Get ’em under obligation. Make ’em take up your time. Don’t let ’em forget they’re takin’ your time. People are nice, mostly. They hate to put you out. Make ’em put you out, an’ then sock it to ’em.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 7. The used car dealer uses dishonest and manipulative tactics to land a sale. Speaking to a salesmen, he suggests that he take advantage of people’s "niceness" to make them feel obliged to buy. He is dehumanized by the way he acts and speaks, using clipped sentences and staccato speech. A corrupt product of the ruthless capitalist system, he is bent on turning a profit at all costs.