When it comes to his own work, David Mamet admits that “what I write is what, in my opinion, is missing in our society. And that's communication at a basic level. In his play Glengarry Glen Ross, Mamet uses an ironic technique to illustrate his beliefs about communication: in a play composed almost entirely of salesmen, we are forced to listen to characters who fail to listen to themselves. Mamet's use of dialogue works on two levels. First, it is the only action in the play; apart from the conversations between the men, nothing else happens. The script contains some step descriptions and instructions. Everything is centered on dialogue. The second function of dialogue is to show the lack of meaning that words can contain. The men's conversations, the rhythm of their speech, and the interruptions constitute the entire play – but these factors are ultimately rendered unnecessary by the conclusion of the second act. Since many of the play's main conflicts take place offstage, the audience must rely on the words of the characters for an explanation of what happened. This dependence forces the audience to determine which words are important in communicating the message of the play and which words have no real meaning. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The first act begins with a brief description of Williamson and Levene sitting at “a booth in a Chinese restaurant” (15). The only other information offered about the characters is that Williamson is a man in his 40s and Levene is a man in his 50s. Through his lack of characterization, Mamet forces the reader to immediately enter into the conversations between the characters in order to discover who they are. Each scene revolves around what the men talk about doing – but not what they actually do. For example, in a conversation between Moss and Aaronow, they discuss the relationship between speech and action: Aaronow: We're just talking about this. As an idea. (39).