Mamet characterises John in the opening speech of Mamet as someone who is potentially overbearing particularly towards women in this opening speech. We get this impression immediately from the first few lines when john is talking to Grace on the phone, “And what about the land. (Pause) The land. And what about the land?” Here John is insisting on this particular subject and pushing almost demanding Grace for an answer. This strongly suggests that John is used to getting his way with women and this view is further strengthened later in the play when John says, “Will you call Jerry?”and later on “You tell Jerry to meet” although “will you call Jerry?” is a question it’s clear John only expects one answer and the second quotation is John telling Grace what to do as if he’s getting frustrated with Grace.
Building on this if you put the phone call in context to where John is we again get this view of John that suggests he is a boss figure to these women, a superior socially and at work. This stems from the fact that during the phone call Carol is seated across the desk from John clearly waiting to discuss something with John perhaps to do with her work or his. Judging from the desk prop in the play we can deduce that this scene is taking place in an office of some sort yet John seems perfectly happy to have a long and clearly personal conversation in front of Carol without considering how rude and inappropriate it may seem to Carol and the audience. The audience here will feel Carols discomfort as Johns balancing of work and personal life shows a clear lack of respect for Carol.
However despite all this Mamet does also characterise john as someone who is capable of showing a bit of affection and understanding in the opening speech. During the phone call with Grace he reassures her, “All right? I’m sure it’s going to be...” This contrasts with John’s callous nature in other parts of the opening speech such as when he shouts, “WHY NOW?” down the phone at Grace. Also he bids Grace farewell by saying,”I love you too” twice which again characterises John in a more caring light.
In summary Mamet presents John as overbearing and superior with the occasional flicker of a kinder nature.