Welcome to The Jungle

Welcome to The Jungle

America: The Land of Opportunity  

     We all want to believe that our precious homeland of America is truly a place where dreams can become a reality if you work hard enough, but in reality, that just isn't the case. We are sold on hope every day by those who believe in the integrity of the American capitalist system, such as politicians, advertisements, and even our own teachers in school; but what's it really like out there? From the viewpoint of housewives, children, students, and anyone who is financially supported by someone other than themselves, the capitalist system seems to be working out pretty nicely. But for those who put capitalism to the test, such as the breadwinners, the interns, and the less fortunate among us, the American Dream isn't quite so easily attained; capitalism seems to be an intensely competitive system, to the point of downright hostility. Guns N' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle" is the epitome of an introduction to the sphere of the rat race of the American capitalist system. As the title shows, the song appears to "welcome" you to the vicious "jungle," where dreams come to die in a cutthroat struggle to reach the top of the food chain. Through Guns N' Roses' hard rock atmosphere, and Axl Rose's distressed yet passionate voice, the nature of some harsh environment is embodied through their raw, unaffected, and severe tone.

     The general concept of the American Dream exaggerates the number of rags-to-riches stories that seep through the strainer that separates the "closers" from the "losers," while those who get left behind are completely excluded from the equation in patriotic discussion. In fact, those who are filtered out of the success story are the majority of those who chose to participate in this rat race, and end up being circulated through a corrupt system that only awards the good leads to the closers, while tossing the dead leads to those who hadn't been able to make a close. This would seem fair, yet closing a deal is almost completely left to luck, as a salesman can only convince a customer to purchase if they have the means and motives to purchase properties. As Claudia states in Toni Morrison's The Bluest Eye, "it was the fault of the earth, the land of our own, of our town. I even think now that the land of the entire country was hostile to marigold that year. This soil is bad for certain kinds of flowers. Certain seeds it will not nurture, certain fruit it will not bear, and when the land kills of its own volition, we acquiesce and say the victim had no right to live," which parallels to the impervious nature of the boundaries between businessmen and their success as breadwinners (Morrison 206).

     David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross is all about the jungle of the workplace; a savage rat race to the top, in which the characters relentlessly chase the unreachable pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Mamet's play can be best described by Guns n' Roses' "Welcome to the Jungle," as the song describes an introduction to the domain of the cutthroats, applicable to the situation in which Roma, Levene, Aronow, and Moss find themselves. "Welcome to the Jungle" parallels Glengarry Glen Ross, as it describes the same unattainable goal that is at the end of the rainbow of the American Dream; you're always chasing after that ideal of success, but you can never quite get there before the game changes on you. In Glengarry Glen Ross, the hot leads are given to the closers, and the cold leads are given to the losers, securing the caste-like system, so that the winners keep winning, and the losers keep getting fired and losing their sales. This disproves the American Dream, as it maintains the same system of the social hierarchy, smothering equal opportunity in the work field, so "the rich get richer, and the poor get children" (Fitzgerald 95). 

Welcome to the jungle we've got fun and games

We got everything you want honey, we know the names

We are the people that can find whatever you may need

If you got the money honey we got your disease

     The Jungle, an increasingly enticing environment as seen from the outside looking in, seems to be a setting in which the thrill of life flourishes through a constant stream of adrenaline. By "we got everything you want honey," Axl Rose seems to lure the victim into the grip of The Jungle, just as the salesman from Glengarry Glen Ross most likely joined the business as young men with big dreams. It seems almost a direct reference as "we know the names" could be interpreted as the leads from Glengarry Glen Ross, as the company was in control of a solid list of good and bad names that could lead to possible sales. The sales team seemed to be in constant demand for the leads, as it was their way of betting on themselves to be able to make a successful pitch to the customer. Their obsession with the leads turns into an addiction, which leaves them dependent on the company, which took advantage of their "disease" in exchange for "the money" through sales of properties, and even leads themselves.  

Welcome to the jungle we take it day by day

If you want it you're gonna bleed but it's the price to pay

...

You can taste the bright lights but you won't get there for free

     In the office, success is measured "day by day," and the salesmen get a chance to prove themselves through the board. One day, Roma might be a closer at the top of the board, yet he might end the day by losing a sale with Lingk, as he did in the play. Luck plays a large factor in this success, as Levene defends himself for having a bad streak, "... and what is that, John? What? Bad luck. That's all it is. I pray in your life you will never find it runs in streaks. That's what it does, that's all it's doing. Streaks. I pray it misses you. That's all I want to say," which he later backs up, as he is able to break his "bad luck" streak with an $82,000 sale to Bruce and Harriett Nyborg (Mamet 16). "If you want it you're gonna bleed, but it's the price you pay," because the salesmen must ALWAYS BE CLOSING, which means that they must sacrifice everything else, their families, their social life, their own health, to maintain their records as salesmen. In the film adaption of the play, Alec Baldwin says, "And your name is you're wanting. You can't play in the man's game, you can't close them? Then go home and tell your wife your troubles. Because only one thing counts in this life," forcing the men to surrender everything else for the sake of the leads, closing, and, above all, money. 

Welcome to the jungle it gets worse here every day

Ya learn to live like an animal in the jungle where we play

If you hunger for what you see you'll take it eventually 

You can have everything you want but you better not take it from me

     In the hostile work environment in which Glengarry Glen Ross takes place, it becomes evident that the pressure to succeed grows greater and greater everyday, while the men desperately struggle to maintain a steady path to the top. "It gets worse here every day," as the chance that they will fail grows greater, since bad luck infamously runs in streaks, and at some point they know they will hit that streak that puts them out of business for good, unless they can quit while they're at the top. Learning to "live like an animal" is a huge part of life in the dog-eat-dog world of the office, as every man is for himself, and must fight for survival if he even wants the chance to rise above his peers. In this society of Social Darwinism, survival of the fittest is an essential part of life, yet only a few will be able to survive and make it to the top of the hierarchy, while others are left at the bottom, oppressed by their own misfortune and the authority of their former peers. If you "hunger for what you see, you'll take it eventually," as Levene demonstrates his hunger for money, power, and success through his desperate plea to Williamson for a shot at the good leads. "I got to eat. Shit, Williamson, shit," he pleads, but to no avail (Mamet 17). Levene gets backed into a corner, and through his helpless desperation to be successful again, he breaks into the office and steals the leads, as he sees it as his only way to achieve greatness again.