How we cite our quotes: All quotations are from Sunset Boulevard.
Quote #4
BETTY: Sheldrake likes that angle about the teacher.
JOE: What teacher?
BETTY: Dark Windows. I got him all hopped up about it.
JOE: You did?
BETTY: He thinks it could be made into something.
JOE: Into what? A lampshade?
BETTY: Into something for Barbara Stanwyck. They have a commitment with Barbara Stanwyck.
Joking that his script might be made into a lampshade is pure Joe. It's just a snippet of the jaded, self-deprecating humor that colors his character. This is not a dude who's high on life. His sarcasm masks a deep dissatisfaction.
Quote #5
JOE: Sorry, Miss Schaefer, but I've given up writing on spec.
BETTY: I tell you this is half sold.
JOE: As a matter of fact. I've given up writing altogether.
(Max has appeared in the door.)
MAX: Mr. Gillis, if you please.
JOE: Right with you.
While Joe is simultaneously getting all the material things he wants by being Norma's gigolo, he's sacrificing his creativity and his own ambitions. Rather than becoming satisfied with this state of affairs, he seems to be internally totally dissatisfied. It's pretty humiliating if you really think about it.
Quote #6
JOE: (Indicating the bureau): The rest of the jewelry is in the top drawer.
NORMA: It's yours, Joe. I gave it to you.
JOE: And I'd take it in a second, Norma—only it's a little too dressy for sitting behind the copy desk in Dayton, Ohio.
Joe renounces all the things Norma's given him in exchange for his "love"—he's become thoroughly dissatisfied with Norma's world, and is going back to the simple life of the Midwest. (Only, we know he's never going to get there.)