other hand, a round
character is complex in temperament and motivation and is represented
with subtle particularity; thus he is as difficult to desoibe with any
adequacy as a person in real life, and like most people, he is capable of
surprising us (198 I :20).
Furthermore, William Kenney, also quoting from Foster in Aspect of the Novel,
states:

A flat

character is less the representation of a human personality than the
embodiment of a single attitude or obsession in a character (the character
is flat because we only see one side of him) while a round character is
obviously more lifelike than the simple, because in life people are not
simply embodiments of single attitudes (the character is round because we
see

all side of him) (1964:28).

The character is flat

if the character

does not show the development and seems so

straight and no changes. This character is always stable from the beginning until

the end of the story. Besides that, the flat character does not have a complete set

of

characteristics

to

differentiate him

or her from other

characters. Minor

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

t2

characters tend to be flat characters and minor characters must necessarily remain

flat (Perrine, 1974:70)). Besides, a flat

character

only shows a little bit

characteristics of herself or himself.

A round character is a character which changes through the events in the
story. It seems that this character is complex. It is true that a round character is not

just a simple character. We can find the complete characterization of him or her
and

it looks

so convincing. *The flat character is characterized by one or two

traits; he can be summed up in a sentence and the round sentence is complex and
many sided, he might require an essay for full analysis" (Perrine, 1974:69).

A character may or may not develop
ooMost

as explained by Stanton (1965: 17):

stories contain a central character, who is relevant to every event in the

story; usually the events cause some change either in him or in our attitude toward

him." Based on the development or change of the character, a character may

be

either static or dynamic. Holman and Harmon in their book .4 Handbook to
Literature say that character can be divided into two: static and dynamic. A static
character is one who changes little

if at all.

Things happen to such a character without things happening within. The
pattem of action reveals the character rather than showing the character
changing in response to the action. Sometimes the static character gives
the appearance of changing simply because our picture of the character is
revealed bit by bit. (Holman and Harmon, 1986: 83)

A static character is only shown passively. He or

she does not give a response

toward the action that exists in the story. Things that happen do not influence
them so much and he shows no changes of such as personalify and character. He
or she looks so flat from the beginning until the end of the story.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

l3

On the other hand, a dynamic character is "one who is modified by actions
experiences, and one objective of the work in which the character appears is to
reveal the consequences of these actions" (Holman and Harmon,1986: 83). The

dynamic character is a character who has a permanent change in some aspect of
his or her character, personality, and outlook. He or she is an active character and

gives the response to the action which appears in the story. Penine

in

his

Literature: Structure, Sound, and Sense describes a static character and a dynamic
character as follows:

a) A static character
he was at the

is the same of sort of the person at the end of the story as

beginning(1974:71)

b) A dynamic character is developing
change

in

some aspect

of his

character who undergoes a permanent

character, personality,

or outlook.

The

change may a large or a small one; it may be for better or for worse: but

it

is something important and basic; it is more than a change in condition or
a

minor change in opinion Q97a:7\.

J.M. Trimmer also explains the changes of the character in Writing with a
Purpose. According to him, "central characters who change

in some significant

way as a result of the conflicts they must resolve are often called dynamic.
Characters
staticoo

who remain unchanged by experiences they encounter are called

(1992:335). To make the changes more convincing, the change must meet

three conditions. Firstly,

makes

it. The

second

it must be within the possibilities of the character who

thing is that

it

must be sufficiently motivated by the

circumstances in which the character finds himself or herself. Thirdly, it must be

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

l4

allowed sufficient time for a change of its magnitude believably to take place
(Perrine, 1974:71).

Characterization

is the description of the

characteristics. The

characterization is the act, process, or result ofcharacterizing.

In fiction (the drama, the novel, the short story, and the narrative poem),
the author reveal the characters of imagery person and the creation of these
imagery persons so that they exist for the reader as lifelike is called
charactefization (Holman and Harmon, 1 9 86 : 8 I ).
Through characteization, the author describes the character clearer to the
reader so the reader can imagine the character without any confusing anymore.

The reader can be directly involved in the story. "Characters have particular
personalities and physical attributes that distinguish them for other characters"
(Rohrberger and Woods, I97 1: 20).

Similarly, charactefization can be understood as the process by which an
author creates a character. Joseph H. Trimmer writes,

The method by which in author creates, reveals, and develops changes is
called characteruation. An author may describe characters directly.
Telling the reader what people look like, how they behave and what they
think, or an author may reveal characters indirectly, suggesting their
appearance, personality, and values through their words and deeds of other
(1992:335).

It

seems that basically the author characterizes the characters

in the two ways

directly and indirectly. There are two principal ways an author can characterize
the characters:

1.

Direct

It means that the author directly tells the reader about the characteristics of
the character (face, physique, gesture, and clothing). The author describes the

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

t5

character's appearance and personality within a sentence so that the reader can get
the description ofthe character certainty.

Direct means to describe physical appearance. He can say, for example,
that Sally is 5 feet 4 inches tall, weighs 110 pounds, and has blond hair and
blues eye. Or he can describe her intellectual and moral attributes or
explain the degree or her sensitivity. He can say that she is a bright girl
who respects her parents and feels their disapproval strongly. (Rohrberger
and Woods, l97I:20)

2.

Dramatic

"Dramatic means that the author places the character in situation to show

what she is by the way she behaves or speaks" (Rohrberger and Woods, 1971:
20). The readers conclude the character's characteristic from her speaking, her act,
and her behavior. The character is shown speaking and acting.

Describing a person in the story must be very careful. These points must
be taken as the consideration (Barnet, Berman and Burto, 1988: 712):

l.

What the character says (though what he or she says need not be taken at face
value, the character may be hypocritical, or self-deceived, or biased),

2.

What the character does,

3.

What other characters say about the character, and

4.

What other characters do (their actions may help to indicate what the character
could do but does not do).

In a literary work, it is impossible to separate characters, characterization,
and characteristic. They all have a common unit of meaning, originating from the

word character. Basically, their relationship must be discovered to have a good
description and create a better analysis.

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Care must be taken because the word character has two possible
meanings. Firstly, the character is a person who appears

in a work, while

the

second meaning is that the character is the explanation of what the character looks

like and their behavior. When looking at the

second definition

of

character,

indirectly it will lead to the explanation of characteristic. It seems that they have

similar meanings. The characteristic

of the character is the result of

characterization. The characteristic is 'othe forming part of the character
person or thing" (Hornby, 1989: 188).

of

a

It consists of the trait of the character.

Another source states that "that which constitutes the character, that which
characterizes;

a distinguished trait, or quality; a peculiarity" (Webster's

New

Universal Unabridged Dietionary, I 983 : 304).

To make the character more convincing, there should be characterization.
The writer has to make good charccte{tzation so the readers can understand the
characteristic of character, Characterization is the way how the author reveals the
character.
2. Theory on Conflicts

According to Perrine's Literature; Structure, Sound and Sense, a conflict
is "a clash of actions, ideas, desireso or

wills" (1976:44) . The main character may

be pitted against some other person or group of persons (man against man); he
may be in conflict with some external force-physical nature, society, or "fate"
(man against environment); or he may be in conflict with some element in his own

nature (man against himself). The conflict may be physical, mental, emotional or
moral (1974:44).

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PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

Perrine (1974: 48-49) also states that a story may have an indeterminate
ending, one in which no definitive conclusion is arrived at.

A conclusion of

some

kind there must of course be. A story, if it is to be an artistic unit, cannot simply
stop. But the conclusion need not be in the terms of a resolve conflict. The story is

more effective without a resolution, for an individual conflict merely symphonizes
a larger social conflict that has no easy resolution.

Stanton (1965: 16) mentions that one

of the elements of the plot in the

story is conflict. A central conflict is always between fundamental and contrasting

qualities or forces, such as honesty and hypocrisy, innocence and experience,
individuality and pressure to conform. This conflict is the core of the structure of a
story, the generating center out of which the plot grows.

A story may contains

more than one conflict of forces, but only the central conflict of a story fully
accounts for the events

According

ofthe plot.

to Baldick (1991: 107-8), a conflict implies not only

the

struggle of a protagonist against someone else or something but also the existence

of some motivation for the conflict or some goal to be achieved thereby. Here a
conflict is the raw material out of which plot is constructed.
Hunt (1995:31-2) says that a conflict does not always have forms in direct
oneso such as

frontal war, fight, raid, riot or any kind of open hostilities. A conflict

does not always mean hate, hatred, or distrust.

A conflict

can also happen just

through the limit of differences of opinion, perspectives, judgments, and opposing
arguments. This type of conflict happens because a group tends to evaluate certain

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

l8

matters based on its own perception or point of view, which is influenced by any
aspects

of its culture, values, religion, beliel and moral standards.
Robert and Jacobs (1987:88) define a conflict as the opposition between

two characters. It may dlso exist between larger groups of people, although in
fiction conflicts between individuals are more identifiable and therefore more
interesting.

A conflict may also exist between an individual

and larger forces,

such as natural objects, ideas, and modes of behavior, public opinion, and the like.

The existence of difficult choices within an individual's mind may also

be

presented as conflict, or dilemma. In addition, the conflict may be presented not as

direct opposition, but rather as a set of comparative or contrastive ideas or values.

In addition, Rohrberger and Woods state that a conflict is the struggle that occurs
between the protagonist and antagonist, fate

or

environment,

or within

the

protagonist or with the conflicting value system (1971: 180).

C. Theoretical Framework

This study is focused to reveal the questions in problem formulations by
analyzing the characters. The theory

of

character is helpful

to explain what

character is. Readers recognize a certain character's personality based

on his or

her manners, ideas and speech. Throughout the play, readers seem to be invited to

feel what kind of situation and condition experienced by a certain character. The
present researcher needed

to obtain the idea of characterization to discover the

characters' characteristics by analyzing what they do, feel

or say. A

purpose or goal throughout his or her appearance can be detected.

certain

It is possible

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

l9

that each character has their own intentions that show their differences from one
another.

In order to identiS the conflicts among the characters, the present writer
uses the theory

of conflict. Conflicts can happen among individual characters or

between a group of characters and an institution, such as a company, as what is
observed in this play.

After discovering the characters' characteristics and the conflicts among

them,

a

further analysis can be conducted

characteristics infl uence the existing confl icts.

to

see how the characters'

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER

III

METHODOLOGY

In this
research.

chapter, the present writer presents the methodology

He describes the approach that he uses to conduct a good

of

this

analysis.

Besides that, he also describes the research steps so that the readers understand the

way the writer answers the problems.

A. Object of the Study
The thesis analyzes one of Mamet's works, which is entitled Glengarry

GIen Ross, a play which has received four awards: Laurence Olivier Award for
Best New Play

in

1983, Pulitzer Prize for drama

in

1984, Drama Desk Award

Outstanding Revival of a Play in 2005 and Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play
in 2005.

Glengarry Glen Ross is a modem American drama written
premiered in London

Mamet's

in

in

1977 that

1983 then was followed in Chicago. The story is based on

job in 1969 as an office manager at a real

estate sales oflice. The

position is the inspiration for Williamson's job, and the other salesmen observed
in the office would later serve as the basic for the play's other characters.
The play shows parts of two days, first in a China Restaurant, and second

in a real estate sales offtce. The play tells the lives of four desperate Chicago real
estate salesmen: Richard

"Rick/'

Roma, the most successful salesman in the

offrceo Shelley "The Machine'o Levene, an older salesman that needs money to
treat his sick daughter, George Aaronow, an aging salesman who lacks confidence

20

zl

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

and hope, and Dave Moss, a big mouthed salesman. They work for Mitch and

Murray, the owner of the real estate agency. They set up a sales contest that makes
salesmen felt under pressure

to produce or to lose their job. Unfortunately, the

offtce manager John Williamson treats four salesmen unfairly. Roma always gets
promising sales leads but the others only get hopeless sales leads. As a result, until
the end of the month, Levene, Moss and Aaronow still have difficulties to find a
prospective buyer. The three salesmen hate the pressuring management. They plan

to strike back at Mitch and Murray by stealing all the Glengarry leads and selling
them to another real estate agency. Finally the plan is implemented, but only one

of the three salesmen does it. Unfortunately, Williamson finds out the case

and

knows that Levene has stolen the leads because only the real thief could know the
real contract and the check on Williamson's desk.

This study is basically a library research. Many books, internet sources and
references have been read to support the analysis for answering the problems

of

this thesis. The thesis studies the events in the story and anything that happens to
characters.

B. Approach of the Study

Looking at the problems of this study and the work under study, the
formalistic is the best approach in conducting the study. According to Rohrberger

and Woods, the formalistic approach examines "the literary piece without
references to the genre or

in literary history, and without reference to its social

milieu" (1971:7). The formalistic approach invites us to analyze the story by
looking at the inside of the story. It leads us to explore the work by analyzing the

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

22

intemal organization of the work. The definition above is supported by Guerin

(1979).It is a term used to describe that type of literary criticism which has as its
major concem the form of a work of art, ranging from its typography to the
structure its idea builds. The interplay of these variations of form results in a total

effect that forms or shapes inwardly the works and gives its parts a relevance to
the whole and vice versa (Guerin,1979:32A).

This thesis analyzes the play and
Therefore, the formalistic approach
present writer

it

only concentrates on the work.

is appropriate to analyze the study. The

is really sure that the formalistic approach could support

analysis because

it only

the

examines the literary pieces or the intrinsic elements,

without adoring the extrinsic elements of the stories, such as the biography of the
writer, the history of the play, and the social background. It just focuses on the
conflicts, the characters' characteristics and their contribution to the conflicts.
C. Method of the Study

There were some steps that were taken in order

to

analyze the literary

work. The first step was to read the work to understand the work soundly. This
step was very important

in making the thesis better. The second was identifring

the characters' characteristics using the methods of the charccterization of the
characters. The next step was to disclose the conflicts of the works by uncovering

the stories. Finally, the last step was to show the contribution of the characters'
characteristics to the conflicts in the play.
To make the analysis better, it was important to read some books and some
references about them. The writer

got information from the books about the

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

theories required

for this

study. The best description

of

23

characters and

characterization used in this analysis was the theories of M.H. Abrams in his book

A Glossary of Literary Terms, supported by Holman and Harmon's theories in

r4

Handbook to Literature, and Rohrberger and Woods' theories in Reading and
Writing about Literature.

PLAGIAT MERUPAKAN TINDAKAN TIDAK TERPUJI

CHAPTER IV

AI\ALYSIS
This chapter is divided into three sub-chapters in line with the problems
presented in Chapter I. The first sub-chapter deals with the characteristics of each

main character in the play. The second deals with the conflicts among the main
characters,

while the last one deals with the conhibution of the

characters'

characteristics to the development of the conflicts in the play.

A. The Characteristics of the Main Characters in Glengarry Glen Ross
Characters are always found in a story and involved in certain actions and

conflicts. This play has five main

characterso namely John Williamson, Ricky

Romao Shelley Levene, George Aaronow and Dave

Moss. By profession all of

them are salesmen who work for a real estate company belonging Mitch and
Murray. There are also other characters, like James Lingk as a customer and
Baylen, a police officer. However, being minor characters, they are not the object

of this study.

Below are the characteristics of each of them based on what is shown in
the play. The order of the analysis is based on the order of the appearance in the
play.
1.

Ricky Roma, a Salesman
He is a man of 40 years old. He is considered a good, fine man by Levene,

as shown in the

following.

LEVEIYE. John...John...John. Okay John . Look Qtause) the Glenggary
Highland's leadso you're sending Roma out. Fine. Heos a good man. We
know what he is. He's fine.