Art Of Dissembling

The art of dissembling allows the reader to examine various themes throughout both texts. It enables certain characters to explore themselves in depth as well as providing the author's the ability to analyse and criticise their own society.
Mosca's soliloquy enables Jonson to reveal the parasitic character's true intentions and beliefs. It is apparent Mosca supports the nature argument, that is, he believes that all true "tricksters" are born with the ability to gull, con and in general trick. This is evident with the utterance "And change the visor swifter than a thought this is the creature had the art born with him, tolls not to learn it but doth practise it." Whilst Mosca believes in the nature argument Levene seems to hint at supporting
nurture argument, for example, he remarks, "Like I was taught" as opposed to a reference stating he was born to sell. This creates a fascinating point of contrast between the two texts. Original critics believed the texts were very different, but more recent opinions have altered and believe the texts are very similar. Whilst both have some credit, the battle of nurture and nature certainly provides a point of challenge and contrast especially with regards to the art of dissembling.
The audience has little admiration for Levene; he lacks skill and believes he succeeds through wearing his 'target' down.
Perhaps this is because he is described as a machine, he is programmed to achieve one job and therefore does not have the ability to 'dissemble'. When the situation changes then, he is very limited in how he can approach the situation. Other reasons for Levene's lack of dissembling could include Levene not being born with the same skill that Mosca was born with and therefore he does not know how to dissemble. David Mamet utilises the conventions of tragedy to illustrate Levene's machine like description. He uses the three Aristotelian unities of drama and in doing so keeps the text straightforward and therefore enables him to use language as
drama. Mamet incorporates the "good or fine" convention with regards to Levene who often displays egoistical characteristics and if the audience does not feel sorry for the 'tragic hero' then the convention has failed. Leven does however evoke some sympathy and that is through the use of emotive language such as "John, my daughter". This perhaps suggests that Levene is just a very weak character. Mamet also includes conventions such as "true to life", perhaps displaying Levene in a very similar manner to Willy Loman. Through this convention a 21st century audience seems to have some sympathy for Levene; the 1980's was a harsh era that had little time for weak characters. Ronald Reagan's focus on materialism, specifically his election campaign whereby he used songs such as 'Born in the USA' which seemed to be praising material wealth but in fact Bruce Springsteen was criticising the drive for success and wealth. This materialistic approach meant that many people judged success by how wealthy one was, leading figures such as Levene to despair and encouraged them to value money more so than integrity and honest. Levene's older age also contributes to his lack of ability; he often reflects on his past when he was once successful, however his recent performances display his inability to close a deal. Compared to Mosca, Levene is far older and so his general demeanour is far less sharp and quick when trying to gull. Perhaps Mamet is also illustrating that a 1980's society would have had little time or care for those who age, again demonstrating the harsh reality of society.
We do see some form of dissembling when Roma and Levene exchange discourse upon Lingk's arrival, but in terms of dissembling for the purpose of making sales, Levene does not demonstrate true dissembling behaviour in the same way Mosca does. Perhaps Mosca believes that true "tricksters" are found in the form of animals. Jonson was partly influenced by the fable of Reynard the fox which could allow us to understand the reason for the nature argument. The Jacobean renaissance audience were very interested in animal tales and also morality plays. Jonson dramatises universal imperfections such as the capital vices, specifically greed, and ends the play with all "tricksters" caught. Perhaps this would suggest that any form of dissembling will eventually end badly and whether one was born with the skill or indeed taught, as Levene is, you will always be caught. This viewpoint is reinforced by the fact that Levene is also caught. The utterance "success hath made me wanton" suggests that Mosca's success will end through his recklessness. Whilst this is not totally the case, it is certainly fair to say Levene's downfall is experienced through his carelessness. Volpone's name and characteristics obviously have links to the fox whilst Mosca is related to the mosquito. It would seem this is unfair description of Mosca, he is not merely a lackey to Volpone and resents this identity. Jonson hints that this increasing independence will be a problem for Volpone. "I fear" are the first words of the Act, and he worries that he is growing too strong, too confident, too in love with himself: "I could skip/ Out of my skin now, like a subtle snake". The snake, a symbol of temptation, signals danger; and the imagery of transformation, of slipping out of one's skin, indicates that Mosca is becoming less satisfied with his identity as a lackey to Volpone. Furthermore the significance of the snake perhaps implies a reference to the garden of Eden. The Jacobean audience was highly religious and parts of Volpone satirise the Christian attitudes towards religion. Many of the orthodox churches were run by the noblemen and wealthy, which Jonson uses as an opportunity to satirise. Mosca's punishment is the most severe out of all the characters because he is not a nobleman but is pretending to be one; the art of dissembling has failed Mosca and indeed caused his downfall.
Whilst Levene does not display signs of dissembling in character he does alter his discourse throughout the text. There is potentially two reasons for this change. The first is because Levene's situation varies during the text; for example he uses discourse of competition after making his sale, whereby he uses expletives and emasculating language to exert his masculinity. This is most apparent in the utterance "Bruce ...'I don't want to fuck around with you". He then changes his attitude and uses discourse of community when he realises that he is no longer the most powerful in a given situation this is clearly displayed in the phrase "Okay: I, look: I'm going to make it worth your while. I am. I turned this thing around". Levene becomes pathetic and desperate, his switching between modes is obvious and is in no way part of an 'act'. He does not deliberately manipulate his language or dissemble in a similar manner to Roma. He deliberately explores intimacies for the first and only time but upon deeper exploration it is evident that the monologue is prefabricated and specifically for the purpose of gulling Lingk. Mamet and other critics such as Kissel believe that the language is the drama in Glengarry Glen Ross and therefore the likelihood of the characters displaying an explicit change in character is unlikely. This is evident with the use of speaking and talking. The salesman often "talk" instead of "speak", whereby their language is superficial and utter nonsense. This subtle change is one of the only deliberate examples of dissembling and works very effectively but mainly for Roma and Moss, not Levene.
Volpone is littered with examples of the art of dissembling. Whilst Mosca's soliloquy is the greatest example and enables the audience to understand him as a character; other examples include Volpone's disguise as "Scoto Mantua". Mosca's soliloquy is littered with satirical references and the use of iambic pentameter potentially has two purposes. The first of these could be for the purpose of elevating the importance of the satirical text; by using iambic Mosca displays his intelligence whilst simultaneously criticising the noblemen and wealthy. Secondly it adds a dramatic effect to the text. The perlocutionary effect on the audience is one that creates intimacy; the audience cannot help but be drawn in by Mosca's eloquent style. However, when he finally is caught the audience seems to have little sympathy for him, which creates an interesting combination of intimacy and disengagement.
The Venetian setting is key and in a way Jonson uses it as a form of dissembling. Firstly it helps to make the story more believable for most English audiences, signifying the fascination of the play with disguise and deceit. Secondly it may also, perhaps against Jonson's intentions, distancing the disguise and deceit from the play's moral message, by placing the greed in a historic abroad setting traditionally associated with greed, instead of right in the heart of London. The setting perhaps safely enables Jonson to satirise society and he can use hyperbole to add further humour to the text as well as using didactic elements to educate his audience about the impact of greed. However, despite that from records, it was found that much of Jonson's audience were highly critical of his plays partly due to the fact he satirised the upper class so much. Characters such as Sir Politic would - be are demonstrated as stupid and unintelligent deliberately mocking the upper class. Audience's were also highly critical because they had to question each character, even critics such as Steele disliked Volpone for this very reason. This seems to display the upper class' decision to critique the play on the merit that it was thought provoking seems to display traits of Sir Politic as well as proving Jonson right; the upper class was ignorant and unwilling to learn.
Whilst Levene's discourse alters, his actual patterns in speech are relatively similar throughout the text, potentially displaying his lack of ability to dissemble.
Levene's speech is often littered with ellipses, false starts and repetitions, this is clearly displayed in the utterance "All that I’m saying…the…put a". Furthermore the sentence structure is unorganised and irregular adding to the effect. The perlocutionary effect is one that enables the audience to potentially sympathise or even empathise with Levene. However due to the lack of admiration for him, it is unlikely that a 1980's audience would have had much sympathy for Levene. The features demonstrate Levene's fragmented and unorganised state of mind, which depending on the situation is excited and upbeat or indeed desperate, weak and
pathetic.
In conclusion then, it seems that the art of dissembling is presented in two very different manners. Whilst Levene is part his best days, he is unable to use skill or ability to dissemble and achieve his goal. Mosca however, clearly deceives Volpone in the final scenes but in fact is still caught, with the true moral that any form of trickery or dishonesty will eventually be caught.