Glengarry Glen Ross Men and Masculinity Quotes

How we cite our quotes: Act.Scene.Line

Quote #7

LEVENE: You have no idea of your job. A man's his job and you're f***ed at yours. (2.1.519-520)

That's it. Point blank. A man is his job. Levene thinks Williamson fails at his job, so therefore Williamson fails as a man.

Quote #8

LEVENE: You can't run an office […] you don't have the balls. (2.1.522-524)

Only a man can run an office, and Williamson isn't a man. The hits just keep on coming for that guy. Levene (and the other salesmen) don't look at Williamson as a proper man. His education is all from school, he's never gone out and hit the pavement—in other words, he has no street smarts, and as far as they're concerned, he's never done real work. This makes him, in their eyes, less than they are. Even though he dictates who gets which leads, they don't acknowledge or accept any authority that he might have.

Quote #9

AARONOW: I meet gestapo tactics […] No man has the right to… (2.1.804-806)

When all else fails, call out a man for not treating you like his equal. The cops really put a dent into Aaronow and Moss, and as we see here, the experience emasculates them. When they come out from the back office, they don't feel like the men they believe themselves to be.