All My Sons Guide

All My Sons by Arthur Miller
1. Introduction
All My Sons, Arthur Miller's first commercially successful play, opened at the Coronet
Theatre in New York on January 29, 9!"# $t ran for %2& performances and 'arnered
important critical acclaim for the dramatist, winnin' the presti'ious New York (rama
Critics' Circle Award#
Miller's earlier play, The Man Who Had All the Luck )9!!*, had not done well and
had +uickly closed, therefore, at the time All My Sons opened, Miller's reputation as
a writer was -ased almost solely on Focus )9!.*, his lauded no/el a-out anti0
1emitism#
All My Sons is now re'arded as the first of Miller's ma2or plays# The work also 'reatly
helped the career of 3lia 4a5an, who had first won accolades for his direction of
Thornton 6ilder's The Skin of Our Teeth in 9!2 and after directin' All My Sons
would continue to work with the plays of -oth Miller and Tennessee 6illiams to
produce -oth le'endary sta'e productions and important films#
$n All My Sons Miller e/idenced the stron' influence of -oth 7enrik $-sen and 8reek
tra'edy, de/elopin' a 9formula9 that he would -rilliantly e:ploit in his ne:t play,
Death of a Salesman )9!9*, which many re'ard as his finest work#
2. Author Biography
Arthur Miller was -orn on ;cto-er ", 9., in New York City# 7e spent his early
years in comforta-le circumstances, until his father, $sidore, a prosperous
manufacturer, lost his wealth in the economic de/astation of the 8reat (epression#
After completin' hi'h school, Miller had to take a 2o- in a Manhattan warehouse#
1
7e had not -een much of a student, -ut after readin' (ostoe/sky's 'reat no/el The
Brothers Karamao! he decided that he was destined to -ecome a writer# 7e had
trou-le 'ettin' into colle'e -ut was e/entually accepted at the <ni/ersity of
Michi'an, where he -e'an his apprenticeship as a writer and won se/eral student
awards for his work#
After colle'e he returned to New York and worked -riefly as a radio script writer,
then tried his hand at writin' for the sta'e commercially# 7is first =roadway play, The
Man Who Had All the Luck )9!!*, closed after only four performances, -ut it did win
a Theater 8uild award and re/ealed the youn' writer's potential#
7e had more success with Focus )9!.*, a no/el dealin' with anti01emitism# $n fact,
at the time he wrote All My Sons )9!"*, his first dramatic hit, he was -etter known
as a writer of fiction than as a playwri'ht#
All My Sons esta-lished Miller's standin' as a -ri'ht and e:tremely talented
dramatist# The play had a 'ood run and won Miller his first New York (rama Critics'
Circle Award# 3/en the least fa/ora-le commentators reco'ni5ed the playwri'ht's
'reat promise#
Miller followed All My Sons with three of his most critically and commercially
successful plays> Death of Salesman )9!9*, The "ruci#le )9.%*, and A $ie% from
the Brid&e )9..*# $n these works, Miller attempted to show that tra'edy could -e
written a-out ordinary people stru''lin' to maintain personal di'nity at critical
moments in their li/es# 6ith these plays, Miller 2oined 3u'ene ;'Neill and Tennessee
6illiams in what in the post06orld 6ar $$ years was 'enerally reco'ni5ed as the
'reat trium/irate of the American theater#
Miller, a political leftist, 'ained some notoriety in the 9.?s when he refused to
cooperate with the 7ouse <n0American Acti/ities Committee and was held in
contempt of Con'ress# @rom this e:perience he found thematic material for one of
his most famous and contro/ersial plays, The "ruci#le, which focuses on the 1alem
6itch Trials of A92#
2
After the 9.. production of A $ie% from the Brid&e, Miller took a nine0year hiatus
from play0writin'# $n the interim, Miller married and di/orced the famous actress,
Marilyn Monroe# 7e did adapt one of his stories, The Misfits as a screen /ehicle for
his cele-rated wife -ut did not complete another =roadway play until 9A!, when
-oth After the Fall and 'ncident at $ichy were produced# The former play, considered
Miller's most e:perimental play, is also his darkest work, with many auto-io'raphical
parallels#
7is last =roadway success was The (rice, produced in 9A&# After his ne:t play,
The "reation of the World and Other Business )9"2*, failed on =roadway, Miller
stopped premierin' works in New York# 7e continued to write plays, and en2oyed
some success, -ut nothin' that matched that of his earliest works# Many of his later
plays were short one0act plays and works comprised of sketches or /i'nettes#
7is 'reatest triumphs remain Death of a Salesman and The "ruci#le# =oth ha/e
-een re/i/ed with 'reat success# $n 999, for e:ample, the New York production of
Death of a Salesman 'arnered four Tony awards, includin' one for -est re/i/al and
one for -est direction# At the a'e of ei'hty0four, Miller was also presented with a
special, lifetime achie/ement award for his 'reat contri-utions to the American
theater#
3. Plot Summary
Act One
The play opens on a 1unday mornin' in Au'ust and is set in the -ack yard of the
4eller home, located on the outskirts of an unidentified American town, a couple of
years after the end of 6orld 6ar $$# Joe 4eller, who has -een readin' classified ads
in a newspaper, -anters pleasantly with his nei'h-ors, (r# Jim =ayliss and @rank
Bu-ey# 7e e:plains that the apple tree had split in half durin' the ni'ht#
$t is a source of some concern, for the tree is a memorial for Joe's son, Barry, and its
3
destruction mi'ht upset Joe's wife, 4ate# @rank refers to it as Barry's tree and notes
that Au'ust is Barry's -irth month# 7e plans to cast Barry's horoscope, to see if the
date on which he was reported missin' in action was a fa/ora-le or unfa/ora-le day
for him#
The men ask after the 4ellers' /isitor, Ann, the dau'hter of Joe's former partner,
1te/e (ee/er, who once li/ed in the house now owned -y the =aylisses# 1ue, Jim's
wife, arri/es and sends Jim home to talk on the phone with a patient# 1he is followed
-y @rank's wife, Bydia, who reports a pro-lem with a toaster#
Joe's son, Chris, comes from the house, and a nei'h-orhood -oy, =ert, darts into the
yard# Joe amuses =ert in a role0playin' 'ame in which =ert is learnin' to -e a police
deputy under Joe's authority# 7e has shown =ert a 'un and they pretend that the
-asement of the house is actually a 2ail#
After the others lea/e, Joe and Chris talk a-out the tree and the fact that 4ate was
outside when it fell# 1he has ne/er stopped hopin' that Barry will return, still ali/e#
7er failure to accept his death is a ma2or o-stacle for Chris, who hopes to marry
Ann# 4ate can only think of Ann as Barry's 'irl, and she can not accept a marria'e of
Chris and Ann without first acceptin' her son's death# Chris's proposed solution,
much to his father's cha'rin, is to lea/e the 4eller home and -usiness unless his
father helps him make 4ate accept Barry's death#
4ate enters and muses o/er the si'nificance of the fallen tree and Ann's arri/al# 1he
also speaks of a dream in which she saw Barry and e:presses her -elief that the
memorial tree should ne/er ha/e -een planted# 3:asperated, Chris talks of tryin' to
for'et Barry# 1he sends him off to 'et an aspirin, then tries to wrin' from Joe an
e:planation for Ann's /isit# 1he also discloses that if she were to lose faith in her
-elief that Barry was ali/e, she would kill herself#
Chris returns with Ann, and a tense confrontation almost immediately -e'ins# Ann
pointedly re2ects 4ate's hope that Barry is still ali/e# 1he also di/ul'es that she is
unwillin' to for'i/e her father, now in 2ail, as Joe once was, con/icted of pro/idin'
4
the Army Air @orce with 2 defecti/e cracked cylinder heads# The parts were used
in the en'ines of C0!? fi'hter planes, twenty0one of which crashed#
Joe, who was later e:onerated, attempts to defend his former partner as a confused,
somewhat inept 9little man9 cau'ht in a situation that he did not fully fathom# Ann is
unmo/ed and holds her father responsi-le for Barry's death# Yet 4ate knows the
truth> Joe ordered his partner to weld the cracked cylinder heads and hide the defect#
After Joe and 4ate lea/e, Chris confesses his lo/e to Ann, and she ardently confirms
her own for him# 1he is mystified -y his lon' delay in disclosin' his feelin's, and he
e:plains that it took him a lon' time to shake free from a 'uilt he felt for his sur/i/al
in the war# They are interrupted when Ann is told that her -rother, 8eor'e, is on the
phone#
As she e:its, Joe and Chris discuss the fact that 8eor'e is in Colum-us, /isitin' his
father in 2ail# Ann is heard talkin' on the phone, tryin' to mollify her an'ry -rother,
while Joe speculates as to the possi-ility that 8eor'e and Ann may -e tryin' to open
the criminal case a'ain# Chris placates Joe, who shru's off his concern and -e'ins
talkin' of Chris's future and tellin' him that he will help Chris and Ann make 4ate
accept their marria'e# Ann then comes out to tell them that 8eor'e is comin' to /isit
that same e/enin'#
Act To
$t is late afternoon on the same day# 4ate enters to find Chris sawin' up the fallen
apple tree# After tellin' Chris that Joe is sleepin', she asks Chris to tell Ann to 'o
home with 8eor'e# 1he is afraid that 1te/e (ee/er's hatred for Joe has infected his
children, and she wants them -oth to lea/e#
6hen Ann appears, 4ate returns to the house# Ann wants Chris to tell his mother
a-out their marria'e plans, and he promises to do so that e/enin'# As he lea/es,
1ue enters, lookin' for her hus-and# 1he and Ann discuss Ann's marria'e plans#
1ue encoura'es her to mo/e away after her marria'e# 1he is -itter towards Chris,
5
who, as Jim's friend, has tried to con/ince him to pursue work in medical research, a
lu:ury that the =aylisses can not afford#
6hen Ann defends Chris, 1ue su''ests that Chris is a phony, 'i/en the fact that
Chris has 'reatly -enefited from Joe's ruthless and unethical -usiness practices# 1he
also tells Ann that e/eryone knows that Joe was as 'uilty as 1te/e (ee/er and
merely 9pulled a fast one to 'et out of 2ail#9
6hen Chris returns, 1ue 'oes in the house to see if she can calm 4ate down# Ann
tells Chris that 1ue hates him, and that the people of the community -elie/e that Joe
should -e in 2ail# Chris -elie/es in his father's innocence and tells her that he can not
put any stock in what the nei'h-ors -elie/e#
Joinin' them in the -ackyard, Joe tells the youn' lo/ers that he wants to find 8eor'e
a 'ood local 2o-, and then announces that he e/en wants to hire 1te/e (ee/er when
he is released from prison# Chris is adamantly opposed, -elie/in' that (ee/er had
wron'ly implicated his father, and he does not want Joe to 'i/e him a 2o-# Joe e:its#
7a/in' picked up 8eor'e at the train station, Jim =ayliss enters +uickly from the
dri/eway# Jim warns Chris that 8eor'e has 9-lood in his eye,9 and that Chris should
not let him come into the 4eller yard# 7owe/er, Chris welcomes 8eor'e as a friend,
-ut from 8eor'e's surly -eha/ior it is soon clear that he is an'ry#
As a result of /isitin' his father, he is con/inced that Joe knew a-out the cracked
cylinder heads -ut ordered (ee/er to ship them anyway, and he is now intent on
stoppin' Ann from marryin' Chris# 7e presents his father's account of the day the
cracked cylinder heads were made, -ut Chris, -elie/in' in his father's innocence,
tries to make him lea/e rather than confront Joe and upset his mother#
The tense situation is defused when 4ate and Bydia enter the yard# After some
amia-le recollections are e:chan'ed, Joe enters and asserts that 1te/e (ee/er only
-lames Joe -ecause 1te/e, una-le to face his faults, could ne/er own up to his
mistakes# 8eor'e seems almost at ease, -ut when 4ate makes a critical -lunder,
6
inad/ertently disclosin' that Joe had not -een ill in fifteen years, 8eor'e is once
a'ain upset# Joe's ali-i was that he had -een home with pneumonia when the
defecti/e parts were doctored up and shipped out -y (ee/er, 8eor'e reali5es that
Joe's ali-i was a lie#
@rank Bu-ey enters with Barry 4eller's horoscope, which speculates that Barry is still
ali/e# 4ate wants Ann to lea/e with 8eor'e and has e/en packed her -a'# Chris tries
to make his mother see that Barry is dead, -ut 4ate, knowin' the truth a-out the
defecti/e parts, insists that he must -e ali/e# ;therwise, she -elie/es that Joe is
responsi-le for his death#
@inally reali5in' the truth, Chris an'rily confronts his father, who lamely tries to
defend his actions as 9-usiness#9 Chris, profoundly hurt and disillusioned, -eats
furiously on his father's shoulders#
Act Three
$t is 2>?? AM of the followin' mornin'# Alone, 4ate waits for Chris to return# Jim 2oins
her and asks what has happened, he then re/eals that he has known a-out her
hus-and's 'uilt for some time# 7e contends that he hopes that Chris will 'o off to find
himself -efore returnin'#
Jim e:its 2ust as Joe comes in# 4ate tells him that Jim knows the truth# Meanwhile,
he is concerned a-out Ann, who has stayed in her room since Chris left# 7e talks,
too, of needin' Chris's for'i/eness and his intent to take his own life should he not
'et it#
Ann enters and hesitantly 'i/es 4ate a letter that she had recei/ed from Barry after
Joe and her father were con/icted# Chris returns and tells his father that he cannot
for'i/e him# Ann takes the letter from 4ate and 'i/es it to Chris, who reads it aloud#
Composed 2ust -efore Barry's death, it tells of his plan to take his own life in shame
o/er what his father had done# $t suddenly -ecomes clear to Joe that Barry -elie/ed
7
that all the fi'hter pilots who perished in com-at were Joe's sons# 7e then withdraws
into the house, and Chris confirms his plan to turn Joe o/er to the authorities#
1uddenly, a shot is heard from the house# Chris enters the house, presuma-ly to find
his father's -ody# 7e returns to his mother's arms, dismayed and cryin', and she
tells him to for'et what has happened and li/e his life#
Act 1! Part 1 Summary
This emotionally and dramatically intense play e:plores -oth the lies and the truths
at the heart of the /arious relationships within the mem-ers of the 4eller family# The
play uses a central and powerful sym-ol, decepti/ely strai'htforward -ut powerfully
e/ocati/e dialo'ue and e:plosions of raw emotion to e:plore themes relatin' to the
nature and necessity of delusion, loyalty, and inte'rity#
As Joe sits in his yard and reads his paper, he and his nei'h-ors, Jim and @rank,
make small talk a-out the weather and all the -ad news the paper contains# Joe
comments that he only reads the want ads -ecause he's interested in what people
want# They also talk a-out the tree in the -ack of Joe's yard, with their con/ersation
re/ealin' that it was planted at the same time Joe's oldest son Barry was -orn, that it
was -lown down -y a recent storm, and that Joe is an:ious a-out what his wife 4ate
will say when she sees it# Con/ersation also re/eals that @rank is workin' on Barry's
horoscope 0 4ate wants to know whether the date on which Barry died was his
fa/ora-le day, -ecause @rank has told her it's nearly impossi-le for someone to die
on such a day# Con/ersation then turns to Jim's son, who wants to -e a doctor in
spite of his father's wishes that he find another profession, and then to the -eautiful
youn' woman who's come to /isit Joe and 4ate 0 Ann, who left a couple of years a'o
a thin 'irl and who has come -ack an attracti/e youn' woman#
Jim's wife 1ue comes in, sayin' he's wanted on the phone# Their affectionately
-anterin' con/ersation re/eals that Jim is a doctor and is tired of -ein' pestered -y
people# After Jim 'oes out to take the call, @rank's wife Bydia comes in, askin' @rank
to repair the toaster# As he 'oes, the women make small talk a-out the tree and
8
a-out Ann, and then 1ue lea/es# Bydia asks how Ann is, and con/ersation re/eals
that she was en'a'ed to Barry, that he died three years a'o, and that Joe has
am-i/alent feelin's a-out ha/in' -rou'ht him into the world in the first place# @rank
yells for Bydia to come -ack to the house# As she lea/es, Joe's son Chris comes out
of the house#
Act 1! Part 1 Analysis
This section introduces se/eral of the play's most important elements 0 its history, its
mystery, its sense of atmosphere, and its key sym-ol#
The history of the 4ellers, their pasts as indi/iduals and as a family, defines the
play's action and its themes# $t's a rich, complicated history, layers of which are
'radually peeled away like layers of an onion to re/eal the painful truth at its core#
This, in turn, is one of the mysteries of the story 0 not only whether Barry 4eller died,
-ut how and why# 6hat makes this mystery particularly compellin' is that it unfolds
within the conte:t of what seems to -e e/eryday life, amid con/ersations a-out
newspapers, -roken toasters, and -ad weather# These con/ersations can also -e
interpreted as ha/in' deeper meanin'# @or e:ample, Joe's passin' comment a-out
-ein' interested in what people want is an ironic commentary on how later in the
play he responds ne'ati/ely to e:pressions of desire from -oth his wife and his son 0
4ate for support in her -elief that Barry is still ali/e, and Chris for freedom# Another
passin' comment with deeper meanin' is Jim's reference to not wantin' his son to
-e a doctor, which can -e understood to mean that Jim doesn't want his son to ha/e
the kind of life he's ended up with# This is a mirror ima'e of the way Joe, as is
e/entually re/ealed, wants Chris to follow in his footsteps in the family -usiness# The
tree, the 9family tree9, sym-oli5es this particular fatherDson relationship, one of
se/eral in the play, and is the pre/iously mentioned key sym-ol of the play# $t
represents not only the destruction of Barry's life, -ut also the destruction of the
family's sense of security and well -ein' o/er the course of the play#
There are se/eral important elements of foreshadowin' in this section# These
include the references to Ann and 4ate, -oth of whom play key roles in the unfoldin'
9
of the action and the e/entual re/elation of the painful truth at the core of the 4eller
family history# Meanwhile, the reference to the horoscope foreshadows the moment
later in the play )Act 2, Cart %* when @rank re/eals the contents of the horoscope#
As Chris and Joe make small talk a-out the paper, the tree, and Ann, =ert the
nei'h-or -oy comes in# 7e and Joe play their familiar 'ame of police chief )Joe* and
patrol cop )=ert*, with =ert reportin' on /arious 'oin's on in the nei'h-orhood and
Joe tellin' him to keep his eyes and ears open for trou-le# After =ert 'oes, Joe
worries a-out what 4ate will say when she sees the destroyed tree# Chris tells him
she already knows, e:plainin' that she was out in the yard at four in the mornin'
when it fell# Joe reali5es she must ha/e -een dreamin' a-out Barry a'ain, and he
and Chris discuss whether they should ha/e let her continue to -elie/e Barry isn't
dead# Joe says 4ate thinks what she does -ecause of the newspapers, sayin' that
e/ery day there's an article a-out a lost soldier comin' home# Chris deli-erately
chan'es the su-2ect, tellin' Joe that he in/ited Ann for a /isit -ecause he intends to
ask her to marry him# Joe tells him that 4ate will -e upset, since in her mind Ann is
still Barry's 'irl# Chris offers his opinion that Ann is o/er him, Joe su''ests that Chris
hasn't dated enou'h to know whether he's makin' the ri'ht choice, Chris says he
doesn't want to date anyone else, and Joe tells him to consider what his decision will
do to 4ate# This leads Chris to an'rily tell Joe that he's lea/in' home and the family
-usiness, which in turn leads Joe to ask him to reconsider, which leads Chris to ask
him to find a way to help him stay, in other words, find a way to con/ince 4ate that
it's all ri'ht for Chris and Ann to marry#
4ate comes out, and after an affectionately an'ry tiff with Joe a-out takin' out the
'ar-a'e she sits and trims some fresh -eans, complainin' of ha/in' a headache#
1he comments that all of a sudden she seems to -e surrounded -y reminders of
Barry, and refers specifically to Ann and how she's -een loyal to him for so many
years# 1he refuses Chris's offer of an aspirin, sayin' that what's -otherin' her is
more than a headache# 1he speaks at poetic len'th a-out how she was wakened -y
a /i/id dream of Barry callin' for her, heard the wind, came outside, and saw the tree
10
-lown down# 7er speech re/eals that it was planted as a memorial when Barry was
killed -ut that she ne/er wanted it planted at all since she -elie/es he's still ali/e#
Chris su''ests it's time for all of them to 'et o/er Barry and his death, addin' that
perhaps the family should 'o out for a fancy dinner that ni'ht# 4ate a'rees, and
Chris 'oes in to fetch an aspirin#
4ate asks Joe what he knows a-out why Chris asked Ann for a /isit, hintin' that she
knows Chris is interested in Ann, that she )4ate* refuses to accept the idea, and that
she )4ate* -elie/es Ann feels the same way as she does 0 that Barry is still ali/e#
1he demands that Joe and Chris act the way she does, with the -elief that he's
comin' -ack, sayin' there's meanin' in the destruction of the tree the /ery ni'ht Ann
came 0 that Barry is ali/e in the same way that Ann's and 4ate's faith in him is still
ali/e# 1he concludes -y sayin' that Joe a-o/e all needs to -elie/e that# Just as Joe
is askin' what she means =ert returns with nei'h-orhood news# 4ate speaks sharply
to him, sendin' him home and tellin' Joe she wants him to stop the 'ame# =ert 'oes
as Joe asks 4ate what's wron' with her# 1he doesn't answer, and tells him a'ain to
stop it#
@urther layers of history and relationship are re/ealed in this scene, such as the
reason for Ann's /isit, 4ate's feelin's a-out Ann and Barry and Chris, and the ori'ins
of the tree# Amon' the most noteworthy of these is 4ate's interpretation of the
relationship -etween the destruction of the tree and Ann's /isit# 4ate's ri'ht, in that
there is meanin' in the 2u:taposition, -ut not the meanin' she wants andDor hopes
for# As the action of the play re/eals, the relationship lies in the way Ann's /isit is a
catalyst for the destruction of the family's sense of peace, security, and safety, which
as pre/iously discussed is sym-oli5ed -y the destruction of the tree# The other
particularly noteworthy element of this scene is 4ate's reaction to =ert and his 'ame
with Joe#
;n a superficial le/el, it seems as thou'h Joe has the situation pe''ed 0 4ate's
reaction is the result of her -ein' upset a-out the tree and the memories of Barry that
11
it -rin's into her mind# ;n a deeper le/el, howe/er, and when considered in relation
to later re/elations related to the 4eller family's history, her reaction relates to the
past and to the future as much as it does to the present# 1pecifically, the 'ame
tri''ers memories of a police /isit to the 4eller home se/eral years a'o and to her
fear that another /isit cannot -e a/oided# 7er reason for this latter fear is hinted at in
her comment that Joe, more than anyone, needs to -elie/e that Barry is ali/e# 7er
reasons for makin' this comment are defined later in the play )Act 2 Cart %*, at which
point it -ecomes possi-le to see that in his moment of askin' what she means, Joe
knows e)actly what she means, -ut is essentially darin' her to 'o further in her
accusations# 7e knows that if she does, the family's already shaky sense of security
will corrode e/en further# 7e also knows that she won't, -ecause that sense of
security is 2ust a-out the only thin' keepin' her from crackin' up completely#
Ann and Chris come out of the house# Joe, Chris and 4eller comment on how
-eautiful she is# As she comments on how her old house ne:t door has chan'ed, Jim
comes out of that house and is introduced to her# 1mall talk a-out Ann's happy
memories of her childhood is interrupted -y another call from 1ue for Jim to take a
phone call# As he 'oes in, Jim offers Ann a piece of ad/ice 0 ne/er, he says, count
her hus-and's money, e/en in her mind# After he's 'one, Ann su''ests that the
family 'o out that ni'ht, the way they did when Barry was ali/e# This leads 4ate to
triumphantly point out to Joe and Chris that Ann still thinks of Barry# Ann asks why
she shouldn't, and then comments on how stran'e it is to her that 4ate has kept
Barry's room 2ust the way it was, e/en to the point of keepin' his shoes shined# 4ate
chan'es the su-2ect, and she and Ann chat a-out Ann's parents, with their
con/ersation re/ealin' that Ann's father is in 2ail# <na-le to help herself, 4ate turns
the con/ersation -ack to Barry, askin' if Ann is still waitin' for him# Ann tells her
she's not and Chris tells 4ate that 4ate is -ein' foolish for continuin' to wait, -ut
4ate an'rily says there must -e hundreds of mothers e/erywhere who feel the way
she does, addin' that deep in her heart Ann must feel the same# Ann says she
doesn't, and asks why 4ate feels Barry is still ali/e# 4ate says simply that some
thin's 2ust ha/e to -e, and a'ain insists that Ann feels the same way# Ann, now
12
upset, says she doesn't#
@rank appears, 'reetin' Ann like an old friend# They talk cheerfully at first, -ut then
Ann cuts off a reference to her father, -ecomin' silent as @rank heedlessly refers to
her father 'ettin' parole soon# Chris firmly chan'es the su-2ect# @rank takes the hint
and lea/es# Ann asks the 4ellers if the nei'h-orhood is still talkin' a-out what her
father did and a-out Joe's in/ol/ement# Joe assures her that they're not, sayin' the
only one who talks a-out it is 4ate# 4ate, in turn, says the only reason it e/er comes
up is that Joe continues to play the cops and 2ail 'ame with =ert# Con/ersation
re/eals that Joe was in 2ail for a time and that Ann remem-ers people shoutin' that
-oth their families were murderers# Con/ersation also re/eals the crime Joe and
Ann's father were char'ed with> they allowed faulty military e+uipment to pass
inspection, and when the planes stocked with that e+uipment crashed, and the pilots
were killed#
@inally, con/ersation re/eals that Joe was e/entually e:onerated, came -ack home,
re0esta-lished his -usiness, achie/ed 'reater success than e/er, and now plays
poker with the men who called him murderer# Chris speaks of him with admiration,
and Joe says he hopes that when Ann's father 'ets out of prison, he'll mo/e -ack to
the nei'h-orhood, sayin' it's the only way feelin' a'ainst him can -e chased away#
Con/ersation re/eals that Ann's father -lamed Joe for what happened, that Joe has
for'i/en him, that Ann and her -rother ha/e cut themsel/es off from their father, that
Chris feels as an'ry at him as they do, and that Ann carries with her the possi-ility
that Barry was one of the pilots killed as a result of the faulty e+uipment# 4ate insists
that Ann ne/er say that a'ain, sayin' as she 'oes into the house that Barry isn't
dead and there's no reason for her to say or think it#
Joe tells Ann that Barry didn't fly the kind of plane that carried the faulty e+uipment,
and then speaks at len'th a-out the hi'h0pressure circumstances under which her
father made the decision he did# 6hen his ar'uments don't seem to -e chan'in'
Ann's mind, Joe seems a-out to lose his temper, -ut Chris chan'es the su-2ect to
their plans for a fancy dinner# 8lad to not -e talkin' a-out what happened at the
plant anymore, Joe 'oes in to make reser/ations# Chris and Ann are left alone#
13
This scene introduces the second of the play's central mysteries> the unknown truth
of what happened at the plant the day the faulty e+uipment was produced# This
mystery is de/eloped in what mi'ht -e descri-ed as a more con/entional way, as a
kind of 2i'saw pu55le in which -its of information are the pieces that are slowly and
methodically placed side -y side to e/entually create a whole picture# This scene
contains se/eral important pieces of that pu55le, re/elations of e/ents in the pasts of
Ann and the 4eller family that, for -etter or for worse, define their present states of
-ein'# $t's important to note the emotions arisin' in the characters as the result of
those pieces of information comin' to the forefront of the con/ersation#
$n se/eral instances the reasons for those emotions, and the actions arisin' from
those emotions, are defined andDor e:plained -y later pieces of information# @or
e:ample, Ann's uneasy reaction to 4ate's insistence that Barry is ali/e is colored and
defined -y her )Ann's* knowled'e of the true circumstances of Barry's death,
knowled'e re/ealed later in the play )Act %, Cart *# $n this sense, it's also possi-le to
see Ann's pained insistence upon denyin' 4ate's hope as a kind of implied
emotional foreshadowin', as opposed to a more acti/e, incidental or /er-al kind#
Another e:ample of this kind of foreshadowin' is Joe's insistence that Barry could
not ha/e -een killed as a result of what happened in the factory that day, and his
parallel insistence that Ann's father should not -e -lamed# Bater in the play, it's
re/ealed that Joe is in fact the one responsi-le for what happened, which means that
what's really 'oin' on for him here is an insistence that he )Joe* not -e -lamed 0
which in psycholo'ical terms is actually an insistence that he not feel responsi-le# $n
other words, his actions here are a form of self0delusion, a kind of denial that, as
re/ealed -y the action of the play, he needs in order to sur/i/e# 7is suicide at the
end of the play defines how desperately he relies on that denial, which in turn means
that his insistence on Ann's father's innocence here, and -y e:tension his o%n
innocence, is a manifestation of that desperation, which is a'ain, emotional
foreshadowin'#
14
Act 1! Part " Summary
8entle, intimate con/ersation -etween Chris and Ann su''ests that Ann knows why
Chris asked her to /isit, and why she a'reed to come, that they're -oth finally willin'
and a-le to proclaim their lo/e for each other# They do, and then talk a-out how lon'
they'/e -oth -een waitin' for the chance, and then kiss# Ann, howe/er, says that
Chris kissed her as Barry's -rother and not as himself, hintin' that e/en in his many
letters to her there seems to ha/e -een somethin' a-out him that was ashamed#
Chris says there was, adds that his shame is tied up with a lot of thin's, and then
speaks at len'th a-out his time in com-at 0 a-out how in spite of seein' so many
'ood men killed, he felt an awakenin' of a sense of worthwhile responsi-ility for and
to his fellow human -ein's# 7e 'oes on to say that when he returned home and
resumed work in his father's plant, he felt as thou'h he didn't deser/e either to li/e or
to -e happy, and as thou'h no0one he was workin' with had -een chan'ed -y the
war, or had e/en paid attention to what was happenin'# 7e concludes -y sayin' he
felt he didn't want to -e part of that life, and that for a lon' time he felt he didn't
deser/e to -e with Ann# Ann assures him he's 'ot nothin' to -e ashamed of, and
that he should -e proud Joe is such a success# Chris /ows to make a fortune for her#
As Joe comes -ack out from the house, Ann comments that she wouldn't know what
to do with a fortune#
Joe tells Ann her -rother 8eor'e is in the phone# As she 'oes in to take the call, Ann
and Chris discuss whether it's the ri'ht time to tell 4ate a-out their feelin's# Chris
su''ests they wait until after dinner# Ann 'oes into the house as Joe asks Chris what
they're talkin' a-out# Chris e:plains that he and Ann are 'ettin' married, -ut Joe
seems more concerned with what 8eor'e is tellin' Ann, sayin' it's stran'e that after
all these years of i'norin' his father 8eor'e has apparently 'one to see him#
Con/ersation re/eals that when he was on trial, Ann and 8eor'e's father insisted
that Joe was responsi-le for e/erythin'# Ann's con/ersation with 8eor'e is heard in
the -ack'round as Chris stru''les to assure Joe that Ann thinks nothin' of the kind#
Joe chan'es the su-2ect, talkin' a-out how he wants to put Chris's name on the
15
-usiness, sayin' he wants Chris to en2oy the family's success without shame# 7e
-ecomes tearful as he tells Chris that he'll support him and Ann when they talk to
4ate# Ann's /oice is heard, insistin' that 8eor'e tell her what their father told him#
4ate comes out of the house as Ann's con/ersation re/eals that 8eor'e is refusin'
to tell her, and that he intends to come down and confront them all# After she han's
up Ann comes out of the house to say 8eor'e will -e there at around se/en# 1he
seems upset, and asks Chris to take her for a dri/e# Joe 'i/es them the car keys,
and they 'o out#
4ate warns Joe that 8eor'e is a lawyer, and that somethin' must ha/e chan'ed for
him to want to see his father# 1he seems shaken, -ut Joe assures her there's
nothin' to worry a-out# 4ate insists that he tell her he's sure, he says he is, and 4ate
ur'es him to -e smart# Now furious, Joe slams into the house, lea/in' 4ate alone
with her thou'hts#
Act 1! Part " Analysis
The 'entle, romantic interlude -etween Chris and Ann makes the thematically
rele/ant su''estion that there is hope for the future if the past can -e transcended#
There is deep -ut su-tle irony here, howe/er, in that the hope rests on a
misconception a-out the past# The stru''le for Ann and Chris to hold on it once the
truth a-out the past is re/ealed defines one of the key lines of action of the latter half
of the play# Another si'nificant irony in this section can -e found in Chris's comments
a-out the sense of responsi-ility awakened in him durin' com-at# The irony here is
that his father, as the action of the play later re/eals, in essence i'nored his
responsi-ility to his fellow human -ein's when he allowed the defecti/e airplane
parts to -e released from the factory# Chris's sense of responsi-ility ser/es as a
definin' contrast to his father's e/entually re/ealed lack of responsi-ility, and
hi'hli'hts the ne'ati/e -y emphasi5in' the positi/e#
As that interlude concludes, the rest of the section -uilds to the Act clima:0
8eor'e's telephone call and, perhaps more importantly, Joe and 4ate's reaction to it#
The call itself is a turnin' point, sendin' the action of the play in a different direction
16
and settin' a chain of e/ents in motion that result in all the layers of delusion and
falsehood -ein' forci-ly peeled away to re/eal the deeply trou-lin' truth -eneath#
That moment of re/elation is foreshadowed in the dialo'ue at the end of the section
-etween 4ate and Joe# The hei'htened emotion of -oth characters is a /i/id
indicator of somethin' ha/in' 'one on in the past that they for whate/er reason are
fearful to face# At this point in the play, it would -e reasona-le to infer that this
9somethin'9 has to do with the incident at the plant, and with the +uestion of who
-ears responsi-ility for the conse+uences of that incident# $n that conte:t Joe and
4ate's mutual fearfulness and Joe's an'er simultaneously ser/e to foreshadow the
re/elation of the truth and create a sense of suspense a-out how and when that
re/elation will come# This sense is tri''ered -y the reference to 8eor'e's impendin'
/isit, and -y the repeated references to the unusual nature of his /isit to his father#
Bater that ni'ht, Chris saws apart the fallen tree# 4ate comes out, in the middle of
'ettin' dressed for their fancy dinner, and commentin' that there's more li'ht on the
house with the tree 'one# After makin' small talk a-out how she's prepared
8eor'e's fa/orite 2uice and how Joe is sleepin' a lon' time, 4ate tells Chris he has
to protect her and Joe from 8eor'e and his accusations of Joe's in/ol/ement in the
incident at the plant# $'norin' Chris's su''estions that she lea/e the su-2ect alone,
4ate wonders aloud whether Ann, deep down, feels the same a-out the 4ellers as
her father and -rother# =efore Chris can answer, Ann comes out and asks how 4ate
is# 4ate dismisses her concern and 'oes in# Ann and Chris a'ree that now is the
time to tell 4ate a-out their marria'e and ur'e each other to remain calm# Chris then
'oes into the house to finish 'ettin' dressed for dinner#
1ue comes o/er from ne:t door, lookin' for Jim# Ann e:plains that he went to the
train station to pick up 8eor'e# 1mall talk a-out 1ue's hus-and leads to con/ersation
a-out Ann's impendin' marria'e to Chris, which 1ue seems to think is ine/ita-le and
17
which she definitely thinks is romantic# 1he also talks a-out how Jim feels trapped -y
-oth his 2o- and her money, and then a-ruptly asks Ann to make her home in
another town when she 'ets married, e:plainin' at len'th that -ein' around Chris
makes Jim feel as thou'h his life isn't as worth while as Chris thinks it should -e#
Ann's resentment 'rows as 1ue hints that the money Chris is earnin' workin' for
Joe is tainted -y the incident at the plant, e/entually statin' outri'ht that e/ery-ody
thinks Joe tricked his way out of 2ail# Ann hotly denies the su''estion, -ut 1ue tells
her it's the truth# 1he adds that she doesn't -lame Joe for 'ettin' out of 2ail the way
he did, -ut that Chris shouldn't -e so idealistic and self0ri'hteous, 'i/en the tra'ic
foundation upon which his family's 'ood fortune is -uilt# Chris comes in and asks
1ue, a nurse, to 'o in and see if she can calm 4ate down# As 1ue 'oes, she
comments that it won't take lon' for 4ate to 'et used to the idea of Ann -ein' in the
family, sayin' that Ann is the female /ersion of him 0 Barry#
Chris indicates that he thinks a lot of 1ue, -ut Ann an'rily tells him what 1ue really
thinks of him and demands to know why he ne/er told her what people think a-out
Joe, sayin' he told her e/erythin' was for'otten# Chris says he didn't want her to
think her /isit would cause any trou-le, and insists that if he thou'ht what other
people would think he would ha/e left home lon' a'o# Ann e:presses her concerns
a-out 8eor'e# Chris reassures her that the community resentment of him and his
role in the incident at the plant is 'one, and she calms down#
Joe comes out of the house, ha/in' 2ust woken up# =anterin' con/ersation -etween
him, Chris, and Ann re/eals that Joe is the super/isor down at the manufacturin'
plant, and that he's -een thinkin' a-out offerin' 8eor'e a 2o-, sayin' that if his and
Ann's father )1te/e* knows that he's 'ot a new life waitin' for him when he 'ets out
of prison, some of his -itterness will disappear# Chris an'rily insists that he doesn't
want 1te/e in the plant# Joe comments that he doesn't understand why Ann is so
determined to think -adly of her father# Chris asks what -usiness it is of his, and Joe
sharply says a father is a father and is worthy of respect# A moment later, he calms
himself and apolo'i5es for losin' his temper# Bydia hurries on, sayin' she's there to
fi: 4ate's hair, and 'oes into the house# Joe follows her, 'oin' in to 'et dressed#
18
This act -e'ins the slow, methodical, ine/ita-le process of -reakin' down the 4eller
family's illusions a-out itself and its history# The more o-/ious manifestations of this
process include 1ue's pointed comments a-out Chris, and Ann's worries a-out the
community's reaction to her# A sym-olic manifestation can -e found in Chris's cuttin'
up the tree and 4ate's comment that with the tree 'one there's more li'ht, -oth of
which represent the way that with the family's illusions 'one andDor 'oin', the li'ht of
truth and inte'rity can finally shine clearly# A manifestation of this process that can
only -e seen as such in hindsi'ht at the end of the play is Joe's offerin' 1te/e a 2o-#
Taken on its own, the moment can -e seen as a manifestation of 'enerosity,
compassion and for'i/eness, and as such seem to -e intended to paint Joe as a
no-le, positi/e character# This impression is destroyed, howe/er, -y the e/entual
re/elation that Joe and not 1te/e made the decision to release the faulty e+uipment
from the plant# This circumstance 'i/es a whole new meanin' to Joe's action here,
which in that conte:t can -e seen as an attempt to -ri-e 1te/e with a 2o- to keep him
+uiet a-out what really happened that day#
Meanwhile, Joe's passin' comment a-out his -ein' the super/isor at the plant is a
su-tle foreshadowin' of the re/elation of the truth 0 specifically, Joe's an'uished
story of how 1te/e came to him as his super/isor to ask what to do with the faulty
e+uipment# @urther -reakdown of the 4eller family's illusions is foreshadowed in the
references to 8eor'e, who appears in the followin' scene and ser/es as a catalyst
for the final, complete destruction of the 4ellers' illusions# 6ithin the conte:t of that
destruction, Chris's comment a-out fathers -ein' worthy of respect has a powerful
irony# 6hen, at the end of this act, Chris disco/ers the truth of his father's actions,
any respect Chris once had for him disappears# Chris clearly feels his loyalty and
respect ha/e -een -etrayed, which is another e:ample of the way in which his
e:perience of his father parallels that of 8eor'e's with 1te/e# The irony, of course, is
that -oth e:periences of -etrayal come into e:istence as the result of Joe's
determination to a/oid responsi-ility for his actions#
19
Jim comes in, ha/in' -rou'ht 8eor'e from the train station# 7e su''ests that Ann
and Chris take 8eor'e out and talk with him somewhere other than the house,
sayin' 8eor'e has come to fi'ht and worryin' that 4ate can't handle it# Ann says
she'll take 8eor'e for a dri/e, Chris says she doesn't ha/e to, and that no-ody's
afraid of 8eor'e# Jim says Chris is -ein' an idiot 0 and then 8eor'e appears# Chris
'reets him, tellin' him he's welcome# 8eor'e mo/es coldly away from him as 1ue
comes out of the house, ha/in' seen to 4ate# 8eor'e speaks coldly to her and Jim,
and they 'o -ack ne:t door#
Chris offers 8eor'e some of the 2uice 4ate made for him and attempts to make small
talk, -ut is re-uffed -y 8eor'e's dis-elie/in' comments a-out how stran'e it is to -e
-ack in the nei'h-orhood# Tension soon arises -etween them, -ut is defused -y
Ann, who asks when 8eor'e started wearin' a hat# 7e says it -elon's to 1te/e,
makes pointed comments a-out how time in prison has chan'ed him, and makes it
clear that he has no intention of lettin' Ann marry into the family that put his father in
prison# An'er a'ain threatens to flare up -etween him and 8eor'e and is a'ain
defused -y Ann, who asks 8eor'e to tell her what's happened to make him so an'ry#
7e speaks at len'th a-out how -adly he feels a-out how he and Ann cut off all
contact with 1te/e, and then tells her 1te/e's /ersion of what happened at the plant#
7e says 1te/e disco/ered the flaw in e+uipment, called Joe )his super/isor* for
ad/ice on what to do, and was told -y Joe to co/er up the defects and ship the
e+uipment out# 7e 'oes on to say 1te/e wanted Joe at the plant to -ack him up, that
Joe couldn't come in -ecause he was sick with the flu, -ut that he )Joe* promised to
take responsi-ility# 7e asks Ann whether she still plans to marry into the family, now
that she knows the truth# Ann starts to talk a-out how the court found 1te/e 'uilty,
-ut 8eor'e insists that she knows in her heart that her father isn't capa-le of doin'
what he did#
All this time Chris's an'er is -uildin', to the point where he threatens to throw
8eor'e off the property# 8eor'e confronts him with the apparent parado: that Joe,
who is so specific and detail oriented that he knows when e/ery worker uses the
toilet, let 'o of control o/er his plant in the way he says he did# 7e also challen'es
20
Chris to say a'ain that 1te/e, who e/ery-ody knows was timid and una-le to make
decisions on his own, did e:actly that in this case# 7e concludes -y sayin' that he
feels different ha/in' heard the story from his father's mouth rather than throu'h
stories from the courtroom, and demands that Ann 'et ready to lea/e# Chris asks
Ann whether she -elie/es what 8eor'e says is true# 8eor'e says Chris knows it's
true, otherwise, he would ha/e let his name 'o on the -usiness# 7e then says he'll
settle the +uestion once and for all, unless Chris is afraid of what he mi'ht find out#
Chris says he doesn't want it to happen now -ecause 4ate isn't well# 8eor'e says to
Ann that this is proof Chris knows the truth and doesn't want it to come out# They see
4ate comin' out, and Ann tells 8eor'e that he'll ha/e to lea/e soon and that she
doesn't want him to say anythin' a-out her and Chris's weddin' plans# 8eor'e says
that Ann is lea/in' with him, -ut -efore the ar'ument can continue any further, 4ate
comes out#
Aside from the de/elopment and deepenin' of the contradictory perspecti/es on
what happened in the past, the key noteworthy element of this scene is the
de/elopment of the parallel -etween 8eor'e and Chris# =oth sons are clearly
passionate a-out their fathers, de/oted to preser/in' their inte'rity, and intent on
seein' what they percei/e as 2ustice -ein' done# They are e+ually o-stinate, e+ually
close0minded, and unfortunately, e+ually determined to place Ann in the middle of a
conflict in which she has no real place# 1he definitely has a stake in the outcome of
the ar'ument, howe/er, and this is a fact of which -oth 8eor'e and Chris are fully
aware# @or each of the youn' men, her support is /alidation of his perspecti/e 0 for
each of them, if she -elie/es him, he's ri'ht#
At this point in the play, the audience is in essentially the same place as Ann# The
contradictory stories are e+ually plausi-le on -oth sides, -ut it's interestin' to note
that the emotional -alance is clearly tilted at this point towards the 4ellers# 8eor'e's
e/ident -itterness and apparent insensiti/ity are a clear and unsympathetic contrast
to Joe's apparent 'enerosity of spirit and capacity for for'i/eness# This state of
-alance makes it e/en more shockin', therefore, when it's later re/ealed that 8eor'e
21
and 1te/e ha/e -een tellin' the truth all alon'#
An important +uestion at this point is whether 8eor'e is ri'ht, whether Chris does
somewhere in his soul -elie/e that Joe is 'uilty and that's the reason why, for
e:ample, he hasn't put his name on the -usiness# Bater in the play when the truth
comes out )Act !, Cart !*, Chris's deep sense of -etrayal seems to indicate that he
truly -elie/es Joe is innocent# Bater in the play, howe/er, it -ecomes clear that his
-itterness has -een made stron'er from ha/in' -een suppressed in his
su-conscious for so lon'# This idea is supported -y Chris's comments at the
-e'innin' of Act %, Cart 2, in which he confesses to ha/in' suspected the truth a-out
his father# 7is earlier comments in Act , Cart ! a-out responsi-ility, which indicated
that his reason for not wantin' his name on the -usiness had to do with feelin'
unworthy, are at least to some de'ree true# =ut ultimately, the core of what moti/ates
and defines Chris is that in spite of his protestations of inte'rity he has in fact -ou'ht
into the 4eller family lie as much as his mother and his father#
8eor'e's reference to Joe's claim of -ein' sick on the day the fatal decision a-out
the flawed e+uipment was made foreshadows 4ate's accidental comment in the
followin' section that Joe hasn't -een sick in fifteen years, which in turn ser/es as
the tri''er for the final, e:plosi/e re/elation of the truth a-out that day at the plant#
4ate 'reets 8eor'e, and their con/ersation re/eals that they ha/e a lon' standin'
and deeply felt affection for each other# 4ate impulsi/ely su''ests they chan'e their
dinner plans and stay in# Ann offers to help her prepare, -ut 8eor'e comments that
the train is lea/in' at &>%?# 4ate takes this as an indication that Ann is lea/in', -ut
Chris and Ann reassure her, with Ann in/itin' 8eor'e to stay lon'er# Chris says that
if 8eor'e wants to 'o, he'll dri/e him, -ut if he stays there are to -e no ar'uments#
4ate insists that she and 8eor'e ha/e no ar'ument, plainti/ely commentin' that
they'/e -oth suffered in the same way and for the same reasons# 1he points out the
shattered tree and -e'ins to e:plain how she saw the wind destroy it, -ut is
interrupted -y Bydia, who runs in and 'reets 8eor'e# Their con/ersation re/eals that
22
they once had a relationship, and hints that they -oth wish they'd ha/e had a chance
to marry# 4ate asks Bydia whether she knows if @rank has finished Barry's
horoscope, and Bydia 'oes to find out# As she 'oes, 4ate teases 8eor'e a-out how
he shouldn't ha/e let her 'o and tells him to mo/e home, sayin' he should let Joe
help him 'et set up in a career and let her find him a wife# 8eor'e seems surprised
to hear that Joe wants him -ack, -ut 4ate tells him he's too fond of him to hate him#
1he talks at len'th a-out one of the 'irls she has in mind for him and the
con/ersation seems happy and playful 0 -ut then Joe comes out, and e/eryone falls
silent#
Joe and 8eor'e 'reet each other with false politeness, they make strained 2okes
a-out how the town has chan'ed, and then Joe turns the con/ersation to 1te/e,
whom 8eor'e says isn't well# Chris tries to chan'e the su-2ect, -ut -oth 8eor'e and
Joe indicate they want to keep talkin'# Joe tells 8eor'e he wants to 'i/e 1te/e a 2o-#
8eor'e comments that 1te/e hates Joe, and Joe says he's sad to hear that e/en
after twenty years 1te/e is still una-le to take responsi-ility# Joe recalls other
instances in which 1te/e wouldn't admit his mistakes, and comments that 9there are
certain men in the world who rather see e/ery-ody hun' -efore they'll take -lame#9
Ann, who had 'one in to call 8eor'e a ca-, comes -ack to say the ca- is on his way#
1he, 4ate, and Joe ur'e 8eor'e to take a later train, and after a moment of
consideration, 8eor'e a'rees# They -ustle with plans and arran'ements, and Chris
'oes into the house to call a date for 8eor'e#
8eor'e comments that 4ate and Joe are the same as they were when he mo/ed
away, healthy and stron'# Joe comments that he hasn't had time to 'et sick, and
4ate comments that he hasn't -een sick in fifteen years# Joe reminds her of the time
he 'ot sick durin' the war, and 4ate a'rees# 8eor'e seems to reali5e somethin',
and with increasin' intensity repeatedly asks why 4ate said Joe ne/er 'ot sick# As
-oth 4ate and Joe, with increasin' panic, list the details of his sickness the day of
the fateful decision at the plant, it -ecomes clear that Joe's claim of ha/in' -een sick
and therefore una-le to come in and -ack up 1te/e's decision to release the flawed
e+uipment was a lie#
23
Two key pieces of information are re/ealed in this section, one o/ertly and one
indirectly# The first is Joe's re/elation of 1te/e's history of irresponsi-ility# ;n one
le/el, this adds an important piece of information to the pu55le, and for a moment, it
seems that the play's central conflict has -een resol/ed 0 the incident at the plant
was 1te/e's fault# =ut within the conte:t of the truth that's a-out to -e re/ealed, Joe's
re/elation at this particular moment can -e seen as another of his attempts to deflect
attention from his own 'uilt and responsi-ility# This makes his comment a-out people
who will do anythin' to a/oid takin' -lame deeply ironic, in that he's denyin'
responsi-ility in e:actly the same way as he's accusin' 1te/e of doin'# The
comment is also an important piece of foreshadowin', in that he's a-out to -e
confronted with the -lame he's -een workin' for years to a/oid#
The important piece of information re/ealed indirectly in this scene can -e inferred
from 4ate's comment a-out Joe ha/in' not -een sick# 4ate is rela:ed, she's calm,
her 'uard is down, and as a result the truth slips out 0 Joe is ne/er sick, and
therefore wasn't sick that fateful day at the plant# Joe's reminder a-out the flu is an
attempt to return her to the story they'/e always told, -ut the reminder and 4ate's
fee-le attempts to -acktrack are too late# The cat's out of the -a', as the sayin'
'oes# 8eor'e and the audience simultaneously put two and two to'ether, and in that
moment, the destruction of the 4eller family's illusions a-out themsel/es -ecomes
ine/ita-le# =oth 4ate and Joe stru''le desperately a'ainst that ine/ita-ility, 4ate
more so than Joe -ecause she has a hu'e stake in preser/in' the fantasy> if the
truth -eneath it is re/ealed, she mi'ht ha/e to face the e/en more painful truth a-out
what happened to Barry#
;n a sym-olic le/el, the act of 4ate pointin' out the destroyed tree to 8eor'e is a
reminder of the tree's metaphoric representation of the 4eller family's illusions, and
defines that metaphor e/en further# 1pecifically, her reference to the wind that
destroyed the tree can -e seen as sym-olic of the winds of destruction 8eor'e
unleashes on the 4ellers -y insistin' the truth not -e i'nored#
24
Act 2! Part " Summary
As 8eor'e repeatedly asks Joe what really happened that day, @rank rushes in with
Barry's horoscope# 4ate sei5es on the opportunity for distraction and tries to 'et
8eor'e to listen to him# Chris comes out and tries to 'et @rank to 'o away, -ut 4ate
hushes him and lets @rank speak# @rank talks at len'th a-out how Barry couldn't -e
dead -ecause the day he supposedly died was his fa/ora-le day# Meanwhile, the
ta:i called -y Ann arri/es# 8eor'e tries to 'et her to lea/e with him, sayin' that after
what 4ate said a-out Joe ne/er -ein' sick she )Ann* can ha/e no dou-t a-out their
father's innocence# @rank 'oes out to tell the ta:i dri/er to wait, 4ate tells Ann her
-a' is packed, Chris says she's not lea/in', and 8eor'e a'ain reminds Ann what
4ate said# Chris hears this, suddenly reali5es the implications of the comment, and
tells Ann to respond to him )8eor'e*# Ann says she's stayin', and won't -elie/e
anythin' other than what Chris tells her# Chris then pushes 8eor'e out to the ta:i,
with Ann followin' and tryin' to calm him down#
Chris turns on 4ate, who says she wants Ann to lea/e -ecause she's Barry's 'irl#
4eller tells her she's lost his mind# 1he slaps him and says Barry is comin' -ack,
Chris is not 'oin' to marry Ann, and no-ody is 'oin' to let Barry's memory 'o# Chris
says he let it 'o a lon' time a'o# 4ate tells him if that's true, he has to let his -eliefs
a-out his father 'o, sayin' that if Barry is dead then Joe killed him# ;/erwhelmed -y
emotion, she rushes into the house# Joe tries to con/ince Chris he's not responsi-le
for Barry's death, usin' the ar'ument he used at the end of Act , Cart % 0 that Barry
ne/er flew the kind of plane that had the faulty e+uipment# Meanwhile, Chris asks
repeatedly whether it's true that Joe was -ehind the decision to release the
e+uipment# $n a rush of words and feelin', Joe e:plains that he did what he did
-ecause of the demands of -usiness, of the war, and of pro/idin' for a family# 7e
says he ne/er -elie/ed the e+uipment would actually -e used, addin' that he was
sure the defects would -e noticed -efore it was actually installed# 7e concludes -y
sayin' he did it for Chris, to keep the -usiness 'oin' so that Chris could and would
ha/e a li/elihood# All the while, Chris repeatedly reminds him of the soldiers flyin'
those planes# Chris loses his temper and accuses his father of ha/in' no perspecti/e
-eyond that of the -usiness# At one point Chris strikes his father, and then wonders
25
with impotent fury a-out what he can do to make him see the true conse+uences of
his actions#
Act 2! Part " Analysis
$n this section, the past ra'es into the present with the destructi/e power of the wind
that destroyed Barry's tree# The play's dramatic tension escalates throu'h a series of
increasin'ly painful clima:es to the point where the destruction of the entire 4eller
family seems ine/ita-le# These clima:es -e'in with Ann's refusal to -elie/e 8eor'e,
the clima: of 8eor'e's efforts to 'et her to see thin's the way he and their father see
them# The ne:t clima: comes in the confrontation -etween 4ate and Joe, in which
4ate's lon' simmerin' with her hus-and comes to a -oil and e:plodes with a slap
across the face# $t's important to note here that there are two core components to
4ate's frustration> Joe's refusal to -elie/e Barry is ali/e, and his insistence that the
truth of what happened at the plant remain a secret -etween 8eor'e and Ann#
A third clima: immediately follows, with 4ate -lurtin' out to Chris the truth of what
happened at the plant and deli/erin' a potentially fatal -low to his feelin's and
illusions a-out his father# The fourth and final clima:, the hi'hest point of emotional
intensity and confrontation in -oth the act and the play, is Chris's e:plosion of
pained, -etrayed an'er at his father# All his illusions a-out his father ha/e -een
destroyed, alon' with his illusions a-out his entire family# 7is refusal to accept his
father's e:planation, interestin'ly enou'h, echoes 8eor'e's first reaction to 1te/e 0
there's the su''estion in the act's final moments that Chris may /ery well re2ect Joe
in the same way as 8eor'e initially re2ected 1te/e#
Eery late that ni'ht, 4ate sits alone in the dark# Jim appears, ha/in' 2ust returned
from makin' a house call to /isit a sick patient# 7e comments on how cra5y many of
his patients are, and implies that much of their cra5iness is the result of an o-session
with money# Con/ersation then turns to what happened after the fi'ht -etween Joe
and Chris, re/ealin' that Chris stormed off and hasn't -een seen since, that Ann has
26
locked herself in her room, and that Jim has always known the truth# 7e 'oes on to
say Chris will someday come -ack to the family, -ut then adds that he hopes he
won't# 7e e:plains -y recallin' a time when he left home and was happy doin' what
his soul seemed to -e callin' him to do, -ut came -ack in response to a call from
someone who needed him and hasn't -een happy since# As Joe comes out and
looks for Chris's car, Jim tells him he thinks Chris is in the park and 'oes out to look
for him#
Joe says he doesn't like Jim 'ettin' so in/ol/ed, -ut 4ate tells him it's too late to
worry a-out him, that he already knows the truth# 1he tersely 'oes on to tell him he
needs to face the truth and deal with -oth Ann and Chris in terms of that truth,
su''estin' that if Joe tells Chris he's prepared to take responsi-ility for what he did
and 'o -ack to prison they mi'ht -e a-le to heal their relationship#
6hen Joe reacts with dis-elief, 4ate tells him Chris wouldn't actually want him to 'o,
that Joe sayin' he %ould 'o would -e enou'h# Joe accuses 4ate of -ein' -ehind the
whole thin', accusin' her of wantin' money too much# The implication is that he
wouldn't ha/e made the decision he did, which he -elie/es sa/ed his 2o-, if 4ate
hadn't -een so insistent on ha/in' a lot of cash# 7e 'oes on to say that if Chris did
somethin' wron' he )Joe* would for'i/e him 0 that's what father and sons do, and 9if
there's somethin' -i''er than that,9 he says, 9$'ll put a -ullet in my head9# 4ate
comments that she doesn't know anythin' a-out Chris any more, commentin' that
she's heard he was a real killer in the war -ut when he was a child, he was always
afraid# 4eller compares him to Barry, who he says would ha/e understood# 7e
collapses in sudden 'rief o/er the loss of Barry, and 4ate comforts him#
Ann comes out, and after makin' small talk with 4ate a-out food, lays down the law
0she tells 4ate and Joe they need to -rin' stren'th -ack to Chris's life -y tellin' him
they -elie/e Barry is dead# 1he says this will set him free, that all the tension will
end, and life will 'o on# Joe a'rees with her, -ut 4ate refuses, sayin' that Ann will
lea/e alone in the mornin'# Ann tells her she's con/inced Barry is dead, and a'ain
4ate refuses to -elie/e her# Ann tells Joe to 'o into the house, and after a moment of
indecision, he 'oes in# Ann, after tellin' 4ate she had no intention to hurt her, shows
27
her a letter from Barry that she -rou'ht with her in case she had to use it to con/ince
4ate or Joe that Barry was dead# 4ate 'ra-s the letter as Ann tells her he wrote it
2ust -efore he died# As 4ate reads the letter, she moans in an'uished 'rief# Ann
comforts her, and then Chris comes in#
This section of the play de/elops one of its secondary themes relatin' to /arious
relationships with money# This theme was 'limpsed earlier in Jim's comments to Ann
a-out countin' her hus-and's money )Act , Cart %*, in 1ue's comments a-out the
way the money Chris earns workin' for Joe is tainted )Act 2, Cart *, and in Joe's
repeated insistence that he's worked as hard as he has to 'i/e his family a life and a
future# Jim and Joe's separate comments to 4ate define the play's thematic
statement on the su-2ect, that money can -ecome an unhealthy moti/ator of
people's actions and e:periences#
4ate's perspecti/e on the way Chris would react to the su''estion that Joe 'o -ack
to prison is yet another e:ample of the way the 4eller family dynamic is anchored not
only in delusion -ut on a lack of responsi-ility# 4ate thinks she's doin' what's -est for
her family, -ut what she's really doin' is reinforcin' the falseness that's li/ed at the
core of all their li/es for years# There could /ery well -e the sense in the audience
that there's no way Chris could continue to li/e within the family unit under these
circumstances, and it's /ery possi-le that -oth 4ate and Joe share this perspecti/e#
At this point in the play, they're -oth clearly and desperately stru''lin' to sal/a'e
what's left of their family#
3/en less is left to 4ate and Joe when Ann appears with the final proof that Barry is
dead# The e:act nature of that proof is re/ealed in the followin' section, -ut for now
it -ecomes clear that Ann, e/en more so than Chris, is an em-odiment of honesty
and coura'e, a powerfully contrastin' character to 2ust a-out e/ery other character in
the play# 1he hasn't sold herself out the way Jim has, she doesn't li/e from a place of
lies like Joe andDor 4ate, and she hasn't 'i/en in to an'er and resentment like
8eor'e or Chris# 1he's 'ot coura'e, she's 'ot determination, and she's 'ot inte'rity,
28
the depths of which all are clearly re/ealed in the followin', final section of the play#
Joe's reference to shootin' himself foreshadows the moment at the end of the play,
when he apparently does e:actly that#
After e:plainin' -riefly where he's -een doin', Chris tells 4ate and Ann he's mo/in'
away, confessin' that he's suspected all alon' the truth a-out the incident at the
plant and callin' himself a coward for not doin' anythin' a-out it# Ann promises to
ne/er hold his inaction a'ainst him, -ut he su''ests there's no way she can keep
that promise# 1he tells him if that's his -elief, he should do somethin' a-out it# 7e
speaks at an'ry len'th a-out how Joe was only doin' what other people do in 9the
land of the 'reat -i' do's, you don't lo/e a man here, you eat himF9
Joe comes in from the house and tries to force Chris to talk to him# Chris attempts to
'et away -ut Joe insists, tellin' him that if it's the money he's unhappy a-out he
should do somethin' to 'et rid of it# Chris tells him the money isn't the pro-lem, and
that he wants Joe to do the ri'ht thin'# Joe demands that he actually say the words,
that he wants Joe to 'o to 2ail# 6hen Chris can't, or won't, Joe taunts him -y sayin'
that he )Chris* knows that's not where he -elon's -ecause he also knows that
e/eryone in the country was makin' the same kinds of decisions# Chris says he
deser/es to 'o to 2ail -ecause he )Chris* saw him as somethin' -etter 0 as his father#
Ann takes the letter from 4ate and 'i/es it to Chris# 4ate tries to stop her, and then
desperately ur'es Joe to 'o away# Chris reads the letter aloud to Joe, sayin' that it's
proof of where he )Joe* -elon's#
$n the letter, Barry refers to ha/in' heard the results of Joe and 1te/e's trial a few
years earlier, to his hurt and dis-elief at learnin' what Joe did, and to his sense of
-etrayal a-out how 9e/ery day three or four men ne/er come -ack and he sits -ack
there doin' -usiness9# 7e says he's a-out to 'o on a flyin' mission with the intention
of ne/er comin' -ack, tells Ann not to wait for him, and concludes -y sayin' if Joe
was there he )Barry* would kill him# Joe tells Chris to 'et the car, and 'oes in to 'et
29
his 2acket# The implication is that Joe is ready to return to prison# 4ate tries to
con/ince him to not -e foolish, sayin' Barry would ne/er want him to do this# Joe
tells her that's e:actly what the letter is sayin', addin' that Barry may ha/e -een his
son -ut to him )Barry*, all the soldiers that killed were 9all my sons9# 7e says that he
can see his point, and then 'oes into the house# 4ate ur'es Chris to try to con/ince
Joe to stay, -ut Chris ar'ues that if Joe takes no responsi-ility then Barry's death
means nothin' to her# 7e tells her that if Joe 'oes to prison he and 4ate will -oth
ha/e the chance to reali5e they ha/e a responsi-ility to more than to themsel/es0
they ha/e a responsi-ility to the world# A shot is heard from inside the house# Chris
tells Ann to run and fetch Jim, and Ann runs out# 4ate -e'ins moanin' Joe's name
repeatedly# Chris comes to her, sayin' he didn't mean to 0 -ut 4ate cuts him off,
takin' him in her arms and tellin' him to not -lame himself#
;n a purely story0tellin' le/el, the truths at the core of -oth the play's mysteries are
re/ealed in this section# Barry is dead, Joe is 'uilty, and -ecause of -oth these truths
-ein' un/eiled, the 4eller family's /arious illusions ha/e -een completely destroyed#
The de/astatin' winds of reality ha/e destroyed the family's falsehood0-ased sense
of peace and inte'rity, fulfillin' the sym-olic foreshadowin' of the destroyed tree#
6hat's most important to note here is the play's clear statement of why those lies
e:ist0in a word, capitalism, the do' eat do' world of money0makin' that -oth Chris
and Joe refer to# $n essence, they're -oth sayin' they accepted the lies -ecause of
the truth in which they came into -ein'# Moneymakin' wasDis part of the culture and
the society in which the family li/es, and in doin' what he did, Joe was only
respondin' to the needs and dictates of that culture# This is one of the play's key
thematic points 0 that money, and society's intense focus on money, is corrupti/e and
soul0destroyin'# 8i/en that the play is unam-i'uously set in America, this statement
is clearly a comment on American culture, militarily and monetarily anchored as it is#
The motif of relationships -etween fathers and sons is repeated here in the
comments of -oth Joe's sons, Barry and Chris, that they e:pected more from Joe
-ecause he was their father and therefore relied on him to -e an e:ample of inte'rity
30
and honesty# $n this moment, it's possi-le to discern another of the play's secondary
thematic points 0 that the emphasis placed on the e:ample a father is intended to
pro/ide for his son is e:cessi/e and potentially dama'in'# The play seems to -e
sayin' that fathers are as human as e/eryone else, and that for sons to see them as
anythin' -ut is foolish and un2ust to the father# 6hat's interestin' here is that the play
also seems to -e sayin' that the re/erse is true# @or fathers to place too much hope
and admiration on their sons the way Joe didDdoes to -oth Barry and Chris is e+ually
foolish, and is paraly5in' for the son and leadin' to at least the potential for
disappointment in the father#
;ne last thematic point, relatin' to the +uestion of responsi-ility, is stated with 'reat
power in this scene# This idea that indi/idual responsi-ility doesn't end with 2ust
those indi/iduals with whom one is personally connected, -ut that it e:tends to the
indi/idual's responsi-ility to humanity as a whole# This idea was first e:plored in
Chris's comments to Ann in Act Cart !, in which he referred to ha/in' disco/ered
that aspect to responsi-ility while in com-at# Chris refers to it a'ain here, in his
insistence to -oth 4ate and Joe that they look outside their own family circle to
understand the nature of responsi-ility# Barry's letter also refers to this idea, al-eit in
a sli'htly more o-li+ue form#
This idea, that each indi/idual is responsi-le to all humanity and not 2ust himDherself,
is at the core of a key +uestion a-out the play's final moments# $s Joe's apparent
suicide the ultimate takin' of responsi-ility, or the ultimate re2ection of itG $s it a
statement of 'uilt, or is it a refusal to face that 'uiltG The answer lies in Joe's
comment in Act % Cart , in which he says he'll put a -ullet throu'h his head if there's
somethin' -i''er than the loyalty and responsi-ility -etween fathers and sons# $n its
focus on the nature and depth of personal responsi-ility, the play is sayin' yes, there
is somethin' -i''er# $n this final, climactic section of the play, Joe is confronted with
that responsi-ility, reali5es that he's -een wron' his entire life, can face neither the
responsi-ility for that fact nor his lack of responsi-ility to humanity, and takes the
easy way out#
The final irony, of course, is that in her final words to Chris, 4ate tells him to do
31
e:actly what Joe has done 0 not accept responsi-ility for the conse+uences of his
actions# Chris is clearly at least in part responsi-le for Joe ha/in' killed himself# =y
tellin' him to not accept the responsi-ility, 4ate is essentially tellin' him to
perpetuate the family history# $n the conte:t of the play's secondary thematic focus
on the dan'ers of American culture's o-session with money, can also -e seen as the
history of the dark side of the American dream 0 make money, cele-rate the success
it -rin's, and pay no mind to who or what may -e dama'ed as a result#
". #haracters
Annie
See Ann (ee/er
$r. %im Bayliss
Jim =ayliss is a close friend of Chris 4eller# 7e and his wife 1ue -ou'ht the house
formerly owned -y 1te/e (ee/er and his family, this makes him a nei'h-or of the
4ellers# Althou'h Jim suspects that Joe is as 'uilty as his former partner is, he likes
the 4eller family# 7e e/en tries to protect Joe from a confrontation with 8eor'e
(ee/er#
Sue Bayliss
1ue =ayliss, Jim's wife, re/eals that the town knows the truth a-out Joe 4eller, and,
unlike her hus-and, she -asically dislikes the family# 7owe/er, her animus is lar'ely
directed a'ainst Chris, not Joe# 1he -elie/es that he knows his father is 'uilty and
has profited from the situation# As a result, she deems him a phony, and she deeply
resents his friendship with her hus-and#
Bert
32
=ert is a nei'h-orhood -oy# 7e plays with Joe in the -e'innin' of the play,
pretendin' to -e a policeman# =ert's 'ulli-ility pro/ides a comic counterpoint to the
more serious 'ulli-ility of Joe's son, Chris, who -elie/es in his father's innocence#
Joe has also shown =ert the 'un with which, at the end, he kills himself#
Ann $ee&er
Ann is the attracti/e dau'hter of 1te/e (ee/er, Joe's former partner# 1he is /isitin'
the 4ellers for the first time since her -oyfriend, Barry 4eller, was reported missin' in
action# 1he has -een in/ited -y Chris, they are in lo/e, much to the consternation of
4ate, Chris's mother#
Ann -elie/es that her father is 'uilty and has refused to /isit him in 2ail# 1he is
perhaps -linded -y her lo/e for Chris, whom she plans to marry# 7owe/er, she
carries what is in fact a suicide letter that Barry wrote to her -efore his final mission#
(eeply shamed -y his father's con/iction, Barry disclosed his ina-ility to li/e with the
fact of his father's crime# 6hen 4ate continues to refuse to -elie/e that Barry is dead
and tries to pre/ent her marria'e to Chris, Ann is forced to show her the letter# 6ith
the Barry's final thou'hts re/ealed, Chris is forced to face his father's 'uilt#
'eorge $ee&er
8eor'e is 1te/e (ee/er's son and -rother to Ann (ee/er# 7e is a lawyer and a
threat to Joe 4eller, who fears that he mi'ht try to reopen the case that put Joe and
his father in prison# After /isitin' his father in 2ail, he confronts Joe# 8eor'e is
con/inced that Joe destroyed his father and was the real insti'ator of the crime#
6hen he disco/ers that Ann is in lo/e with Chris, he tries to persuade her to lea/e
with him#
4ate's kindness almost placates him, and he e/en seems ready to accept Joe's
33
/ersion of what happened, -ut 4ate inad/ertently re/eals that Joe was not sick when
the defecti/e parts were shipped and there-y confirms what his father had told
8eor'e# 7e storms off -efore Chris is forced to face the truth and Joe commits
suicide#
#hris (eller
Chris, at a'e thirty0two, is Joe and 4ate 4eller's sur/i/in' son# 7e is in lo/e with Ann
(ee/er, the former 'irlfriend of his deceased -rother, Barry# 7e in/ites Ann to /isit
the 4eller home so that he mi'ht propose to her#
A /eteran of 6orld 6ar $$, Chris now works for his father, Joe# 1ince -ein'
e:onerated and released from prison, Joe has -uilt a /ery successful company#
Chris -elie/es that his father is innocent, as he feels was pro/ed at the pardon
hearin' -efore Joe's release# An idealist, he has a /ery stron' sense of 2ustice and
responsi-ility, and he -ears a residual 'uilt for sur/i/in' the war when many of his
friends died#
7e also -elie/es that one should -e 'uided -y the no-lest principles, and he tries to
encoura'e his friend, Jim =ayliss, to lea/e his medical practice to pursue a hi'her
callin' in medical research# 7is influence an'ers Jim's wife, 1ue, who -elie/es that
Joe is 'uilty and that Chris is a hypocrite#
Althou'h his lo/e for his father -linds him to the truth, when Joe's 'uilt is finally
re/ealed, he -elie/es that he has no choice -ut to see to it that his father is returned
to prison#
%oe (eller
The 4eller family patriarch, Joe is a self0made -usinessman who started out as a
semi0skilled la-orer and worked his way up in the -usiness world to -ecome a
successful manufacturer# 7e owns a factory, where he employs his sur/i/in' son,
Chris#
34
$nitially, Joe seems like a /ery 'enial, 'ood0natured man, almost like a surro'ate
'randfather to the nei'h-orhood kids# 7e is /ery out'oin' with his nei'h-ors, and
has a disarmin' tendency to en'a'e in some self0deprecation, notin', amon' other
thin's, that he is not well educated or as articulate as those around him# $t is partly a
pose, howe/er, for he actually prides himself on his -usiness acumen# 7is -usiness
means a 'reat deal to him, almost as much as his family#
<nfortunately, Joe has sacrificed +uite a -it for such success# (urin' the war, he
ordered his partner, 1te/e (ee/er, to co/er cracks in some airplane en'ine parts,
dis'uise the welds, and send them on to -e used in fi'hter planes, causin' the death
of twenty0one pilots# Althou'h con/icted, Joe put the -lame on 1te/e and 'ot out of
prison#
6hen the truth is re/ealed a-out Barry's death, Joe is at first unwillin' to face the
responsi-ility# @inally reali5in' the conse+uences of his actions and his limited
course of action, he commits suicide#
(ate (eller
4ate is Joe's wife and the mother of Chris# Althou'h her older son, Barry, was
reported missin' in action durin' 6orld 6ar $$, she hopes that he has sur/i/ed and
will e/entually return home# 1he hopes for this not only -ecause she lo/es her son,
-ut also -ecause she knows the truth a-out Joe> he ordered his partner 1te/e to
co/er the cracks in the cylinder heads that e/entually resulted in the death of se/eral
American fi'hter pilots# Althou'h Barry ne/er flew a C0!? fi'hter, 4ate -elie/es that
Joe must -e held accounta-le as his murderer# 1he is finally forced to face Barry's
death when confronted with the letter that he sent to Ann (ee/er announcin' his
impendin' suicide#
7er moti/es are hidden from Chris, who earnestly wants her to face the fact of
Barry's death and mo/e on with life# 7e wants to marry Barry's former 'irl friend, Ann
(ee/er, -ut he knows he will not -e a-le to o-tain his mother's -lessin' as lon' as
35
she continues to hold on to her unrealistic con/iction that Barry is still ali/e#
4ate is a sympathetic character# 1he is kind and motherly, -ut the truth of her
hus-and's 'uilt tortures her# As the pressure mounts, she de/elops physical
symptoms of her inner a'ony# At the end, after Joe shoots himself, she tells Chris to
li/eHI&22, somethin' she had not -een a-le to do since the death of her other son#
)ran* +ubey
@rank Bu-ey is Bydia's hus-and# A ha-erdasher, he is percei/ed as fli'hty and
socially inept# 8racious, intelli'ent, and attracti/e, Bydia makes him seem rather silly
-y comparison# @rank, always missin' each draft call0up -y -ein' a year too old, did
not 'o to war# 7e married Bydia when 8eor'e (ee/er, her former -eau, did not
return to his hometown from the war#
@rank's foolishness e:tends to his -elief in astrolo'y, which would -e harmless
enou'h were it not for the fact that he keeps 4ate's hopes of Barry's sur/i/al ali/e
with his insistence that Barry's horoscope could re/eal the truth#
+ydia +ubey
Bydia is @rank's wife# 1he is a charmin', /ery pretty woman of twenty0se/en,
descri-ed -y Miller as a 9ro-ust lau'hin' 'irl#9 =efore 8eor'e went off to war, she
was his 'irlfriend, when he did not return home after his father was imprisoned, she
married @rank, a dull alternati/e# 6hen 8eor'e does come to confront the 4ellers
with his father's accusations, he is reminded of e/erythin' he lost# 7e also knows
that Bydia deser/ed -etter than she 'ot#
Mother
See 4ate 4eller
36
,. Themes
American $ream
$n a sense, All My Sons is a critical in/esti'ation of the +uest to achie/e material
comfort and an impro/ed social status throu'h hard work and determination# $n the
7oratio Al'er myth, e/en a disad/anta'ed, impo/erished youn' man can attain
wealth and presti'e throu'h personal fortitude, moral inte'rity, and untirin' industry#
Joe 4eller is that sort of self0made man, one who made his way from -lue0collar
worker to factory owner# 7owe/er, Joe sacrifices his inte'rity to materialism, and he
makes a reprehensi-le decision that sends American pilots to their deaths,
somethin' he is finally forced to face#
Atonement and )orgi&eness
Carado:ically, Joe 4eller's suicide at the end of All My Sons is -oth an act of
atonement and an escape from 'uilt# $t stems from Joe's reali5ation that there can -e
no real for'i/eness for what he had done# The alternati/e is confession and
imprisonment# (eath offers Joe another alternati/e#
@or'i/eness must come from 4ate and Chris# The letter written -y Barry re/eals that
he deli-erately destroyed himself durin' the war, profoundly shamed -y his father's
-rief imprisonment for fraud and profiteerin'# $t is a de/astatin' irony that Joe's initial
attempt to do ri'ht -y his family00resultin' in fraud and the deaths of twenty0one
fi'hter pilots00 leads to destruction of his world#
#hoices and #onse-uences
All My Sons employs a pattern that is fundamental to most tra'edies# Crota'onists in
tra'edy must, in some de'ree, -e held accounta-le for their actions# 6hen faced
with a moral dilemma, they often make a wron' choice# Joe, at a critical moment,
37
elected to place his family's finances a-o/e the li/es of coura'eous American
soldiers#
The re/elations that lead up to Joe's tra'ic reco'nition of 'uilt and his suicide, the
final conse+uences of his choice, are essential to All My Sons# There is a sense of
anake, or tra'ic necessity, that mo/es the work alon' towards its ine/ita-le moment
of truth and awful -ut final retri-ution#
$eath
The key in the tra'ic arc of All My Sons is 4ate 4eller's refusal to accept the death of
her son, Barry# $nitially, prone to false hopes, it seems that she is in denial, finally, it
is re/ealed that her need to -elie/e that Barry is ali/e allows her to a/oid the terri-le
conse+uences of her hus-and's deeds# 1he reali5es that if Barry is dead, then Joe is
responsi-le for his death00somethin' Barry himself confirmed in his letter to Ann# All
alon', 4ate knew her hus-and's 'uilt -ut desperately a/oided it, knowin' that it
would destroy her family#
$uty and .esponsibility
Joe 4eller's sense of duty and responsi-ility is to the material comfort of his family
and the success of his -usiness# At a weak moment, under pressure, he puts these
/alues ahead of what should clearly ha/e -een a hi'her duty, his o-li'ation to
human life# 7is fear of losin' lucrati/e 'o/ernment contracts00essentially his 'reed00
-linded him to the murder he was committin'#
/thics
Joe's decision to send defecti/e parts is not merely a result of skewed /alues, it is a
serious -reach of ethics# Joe does not fully comprehend how serious a -reach it is#
To him, success is more important than anythin' else, includin' human life and the
'ood of his country# =y settin' up this ethical situation, Miller clearly +uestions the
implications of a /alue system that puts material success a-o/e moral
38
responsi-ilities to others#
'uilt and Innocence
$n All My Sons, there are hints that Joe is trou-led -y his 'uilt00e/en -efore his
e/entual suicide# 7is suspicions of Ann and 8eor'e (ee/er re/eal his fears of -ein'
forced to face the truth# 3/en when he attempts to atone for his 'uilt -y helpin' his
former partner, 1te/e (ee/er as well as (ee/er's son, 8eor'e, his offer seems
rather lame 'i/en the enormity of his 'uilt# There is no way he can atone for the
deaths of the American fi'hter pilots, howe/er, somethin' that he finally reali5es#
Punishment
Joe's death at the end of All My Sons is parado:ically -oth punishment and escape#
$n one sense, Joe can do no less than pay for his crime with his life# $t is not an
empty 'esture# $t is made a-undantly clear from the play's -e'innin' that Joe is a
man who is full of life and cherishes his roles as -oth hus-and and father#
6hen the truth comes out, Joe has to face not only a return to prison -ut also the
alienation of his remainin' son and the destruction his family# (eath offers the only
escape from that pain# $t may also -e seen as a sacrificial act, one which sa/es Joe's
son, Chris, from further humiliation#
.e&enge
@ueled -y his an'er o/er Joe's 'uilt, 8eor'e (ee/er comes to the 4eller's house
seekin' re/en'e and retri-ution# 7e is a ma2or catalyst and intensifies the emotional
tension of the play# @or a moment, 4ate's friendliness and warmth placate him#
6hen, towards the end of the second act, 4ate inad/ertently confirms the pro-a-le
truth of his father's accusations, 8eor'e's an'er returns# Joe is then forced to re/eal
his fraudulent and deceitful actions#
39
0. Style
#lima1
All My Sons has a /ery traditional dramatic structure, with carefully orchestrated
action that reaches a clima:# Althou'h it may -e ar'ued that each act has its own
clima:, with a particularly powerful one in the second act, the final clima: occurs in
the last act, when Joe finally reali5es that he was responsi-le for the deaths of the
American fi'hter pilots, his 9sons#9
#on2lict
Tension in drama e/ol/es from conflict# $n fact, conflict is /irtually mandatory in what
is termed the dramatic moment, whether in a play or in fiction# A 'ood play 'enerally
e/inces a sense of a deepenin' conflict that hei'htens the emotional tension as the
play works towards its climactic moment# Conflict arises as a character stri/es
toward a 'oal and is met -y an o-stacle to that 'oal#
The key conflict in All My Sons de/elops as a result of Chris's desire to marry Ann
(ee/er# 1tandin' in the way of his desire is his mother's a-ility to -lock the marria'e,
she opposes the union -ecause she cannot accept the death of her son, Barry# $f she
accepts his death, then she must also face Joe's role in it#
$ronically, Chris tries to enlist his father's help in this matter# ;n account of his lo/e
for Ann, Chris pushes his family into facin' truths that ha/e tra'ic and destructi/e
conse+uences#
/1position
40
3:position in drama is often more of a pro-lem than it is for writers of fiction#
1omehow, information a-out past e/ents and relationships must -e con/eyed to an
audience so that the action in the present can -e fully understood# =ecause All My
Sons is a realistic play in which all the action occurs on the day in which the family
crisis is met and tra'ically resol/ed, Miller has few options for re/ealin' Joe's
fraudulent past# The action strictly adheres to a normal chronolo'ical order, allowin'
nothin' like a flash-ack or the hallucinatory re/eries of the main character so
-rilliantly used -y Miller in his ne:t play, Death of Salesman*
Miller's chief de/ice is the reunion, the introduction of a character who needs to -e
told what has transpired since that character's former estran'ement# That character
is Ann (ee/er, inad/ertently, she opens old wounds -ecause of her familial
relationship with Joe's former partner, Barry# 1he also -ears the truth of Barry's death
in a letter that he had written to her# $n this way she is like the messen'er of 8reek
tra'edy whose task it is to -ear in the pain of truth that will force the tra'ic
reco'nition in the main character#
)oreshadoing
@oreshadowin's of an impendin' disaster appear in the first act of All My Sons# The
memorial apple tree planted for Barry is destroyed durin' a storm in the early
mornin' hours, su''estin' a dark force that has the power to destroy the 4eller
family#
4ate's response to the tree's fellin' at first seems odd# 1he says that it should ne/er
ha/e -een planted in the first place# 7owe/er, it is soon learned that she has
desperately held on to the hope that Barry, reported missin' in action durin' the war,
is still ali/e# That she suffers from the emotional -urden of her hope is re/ealed -y
her sleeplessness and physical pain#
$n its way, e/en Joe's role0playin' 'ame is a foreshadowin'# Clayin' with =ert, they
pretend that the 4eller home is a 2ail# This 'ame su''ests that 4eller /iews his home
41
as a kind of 2ail# ;n account of what he has done, he can not really -e free#
3/en the play's settin' foreshadows e/ents# The -ackyard of the 4ellers is pleasant
and, initially, a happy place, -ut it is also rather insular, hidden from its nei'h-ors -y
the poplar trees that 'row on -oth sides# The trees stand like sentinels, protectin'
Joe from the suspicions of his nei'h-ors, most of whom -elie/e that he was at least
as 'uilty as 1te/e (ee/er#
.ealism
All My Sons strictly adheres to the tenets of realistic drama as first put in practice -y
such early modern playwri'hts as 7enrik $-sen and Anton Chekho/# @undamental to
such drama is faithfulness to real life in -oth character and action# Characters speak
and act /ery much like real people# Nothin' happens that could not happen in reality#
7owe/er, like the realism of most plays in the $-sen tradition, the realism of All My
Sons is of a selecti/e /ariety, deli-erately controlled to ad/ance a particular thesis#
Matters are rather con/eniently drawn to a climactic head on a sin'le day with the
/isit of the two (ee/er si-lin's, a coincidence that is ne/ertheless wholly within the
realm of plausi-ility#
Setting
The settin' of All My Sons, the 4eller's -ackyard in a small Midwestern town shortly
after 6orld 6ar $$, has a si'nificant role in the play# The settin' su''ests comfort
and isolation from the community# $solation is necessary -ecause the townspeople
suspect the truth a-out Joe, that he did what he had -een con/icted of doin' durin'
the war# Yet -ecause he is so successful and pro/ides 2o-s in the community, they
do not openly reproach him for it#
(estructi/e forces threaten the settin'# Nature first in/ades, destroyin' the apple tree
planted in memory of Barry# $t is followed -y the 9messen'ers, 9 Ann and 8eor'e# At
the end of the play, the yard is en'ulfed in the darkness of ni'ht, the destructi/e truth
42
that lea/es 4ate and Chris alone in the 'rim aftermath of Joe's suicide#
Thesis
All My Sons is a thesis play that focuses on a pro-lem that Arthur Miller -elie/ed was
eatin' at the fa-ric of American democracy> material 'reed# Miller's prota'onist, Joe
4eller, is an affa-le and pleasant man with a stron' sense of family loyalty, -ut his
/alues ha/e -een shaped -y a pre/alent American -elief that human success and
worth can -est -e measured -y how many thin's a person owns#
Joe -elie/es that his son's lo/e is -ased on material concerns# The fact that Chris
wants Joe to atone for his crime finally forces him to reco'ni5e his 'uilt#
Tragic )la
Joe lets a lo/e of materialism and fear cloud his moral compass# 7e sets in motion
e/ents that ha/e tra'ic conse+uences# Joe fears failure in -usiness, as if, somehow,
failure would threaten the lo/e and respect of his family# <nder pressure, that fear
leads him to make an ill0considered decision to put the li/es of American pilots at risk
-y dis'uisin' cracked cylinder heads and shippin' them to assem-ly plants#
3nities
$n addition to -ein' a realistic play, All My Sons has some characteristics of classical
drama, nota-ly an adherence to the so0called dramatic unities of time, place, and
action# @irst, it -asically o-ser/es the Aristotelian notion that the action should all
occur within a twenty0four0hour time period# The action opens in the mornin' and
ends in the early hours on the mornin' of the ne:t day#
1econd, the action all occurs in one locale, the -ackyard of the 4eller home# Third,
althou'h the action is not continuous, within each of the three acts the action is
continuous, and the three acts are arran'ed chronolo'ically, as is the standard
practice in most realistic plays# =reaks -etween acts are in part used to indicate the
43
passa'e of time in the play's action#
4istorical #onte1t
$n March of 9!", Cresident 7arry 1# Truman presented the Truman (octrine to the
<# 1# Con'ress# The Truman (octrine was an anti0Communist declaration that would
shape American forei'n policy for o/er four decades# 6ith the Cold 6ar heatin' up,
fears of an international communist conspiracy were rapidly 'rowin'# The Truman
(octrine was meant to alle/iate some of those /ery fears#
The now infamous 7ouse <n0American Acti/ities Committee )7<AC* -e'an its /ery
/isi-le in/esti'ations of alle'ed communist influence in 7ollywood, resultin' in the
2ailin' and -lacklistin' of witnesses who refused to cooperate with in/esti'ators# The
@=$, meanwhile, looked for e/idence of communist infiltration in America, for
e:ample, they concluded that @rank Capra's classic Christmas film, 't+s a Wonderful
Life, was little more than insidious communist propa'anda#
To counter the 'rowin' spread of communism in 3astern 3urope and Asia, the
<nited 1tates took positi/e steps to help re-uild the war0torn countries of -oth its
allies and its former enemies, includin' 8ermany and Japan# ;n June ., 9!",
1ecretary of 1tate 8eor'e Marshall announced his plan for the economic reco/ery of
3urope# 6ith the =russels Treaty of March ", 9!&, the 6estern 3uropean <nion,
the forerunner of the North Atlantic Treaty ;r'ani5ation )NAT;*, was formed#
Meanwhile, 4in' Michael of Jomania a-dicated, -rin'in' another 3uropean country
into the 1o/iet -loc# $ndia and Cakistan were 'ranted independence from 8reat
=ritain# $n that same year, Mother Teresa left her Boreto order to mo/e into the slums
of Calcutta to esta-lish her first school#
$n Joswell, New Me:ico, in July, 9!", there was a rash of <@; si'htin's and the
reported crash of an alien space ship, the -asis for what many still consider a lame
'o/ernment co/er0up of the truth# Also that summer, Jackie Jo-inson, the first
African American -ase-all player to play in the Ma2or Bea'ues, had 2oined the
44
=rooklyn (od'ers and was on his way to winnin' the National Bea'ue Jookie of the
Year award#
$n cinema, 3lia 4a5an, the director of All My Sons, won an ;scar for his direction of
,entlemen+s A&reement, a film a-out anti01emitism# Chuck Yea'er -ecame the first
human to -reak the sound -arrier in ;cto-er, 9!"# =reakin' a different kind of
-arrier, =ell Telephone Ba-oratories introduced the transistor, the first important
Costwar -reakthrou'h in the e/olution of microelectronics, fundamental in the
de/elopment of the post0industrial, information0a'e technolo'y of the late twentieth
century#
5. #ritical O&er&ie
All My Sons was Arthur Miller's first successful play on =roadway# $n hindsi'ht, it
may seem that the work lacks the 'reat ima'inati/e force of his ne:t play, Death of
Salesman )9!9*, still widely re'arded as his masterpiece, -ut in All My Sons Miller
certainly showed that he could -oth use dialo'ue /ery well and construct a ri/etin'
drama in the tradition of social realism#
Miller was fortunate to ha/e as his director 3lia 4a5an, whose mercurial career was
then rapidly risin', and an e:cellent cast, headed -y 3d =e'ley as Joe 4eller, =eth
Merrill as 4ate, Arthur 4ennedy as Chris, Bois 6heeler as Ann (ee/er, and 4arl
Malden as her -rother, 8eor'e# $n most re/iews, the +uality of the production was
reco'ni5ed and applauded# The play chalked up a run of %2& performances and
'arnered the New York (rama Critics' Circle Award# $t was an impressi/e
achie/ement for a new and /irtually unknown playwri'ht#
The work did not recei/e uniform ra/es, -ut it did win the appro/al of some influential
critics, nota-ly =rooks Atkinson of the The -e% .ork Times, the city's most
distin'uished newspaper# $n his auto-io'raphy, Time#ends Miller says 9it was
=rooks Atkinson's campai'n for All My Sons that was responsi-le for its lon' run and
my reco'nition as a playwri'ht#9
45
Amon' other thin's, Atkinson defended the play a'ainst those who took um-ra'e
with Miller's depiction of an American -usinessman as one who puts material comfort
and success a-o/e moral responsi-ility# @or Atkinson, the play was 9the most
talented work -y a new author in some time,9 and thou'h he reco'ni5ed the
important contri-ution of 4a5an and the cast to the play's power, he credited Miller
with de/isin' a 9pitiless analysis of characters that 'athers momentum all e/enin'
and concludes with -oth lo'ic and dramatic impact#9
Most re/iewers reco'ni5ed Miller's 'reat promise e/en while findin' flaws in the
work# @or Joseph 6ood 4rutch, the plot of the drama was 9almost too neat#9 9The
pieces,9 4rutch ar'ued, 9fit to'ether with the artificial, interlockin' perfection of a 2i'0
saw pu55le, and toward the end one -e'ins to feel a little uncomforta-le to find all
the implicit ironies so patly illustrated and poetic 2ustice workin' with such
mechanical perfection#9 Moreo/er, 4rutch took issue with Miller's 9warm respect for
all the leftist pieties9 and complained that the playwri'ht's 9intellectual con/ictions9
are 9more stereotyped than his dramatic ima'ination#9
That Miller imposed a classical structure on a social pro-lem play in the tradition of
7enrik $-sen and Anton Chekho/ was reco'ni5ed -y his re/iewers, whether leftist in
sympathies, like Atkinson, or conser/ati/e, like 4rutch# The influence of -oth $-sen
and Chekho/ is noted -y John Mason =rown, who /iews (r# =ayliss as a
Chekho/ian interloper, and in the 9spiritual stripteasin'9 of his main character, the
use of sym-olism, and his di''in' into the past to re/eal the present and 9rush
forward to a new clima:9 the a-idin' and persistent influence of $-sen#
To some critics, All My Sons also reflected the influence of classical tra'edy# $n the
play, 4appo Chelan wrote, Miller 9attempted and deli/ered a tra'edy,9 and the play
is, in fact, the playwri'ht's first successful attempt to create what he would later call
9a tra'edy of the common man#9 There are clear parallels to such 1ophoclean
tra'edies as Oedi/us 0e), -oth in structure and techni+ue#
=oth leftist ideolo'y and the classical influence would keep All My Sons in the
limeli'ht until Death of a Salesman replaced it as the cynosure of critical attention#
46
6ith that play, Miller came as close as any playwri'ht -efore or since to demonstrate
the /alidity of his assertion that tra'edy is possi-le in a modern, e'alitarian
democracy# @or that play, as well as The "ruci#le and $ie% from the Brid&e, All My
Sons pro/ided a firm foundation in -oth its theme of 'uilt and e:piation and its tra'ic
elements and structure#
6. #ritical /ssays
#ritical /ssay 71
Fiero is a (h*D*, no% retired, %ho formerly tau&ht drama and /lay%ritin& at the
1ni!ersity of South%estern Louisiana and is no% a freelance %riter and consultant*
'n this essay he considers All My 1ons as Miller+s first attem/t to %rite %hat he %ould
call a tra&edy of the common man, com/arin& it %ith So/hocles+s &reat tra&edy,
;edipus Je:#
6ritin' in 929, almost two full decades -efore All My Sons opened on =roadway,
critic Joseph 6ood 4rutch wrote a cele-rated essay entitled 9The Tra'ic @allacy#9
7is thesis was that modern audiences could not fully participate in the e:perience of
tra'edy -ecause the tra'ic spirit, so /ital and ali/e in the past, had simply stopped
hauntin' the human landscape# Modern man no lon'er had tra'edy's re+uisite -elief,
if not in 8od or some other power 'reater than man, then at least in man#
Tra'edy, opined 4rutch, depended on what he termed the 9tra'ic fallacy,9 the
9assumption which man so readily makes that somethin' outside his own -ein',
some 'spirit not himself' 0 -e it 8od, Nature, or that still /a'uer thin' called a Moral
;rder 0 2oins him in the emphasis which he places upon this or that and confirms him
47
in his feelin's that his passions and his opinions are important#9 =ecause of the
9uni/ersally modern incapacity to concei/e man as no-le,9 4rutch maintained that
dramatists could no lon'er create tra'edies, only 9those distressin' modern works
sometimes called -y its Ktra'edy'sL name,9 works that, rather than cele-rate a
9triumph o/er despair9 while e:hi-itin' a 9confidence in the /alue of human life,9
simply depicted man's haplessness and insi'nificance#
@or 4rutch, modern man's diminished stature makes a character like ;swald Al/in'
of $-sen's ,hosts a far more 9rele/ant9 character than 1hakespeare' s 7amlet#
4rutch essentially indicts his contemporaries for allowin' the tra'ic li'ht to fade from
the uni/erse#
Arthur Miller, as he makes clear in his early plays All My Sons, Death of a Salesman,
The "ruci#le, and A $ie% from the Brid&e, was unwillin' to admit that the li'ht was
'one# @or him, a tra'ic consciousness still e:isted, e/en in the most ordinary sort of
people# As he wrote in his piece called 9Tra'edy and the Common Man,9 he -elie/ed
that 9the tra'ic feelin' is e/oked in us when we are in the presence of a character
who is ready to lay down his life, if need -e, to secure one thin' his sense of
personal di'nity#9
Moreo/er, Miller claimed, 9the common man is as apt a su-2ect for tra'edy in its
hi'hest sense as kin's were,9 a heretical /iew for those critics whose definition of
tra'edy was lar'ely delimited -y Aristotle's (oetics*
;rrin 4lapp, ponderin' what he called Americans' 9armor a'ainst tra'ic e:perience,9
found a partial e:planation for it in the 9actual shrinka'e in the stature of the heroes
-ein' presented,9 a reduction in human si'nificance that made it almost impossi-le
9to see them as ha/in' the di'nity necessary to -e tra'ic#9
@or Miller, no-ility of soul is not contin'ent upon rank at all, it rather rests on an
indi/idual's moral inte'rity and, at the last, a willin'ness to face the conse+uence of a
fateful decision and shoulder its attendant 'uilt#
48
All My Sons was Miller's first attempt to write such a tra'edy of the common man,
and althou'h with Death of a Salesman, his ne:t play, he made almost a +uantum
leap forward in techni+ue, in the former work he created a prototype for all his
common0man, familial tra'edies, includin' the latter# $n it he welded features of
classical tra'edy to the realistic thesis play in the tradition of $-sen, maintainin' a
surface /erisimilitude while ad/ancin' a plot desi'ned in accordance with the lo'ic of
causality and plausi-le human moti/es#
Academically at least, 1ophocles seems to haunt All My Sons* As more than one
critic has noted, the parallels -etween Miller's play and the 8reek tra'edian's
masterpiece, Oedi/us 0e), are readily apparent# 6# Arthur =o''s maintains, for
e:ample, that like Oedi/us 0e), Miller's play is a 9tra'edy of reco'nition#9
There is, of course, one ma2or and o-/ious difference> the works do not share a
commensurate tra'ic scope# The hamartia of ;edipus, the killin' of his father, has
conse+uences not 2ust for his family -ut for the entire city state of The-es, 4eller's
hamartia, his trans'ression a'ainst a clear moral imperati/e, has primary
conse+uences, at least amon' the li/in', only for his family and close associates#
7owe/er, -oth ;edipus and Joe 4eller are patriarchs# =oth are asked to sol/e a
pro-lem, which, unknowin'ly or unconsciously, they ha/e themsel/es created# And
-oth must confront the truth, shoulder their terri-le 'uilt, and respond -y inflictin'
punishment upon themsel/es 0 ;edipus -y -lindin' himself and e:ilin' himself from
The-es, and Joe 4eller -y takin' his own life#
Oedi/us 0e) and All My Sons share a similar pattern and structure, a common tra'ic
rhythm# As Jo-ert 7o'an notes, -oth works in/ol/e 9the re/elation of a criminal
whose crimes has occurred years earlier9 and which has -ecome 9the cru: of the
present action#9 $n other words, -oth plays deal with untyin' the knot of a de/astatin'
and destructi/e truth that has -een the source of a sickness that cannot -e cured
until it is reco'ni5ed and faced -y the prota'onist# The sickness in Oedi/us 0e), a
pla'ue, afflicts the entire community of The-es, in All My Sons, it takes the form of a
49
family's failure to deal with the death of a son#
@urthermore, -oth Oedi/us 0e) and All My Sons deal with the trans'ression of one
or more uni/ersal ta-oos and thus ha/e stron' moral focus# $n the former, ;edipus
/iolates ta-oos a'ainst incest and parricide, in the later, Joe 4eller 9kills9 his son,
Barry, and his spiritual sons, the twenty0one fi'hter pilots who die as a result of his
actions#
;edipus must first disco/er the truth of what he has done, while Joe must own up to
the conse+uences of what he knows he has done and accept responsi-ility and 'uilt#
=oth prota'onists in some sense lack knowled'e, sharin' a -lindness to truth that is
only cured when their i'norance, in a tra'ic reco'nition or epiphany, is slou'hed off
and they finally see clearly for the first time 0 e/en as their understandin' destroys
them# $ronically, their insi'ht is the necessary recompense without which tra'edy has
no positi/e meanin' and no power to elate rather than simply depress an audience#
Oedi/us 0e) comes from an a'e that accepted one premise alien to the modern
mind> the /ictimi5ation of 9innocent9 offsprin' used a'ainst their parents as
instruments of di/ine 2ustice# $t is ;edipus' s una/oida-le destiny that he should
murder his father and marry his mother, atonin' for their affront to the 'ods# A raw
deal, perhaps, -ut ;edipus, who learns of his fate from the ;racle at (elphi as a
youn' man, tries to defy the will of the 'ods -y a/ertin' his fate# Not knowin' that he
is only the foster child of the kin' and +ueen of Corinth, he flees that city and,
ironically, runs headlon' into his fate# 7is defiance and resultin' con/iction that he
has escaped his fate are e/idence of his tra'ic flaw, his hu#ris, which, parado:ically,
is also the source of his 'reatness#
Althou'h Miller could hardly incorporate such a /iew of di/ine 2ustice into All My
Sons, he employs a modern parallel of sorts# Joe's actions /ictimi5e his innocent
sons, Barry and Chris, -oth of whom ha/e ethical principles that could ne/er
condone what their father has done#
Joe also shares some of ;edipus's pride and arro'ance# After lea/in' Corinth,
50
;edipus had stru''led to re'ain the princely stature he sacrificed in his attempt to
escape his di/inely0ordained fate# =y /irtue of his stren'th, he sur/i/es a fateful
encounter on the road, unwittin'ly committin' parricide, and, throu'h his intelli'ence,
he sol/es the riddle of the 1phin:, -ecomin' kin' of The-es and unwittin'ly marryin'
Joscasta, his own mother#
As depicted -y 1ophocles, he repeatedly displays pride in his accomplishments, his
rise to the throne of The-es -y merit rather than influence, and displays almost
paranoid suspicions towards his uncle and -rother0in0law, Creon, who, he -elie/es,
is 2ealous and resents him# $n his mockin' of the -lind prophet, Tiresias, who, he
suspects, is part of Creon's conspiracy to usurp the throne, he is nearly
-lasphemous in his arro'ance#
Joe 4eller is also a proud man# Throu'h hard work, he has made his way up in the
world, from semi0skilled la-orer to factory owner and -ecome one of the richest men
in town# 7e is confident in Chris's faith and trust in him and cares little a-out what
nei'h-ors like 1ue =ayliss -elie/e a-out his culpa-ility in the matter of the cracked
cylinder heads#
7owe/er, his e+uanimity and affa-ility dissol/e with the arri/al of Ann (ee/er, and
then her -rother, 8eor'e# Bike ;edipus, Joe suspects the moti/es of others# 7e
mistrusts Ann, dau'hter to a man he left in prison to pay for what was his own crime#
The (ee/ers, 'hosts from the past, are a threat to Joe, not 2ust -ecause of what their
father mi'ht ha/e told them -ut -ecause they can and do force a familial showdown,
somethin' that Joe has assiduously a/oided# Ann and Chris want to marry, -ut they
will not as lon' as 4ate 4eller clin's to her hope that Barry 4eller is still ali/e# $f she
must accept Barry's death, then she will hold Joe responsi-le for it, somethin' that
neither 4ate nor Joe can face#
The (ee/ers are like the 1ophoclean messen'ers who -ear fateful information# They
confirm that Joe ordered the weldin' of the cracked cylinder heads and that he was
the cause of his son's death# Ann e/en -ears a letter from Barry, in which, shamed
-y his father, Barry confides that he is settin' out on a suicidal mission#
51
8eor'e, on the other hand, is an interestin' parallel to the messen'er from Corinth
in ;edipus Je:, the one who comes to announce the deaths of the kin' and +ueen
of that city, temporarily allayin' ;edipus' s fears and, there-y, -riefly turnin' the tide
a'ainst the tra'ic direction of the play# There is a similar re/ersal in All My Sons,
when 8eor'e, disarmed -y the amia-ility of 4ate 4eller, -e'ins to accept Joe's
account of his father as a weak man, the one who made the sole decision to send on
the defecti/e airplane parts# ;nly when 4ate inad/ertently lets slip the fact that Joe
was not sick on the fateful day does 8eor'e -e'in to confront Joe a'ain#
The influence of classical tra'edy on All My Sons also resonates in other ways# @or
e:ample, the idea of destiny or fate is introduced -y @rank Bu-ey, the amateur and
inept astrolo'er# 7e tries to con/ince 4ate that there is hope that Barry is still ali/e
-ecause the day he was lost in action was, accordin' to his horoscope, a propitious
and fortunate day for him# There is also the /irtual o-ser/ance of the unities of time,
place, and, to a de'ree, action, and a set that su''ests the standard skene of 8reek
tra'edy#
@or some of the critics of the play, Miller seemed to -e crowdin' such de/ices of
tra'edy into the somewhat unrecepti/e frame of realistic drama, 2ammin' them into a
confused situation made more confused -y their inclusion or, as in the case of the
letter in Ann's possession, makin' them a -it too con/enient and coincidental to pass
muster as a de/ice suited to the pro-a-ility demanded -y realism# To =o''s, for
e:ample, All My Sons lacks the precision and simple and direct focus of ;edipus
Je: and, therefore, fails#
1till, All My Sons is the first effort -y one of America's ma2or post06orld 6ar $$
dramatists, al-eit unconsciously, to contest 4rutch's thesis of the impossi-ility of
modern tra'edy# Althou'h in All My Sons he may not ha/e succeeded accordin' to
critics, he at least succeeded in raisin' e:pectations# $n fact, many commentators
came to -elie/e that the playwri'ht was 2ust one work shy of a masterpiece, which,
two years later, 'raced the American theater in the 'uise of Death of a Salesman#
52
Source8 John 6# @iero, for Drama for Students, 8ale, 2???#
#ritical /ssay 72
Wells discusses the merits of Miller+s /lay as a %ork of social thesis, #ut the critic
also contends that the /lay offers a &reater %ealth of themes than that sim/le
assessment 2 includin& the /lay%ri&ht+s /ro#in& insi&hts into human nature*
Booked at superficially, Arthur Miller's All My Sons may appear to -e simply a social
thesis play# 1uch classification 0 a /alid one if se/erely +ualified 0 is su''ested -oth
-y the timeliness of the story and -y the presence of considera-le o/ert social
criticism# The story itself is o-/iously calculated to en'a'e the so0called social
conscience# 1tated in the simplest terms, the play dramati5es the process -y which
Joe 4eller, a small manufacturer, is forced to accept indi/idual social responsi-ility
and, conse+uently, to accept his personal 'uilt for ha/in' sold, on one occasion
durin' 6orld 6ar $$, fatally defecti/e airplane parts to the 'o/ernment#
7owe/er, while this -are0-one synopsis is essentially accurate, it does, in fact, do
/iolence to the actual comple:ity of the play# $n his well0known essay 9Tra'edy and
the Common Man,9 Miller comments,
Our lack of tra&edy may #e /artially accounted for #y the turn %hich modern
literature has taken to%ard the /urely /sychiatric, or /urely sociolo&ical**** From
neither of these !ie%s can tra&edy deri!e, sim/ly #ecause neither re/resents a
#alanced conce/t of life*
6hat is reflected here is Miller's own careful a/oidance of the 9purely9 this or that#
And it mi'ht similarly -e said that no satisfactory understandin' of Miller's All My
Sons may -e deri/ed from a criticism which commits itself to a 9purely9 or e/en
predominantly sociolo'ical or psychiatric /iew# The sociolo'ical /iew is particularly
limitin' in that it carries with it the temptation to approach the dramatic action from
the le/el of -road socio0cultural 'enerali5ations and, conse+uently, to o/ersimplify
53
character and action and, stum-lin' amon' su-tleties of characteri5ation, to accuse
the playwri'ht of a confusion of /alues which -elon's appropriately to the characters
in their situations#
Actually, like most of Miller's plays, All My Sons demands of the reader an
awareness of the de/iousness of human moti/ation, an understandin' of the way in
which a man's -est +ualities may -e in/ol/ed in his worst actions and cheapest
ideas, and, in 'eneral, a peculiarly fine perception of cause and effect# Nowhere is it
su''ested that the social realities and attitudes that are -rou'ht within the critical
focus of the play can -e honestly considered outside of some such conte:t of human
aspirations and weaknesses as is pro/ided -y the play, and nowhere is it su''ested
that the characters are or can -e 2ud'ed strictly on the -asis of some simple social
ethic or ideal that mi'ht -e deduced from the action# The characters do not simply
reflect the /alues and attitudes of a particular society, they use those /alues and
attitudes in their attempt to reali5e themsel/es# And it is these characteristics that
'i/e All My Sons, and other Miller plays, a density of te:ture so much 'reater than
that of the typical social thesis play, which seeks not only to direct -ut to facilitate
ethical 2ud'ments upon matters of topical importance#
@or most of us there is no difficulty in assentin' to the a-stract proposition which
Chris puts to his mother at the end of the play>
.ou can #e #etter3 Once and for all you can kno% no% that the %hole earth comes
throu&h those fences4 there+s a uni!erse outside and you+re res/onsi#le to it*
And there is no pro-lem either in 'i/in' 'eneral intellectual assent to the morality of
-rotherhood for which Chris speaks# There is, howe/er, considera-le difficulty in
assentin' to the actual situation at the end of the play, in acceptin' it as a simple
triumph of ri'ht o/er wron'# @or the play in its entirety makes clear that Joe 4eller
has committed his crimes not out of cowardice, callousness, or pure self0interest, -ut
out of a too0e:clusi/e re'ard for real thou'h limited /alues, and that Chris, the
idealist, is far from actin' disinterestedly as he harrows his father to repentance#
54
Joe 4eller is a successful small manufacturer, -ut he is also 9a man whose 2ud'ment
must -e dred'ed out of e:perience and a peasant0like common sense#9 Bike many
uneducated, self0made men, he has no capacity for a-stract considerations,
whate/er is not personal or at least immediate has no reality for him# 7e has the
peasant's insular loyalty to family which e:cludes more 'enerali5ed responsi-ility to
society at lar'e or to mankind in 'eneral# At the moment of decision, when his
-usiness seemed threatened, the +uestion for him was not -asically one of profit and
loss, what concerned him was a conflict of responsi-ilities 0 his responsi-ility to his
family, particularly his sons to whom the -usiness was to -e a le'acy of security and
2oy, /ersus his responsi-ility to the unknown men, en'a'ed in the social action of
war, who mi'ht as a remote conse+uence suffer for his dishonesty# @or such a man
as Joe 4eller such a conflict could scarcely e:ist and, 'i/en its e:istence, could ha/e
only one pro-a-le resolution#
6hen the worst ima'ina-le conse+uence follows 0 twenty0two pilots killed in
Australia 0 4eller is nonetheless a-le to presume upon his innocence as esta-lished
-efore the law# @or in his ethical insularity 0 an insularity stressed in the play -y the
hed'ed0in -ackyard settin' 0 he is safe from any serious assault of conscience so
lon' as he can -elie/e that the family is the most important thin' and that what is
done in the name of the family has its own 2ustification# Yet, he is not perfectly
secure within his sanctuary# 7is apparently thick skin has its sensiti/e spots> in his
unwillin'ness to oppose his wife's unhealthy refusal to accept her son Barry's death,
in his protest a'ainst Ann (ee/er's re2ection of her father, in his insistence that he
does not -elie/e in 9crucifyin' a man,9 and in his insistence that Chris should use
what he, the father, has earned, 9with 2oy ### without shame ### with 2oy,9 he -etrays a
deep0seated fear# 7is appeal on -ehalf of 7er- (ee/er )Act $* is in fact, partly a
co/ert appeal on his own -ehalf, an appeal for merciful understandin' called forth -y
the shocked reali5ation that some considerations may o/erride and e/en destroy the
ties of family upon which his own security rests#
$t is Chris 4eller who, in reachin' out for lo/e and a life of his own, first undermines
and then destroys this security alto'ether# Chris has -rou'ht out of the war an
idealistic morality of -rotherhood -ased on what he has seen of mutual self0sacrifice
55
amon' the men whom he commanded# =ut he has not sur/i/ed the war unwounded,
he -ears a still festerin' psycholo'ical wound, a sense of inade+uacy and 'uilt# 7e
has sur/i/ed to en2oy the fruits of a wartime economy, and he fears that in en2oyin'
them he -ecomes unworthy, condemned -y his own idealism# 3/en his lo/e for Ann
(ee/er, the sweetheart of his dead -rother, has seemed to him a 'uilty desire to
take ad/anta'e of the dead to whom he somehow owes his life#
As the play opens, howe/er, he has decided to assert himself, to claim the thin's in
life and the position in life which he feels should ri'htfully -e his, and as the initial
step he has in/ited Ann to his family home# 7is decision -rin's him into immediate
conflict with his mother, 4ate 4eller, who looks upon the possi-le marria'e -etween
Chris and Ann as a pu-lic confirmation of Barry's death# At first Joe 4eller seems
only peripherally in/ol/ed in this conflict, his attempt to e/ade Chris's demand that
4ate -e forced to accept Barry's death carries only am-i'uous su''estions of
insecurity# 7owe/er, at the end of Act $$, 4ate, emotionally e:hausted -y the fruitless
effort to use 8eor'e (ee/er's accusations as a means of dri/in' out Ann, and
opposed for the first time -y the declared dis-elief of -oth hus-and and son, -reaks
down and re/eals the actual -asis of her refusal> if Chris lets Barry 'o, then he must
let his father 'o as well# 6hat is re/ealed here is that 4ate is fundamentally like her
hus-and, only what is personal or immediate is real for her# $f Barry is ali/e, then, in a
sense, the war has no reality, and Joe's crimes do not mean anythin', their
conse+uences are merely distant echoes in an unreal world# =ut if Barry is dead,
then the war is real, and Joe is 'uilty of murder, e/en, -y an act of association, 'uilty
of murderin' his own son# 7er own desperate need to re2ect Barry's death a'ainst all
odds and upon whate/er flimsy scrap of hope has -een the refle: of her need to
defend her relation to her hus-and a'ainst whate/er in herself mi'ht -e outra'ed -y
the truth a-out him# Actually, howe/er, 4ate has 9an o/erwhelmin' capacity for lo/e9
and an ultimate commitment to the li/in' which makes it possi-le for her to 9let Barry
'o9 and rise a'ain to the defense of her hus-and at the end# $t is Barry li/in' not
Barry dead that she clin's to, and she does this -ecause to admit his death would
make -oth life and lo/e more difficult# Moreo/er, as is 'enerally true of Miller's
important women, 4ate's final loyalty is to her hus-and, to him as a li/in', su-stantial
-ein', she, like Binda in Death of a Salesman, has made an irre/oca-le commitment
56
in lo/e and sympathy which no knowled'e a#out him can destroy#
Chris, on the other hand, is incapa-le of any such surrender of the letter of morality
in the name of lo/e or mercy, he cannot, as his father would ha/e him, 9see it
human#9 At the rise of the curtain in Act $$, Chris is seen dra''in' away the remains
of Barry's memorial tree# The action is clearly sym-olic, Chris, -ecause of his own
needs, has determined to free the family of the shadow of self0deception and 'uilt
cast o/er it -y the memory of Barry, to let in the li'ht of truth# Yet, when the li'ht
comes, he is less a-le to -ear it than the others# Ann, in the hope of lo/e and
marria'e, re2ects the seeds of hatred and remorse which her -rother, 8eor'e, offers
her, and 4ate sacrifices the dead son to the li/in' father# =ut Chris has too much at
stake, his life must /indicate the deaths of those who died in the war, which means
that he must maintain an ideal ima'e of himself or else -e o/erwhelmed -y his own
sense of 'uilt# =ecause he is closely identified with his father, his necessary sense of
personal di'nity and worthiness depends upon his -elief in the ideal ima'e of his
father, conse+uently, he can only accept the father's e:posure as a personal defeat#
$t -ecomes clear in the e:chan'e -etween Chris and 8eor'e (ee/er )Act $$* that
Chris has suspected his father -ut has suppressed his suspicions -ecause he could
not face the conse+uences 0 the condemnation of the father, whom he lo/es, and the
condemnation of himself as polluted -y sharin' in the illicit spoils of war# Yet, this is
precisely what the e:posure of Joe 4eller forces upon him, and Joe's ar'uments in
self0defense 0 that he had e:pected the defecti/e parts to -e re2ected, that what he
did was done for the family, that -usiness is -usiness and none of it is 9clean9 0 all
shatter upon the hard shell of Chris's idealism not simply -ecause they are, in fact,
e/asions and irrele/ant half0truths, -ut -ecause they cannot satisfy Chris's
conscience# Conse+uently, e/en after Barry's suicide letter has finally -rou'ht to Joe
a reali5ation of his personal responsi-ility, Chris must 'o on to insist upon a pu-lic
act of penance# The father -ecomes, indeed, a kind of scape'oat for the son, that is,
if Joe e:piates his crimes throu'h the acceptance of a 2ust punishment, then Chris
will -e relie/ed of his own -urden of paraly5in' 'uilt# 7is lo/e of his father and his
complicity with his father will then no lon'er imply his own unworthiness# $n insistin'
that Joe must 'o to prison, Chris is, in effect, askin' Joe to 'i/e him -ack his self0
57
respect, so that he may -e free to marry Ann and assume the life which is ri'htfully
his# =ut Chris's ina-ility to accept his father 9as a man9 leads Joe to -elie/e that not
only ha/e his defenses crum-led -ut that the whole -asis of his life is 'one, and he
kills himself#
=ecause it forces upon the reader an awareness of the intricacies of human
moti/ation and of human relationships, All My Sons lea/es a dual impression> the
action affirms the theme of the indi/idual's responsi-ility to humanity, -ut, at the
same time, it su''ests that the standpoint of e/en so fine an ideal is not an
alto'ether ade+uate one from which to e/aluate human -ein's, and that a ri'id
idealism operatin' in the actual world of men entails sufferin' and waste, especially
when the idealist is ha'ridden -y his own ideals# There is no simple opposition here
-etween those 9who know9 and those who 9must learn,9 -etween those who possess
the truth and those who ha/e failed to 'rasp it, -etween the spiritually well and the
spiritually sick# Moreo/er, the corruption and destruction of a man like Joe 4eller,
who is stru''lin' to preser/e what he concei/es to -e a 2ust e/aluation of himself in
the eyes of his son, implies, in the conte:t of the play, a deficiency not only in 4eller's
character -ut in the social en/ironment in which he e:ists# 4eller's appeal to the
'eneral ethics of the -usiness community 0
'f my money+s dirty there ain+t a clean nickel in the 1nited States* Who %orked for
nothin+ in that %ar5 *** Did they shi/ a &un or a truck outa Detroit #efore they &ot their
/rice5*** 't+s dollars and cents, nickels and dimes4 %ar and /eace, it+s nickels and
dimes, %hat+s clean5
0 is irrele/ant to his personal defense, yet, it is an indictment of that community
nonetheless# @or it indicates that the -usiness community failed to pro/ide any
su-stantial /alues which mi'ht ha/e supplemented and counter0-alanced 4eller's
own limited, family0-ased ethics# @rom the -usiness community came only the
impulse to which Chris also responds when he feels prompted to e:press his lo/e for
58
Ann -y sayin', 9$'m 'oin' to make a fortune for youF9
@urthermore, there is a sense in which 4ate's words, 96e were all struck -y the
same li'htnin',9 are true, the li'htnin' was the e:perience of the second 6orld 6ar 0
a massi/e social action in which they were all, willy0nilly, in/ol/ed# $t was the war that
made it possi-le for some to profit -y the sufferin' and death of others and that
created the special occasion of Joe 4eller's temptation, which led in turn to his son
Barry's suicide and his wife's mor-id o-session# Chris 4eller and 8eor'e (ee/er
-rou'ht somethin' positi/e out of the war 0 an ideal of -rotherhood and a firmer,
more -roadly -ased ethic 0 -ut 8eor'e, as he appears in the play, is payin' in
remorse for the principles that led him to re2ect his father, and Chris's idealism is
poisoned at the source -y shame and 'uilt, which are also products of his war
e:perience and which make it impossi-le for him to temper 2ustice with mercy either
for himself or anyone else#
Source8 Ar/in J# 6ells# 9The Bi/in' and the (ead in All My Sons6 in Modern Drama,
Eol# ", no# , May, 9A!, pp# !A0.#
#ritical /ssay 73
One of the most hi&hly re&arded drama critics of the t%entieth century, "lurman
e)amines All My 1ons in the conte)t of the other /lays of 789:, findin& that the %ork
6rouses and mo!es*6
A dramatic critic eminent amon' dramatic critics recently wrote an article which
su''ested that plays 9a-out somethin'9 were 'enerally duds# The article was either
/ery sly or /ery stupid# $t was /ery sly insofar as it is unar'ua-le that most plays the
59
premise and sentiment of which we do not accept cannot please us# 6hat was
stupid in the article was to isolate 9plays a-out somethin'9 into a special cate'ory of
plays that are topical, political or, in some o/er0all manner, propa'anda# Cropa'anda
in the theatre may -e defined as the other fellow's point of /iew or any position with
which we disa'ree#
All plays are a-out somethin', whether or not they ha/e an e:plicit thesis# (eter (an
is as much a-out somethin' as "andida* "yrano de Ber&erac is as clear an
e:pression of somethin' as Bury the Dead* The 'ceman "ometh is as much
9propa'anda 9 as Dee/ Are the 0oots* St* ;oan is as definitely a preachment as any
play e/er presented on @ourteenth 1treet -y the old Theatre <nion#
The critic's first 2o- is to make clear what a play is a-out# Many re/iewers are si'nally
inept in the performance of this simple duty# The reason for this is that they mistake
a play's materials for its meanin'# $t is as if an art critic were to say that CM5anne's
paintin' is a-out apples, or to suppose that -ecause reli'ious su-2ects were used in
many classic paintin's all these paintin's were necessarily inspired -y reli'ious
feelin'#
An artist 'enerally finds it con/enient to use the material he finds closest at hand#
6hat he says with his material always re/eals somethin' personal and distinct that
cannot -e descri-ed comprehensi/ely merely -y statin' the materials he has
employed# ;ne play a-out a strike may con/ey some intimate frustration, another
may -e a lyric out-urst of youthful aspiration# A sli'ht comedy like Noel Coward's
(resent Lau&hter is not so much a play a-out the affairs of a successful playwri'ht
as a demonstration of a state of mind in which contempt and indifference to the world
ha/e -een accepted as a sort of aristocratic pri/ile'e#
$n the 1imono/ comedy The Whole World O!er, which $ directed, the su-2ects of the
housin' shorta'e and the reha-ilitation of the /eteran are -rou'ht into play, -ut they
are not at all the essence of the matter# This comedy is essentially an ima'e of faith
and 2oy in e/eryday li/in', told in the folk tradition of those 'ay and sentimental
son's which esta-lish the continuity -etween what is uni/ersal in the spirit of the old
60
and the new Jussia#
Another play that has -een /ariously characteri5ed as a war play or as a play a-out
the returned 8$ or as an attack on war profiteers is Arthur Miller's All My Sons* The
central character of All My Sons is a small -usinessman who durin' the war sent out
defecti/e airplane parts which he hoped would not -e used in actual com-at -ut
which he would not recall for fear his army contracts would -e canceled and his
-usiness and his family ruined as a result# The play presents the 'radual disclosure
of these facts to the -usinessman's youn'er son, a former army officer# The
re/elation -rin's with it not only a reali5ation that twenty0one -oys were killed as a
conse+uence of the use of the defecti/e material -ut that the manufacturer's older
sonHI&22,an army pilotHI&22, committed suicide -ecause of his father's crime#
The youn'er son tries to make his father and mother understand that
nothin'HI&22,not -usiness necessity nor de/otion to familyHI&22,can miti'ate
the father's 'uilt# A man must -e responsi-le not alone to his wife and children -ut,
ultimately, to all men# @ailure to act on this fundamental tenet must ine/ita-ly lead to
crime#
Contrary to what some re/iewers ha/e su''ested, the author does not e:onerate the
central character -y makin' the 9system9 responsi-le for his 'uilt# 1uch an
e:planation is the co'ent -ut desperate e:cuse that the 'uilty man offers, -ut his son
)and the author* emphatically deny his ri'ht to use it# There can -e no e/asion of the
-urden of indi/idual human responsi-ility#
The distorted 9indi/idualism9 of our day that makes the pri/ate 'ood of the indi/idual
the final criterion for human action is shown to -e inhuman and destructi/e, whereas
the true indi/idualism of our early American prophets made the indi/idual
responsi-le to the community# The man who -lames society for his -etrayal of it is a
weaklin' and a coward# The indi/idual of Arthur Miller's ethic is the 'uarantor in his
own person of society's health# The difference -etween Arthur Miller's indi/idualist
and the -elie/er in 9ru''ed indi/idualism9 today is that the latter narrows his sense of
61
self so that it e:tends no further than the family circle, while the former 'i/es himself
the scope of humanity#
6hat makes the theme of All My Sons increasin'ly important is that we constantly
talk of 9ser/ice9 and repeat other residual phrases from the reli'ions we inherit while
we actually li/e a daily life de/oted to the pursuit of Cower or 1uccess, the most
un+uestioned sym-ol of which is money# The real war in modern life is -etween a
memory of morality and the pressure of 9practicality#9 6e li/e in a schi5oid society#
This is an open secret, -ut e/ery-ody pretends not to see it or condemns as
9idealism9 any attempt to remedy the condition# To understand that our dou-le
standard is a fatal disease is, as a matter of fact, the first step in a realistic attitude
toward life# 6e shall seeHI&22,at a later point of the present articleHI&22,that it is
this realism which a part of our society at the moment wishes to resist#
1ome re/iewers complain that the plot of All My Sons is too complicated# @or a while
$ failed to understand what was meant -y this criticism# Then $ reali5ed that the whole
aspect of the mother's insistence that her son, reported missin', is ali/eHI&22,her
clin'in' to e/ery prop of -elief, includin' the solace of astrolo'ical
assuranceHI&22,was what struck some of the re/iewers as irrele/ant# This is a
misunderstandin' that deri/es from thinkin' of the play as an e:posM of war
profiteerin'#
The war0profiteerin' aspect of the play, $ repeat, represents the play's material, not
its meanin'# 6hat Arthur Miller is dramati5in' is a uni/ersal not a local situation# The
mother, whose role in the e:plicit plot of the play is incidental, is the center of the
play's meanin'# 1he em-odies the status +uo or norm of our present0day ethic and
-eha/ior pattern# $t is on her -ehalf that the hus-and has committed his crime# 1he,
as well as what she represents, is his defense# =ut she cannot consciously accept
the conse+uence of the morality she li/es -y, for in the end it is a morality that kills
her children and e/en her hus-and# $n order to retain her stren'th she cannot
a-andon her positionHI&22,e/erythin' must -e done for one's ownHI&22,and yet
it is this position that has destroyed what she hopes to protect# 1he is a 9normal9
woman, yet she is sick# 1he suffers from se/ere headaches, she is su-2ect to an:iety
62
dreams# 1he -elie/es in the stars and with fer/id complacency maintains that 9some
superstitions are /ery nice#9
$f there is a 9/illain9 in the piece, it is the motherHI&22,the kindly, lo/in' mother who
wants her -rood to -e safe and her home undistur-ed# 6hen her hus-and, who
-elie/es too sla/ishly in her doctrineHI&22,it is the world's doctrine, and so there
can -e no fault with itHI&22,when her hus-and -reaks down under the lo'ic of her
doctrine, which has made him a murderer, she has no -etter ad/ice than, 9=e
smartF ###9 Yet she, too, is innocent# 6hen her son's friend, the doctor, mum-les>
97ow many people walkin' around loose, and they're cra5y as coconuts# Money,
money, money, money, you say it lon' enou'h, it doesn't mean anythin'# ;h how $'d
lo/e to -e around when that happens,9 she answers, 9You're so childish, JimF ###9
1he is innocent -ecause she cannot understand# Not e/en in the e:tremity of her
'rief does she understand# 6hen her son tells her> 9$'m like e/ery-ody else now# $'m
practical now# You made me practical,9 she answers, 9=ut you ha/e to -e#9 To her
dyin' day, she will remain with this her only wisdom, her only con/iction#
7er son cries out> 9The cats in the alley are practical# The -ums who ran away when
we were fi'htin' were practical# ;nly the dead ones weren't practical# =ut now $'m
practical and $ spit on myself# $'m 'oin' away#9 This is the essence of the playwri'ht's
meanin'> 9This is the land of the 'reat -i' do's# You don't lo/e a man here, you eat
himF That's the principle, the only one we li/e -y ### This is a 5oo, a 5ooF ###9 The
mother is sorry ## # deeply sorry# 96hat more can we -eG9 she asks# 9You can -e
-etterF9 her son answers, and it is the dramatist's answer as well#
Arthur Miller's talent is a moral talent with a passionate persistence that resem-les
that of the New 3n'land preacher who fashioned our first American rhetoric# All My
Sons rouses and mo/es us e/en thou'h it lacks the supreme fire of poetic /ision#
The determined thrust of its author's mind is not yet enou'h to melt or transfi'ure us,
-ut in a theatre that has 'rown slothful it will ha/e to do# Yes, it will do#
63
Source8 7arold Clurman# 9Arthur Miller> 9!"9 in his Lies Like Truth, Macmillan,
9.&, pp# A!0A&#
#ritical /ssay 7"
'n this re!ie% of the ori&inal sta&e /roduction, Flemin& assesses Miller+s /lay as a
thou&ht2/ro!okin& and entertainin& theatrical e)/erience*
(urin' the war Joe 4eller allowed a -atch of defecti/e cylinder heads to -e
incorporated in the aircraft en'ines made -y his factory# $t was a deli-erately
irresponsi-le act, -ut 4eller ne/er saw it in that li'ht# To him, -ecause he accepted
no responsi-ilities outside the circle of his own family and his own -usiness, it
seemed the prudent, the natural, thin' to do, to hold up production -y declarin' the
parts defecti/e mi'ht in those frantic ur'ent times ha/e lost him his 8o/ernment
contract and thus dama'ed his -usiness and reduced the si5e of his sons'
inheritance# 1o the cylinder heads went out to the 1outh 6est Cacific and caused
the death of twenty0one pilots to whose num-er )we learn at the end of the play*
must -e added 4eller's elder son#
All this happened two years -efore the play -e'ins# 4eller has almost li/ed down the
scandal caused -y a 2udicial en+uiry at which he contri/ed to shift the -lame on to an
associate, who as a conse+uence is still in 'aol# The associate's dau'hter, Ann, was
the sweetheart of 4eller's dead son and now wants to marry the -rother who
sur/i/ed him# This is opposed -oth -y Mrs# 4eller, who insists on -elie/in' that
Barry, whose death has ne/er -een officially confirmed, will turn up a'ain one day,
and -y Ann's -rother, 8eor'e, who knows that 4eller framed their father and has
understanda-ly little use for the family# =it -y -it the full measure of 4eller's 'uilt
-ecomes apparent to the other characters, and at last e/en 4eller himself is shocked
into the realisation that what he has done amounts, not to an astute thou'h
unfortunate trick, -ut to a ma2or crime a'ainst his fellow0men# The -urden of this
knowled'e is more than he can -ear, and he shoots himself#
64
This playHI&22,sincere, deft, at times distin'uishedHI&22, is well worth seein'#
$ts fault is a tendency, not uncommon on the American sta'e and screen, to moralise
a shade too e:plicitly, -ut its /irtuesHI&22, 'ood dialo'ue, confident
characterisation and stron' situationsHI&22,more than compensate for the
undertone of uplift# $ts production -y the Company of @our marks an achie/ement
which is painfully rare in Bondon, the castHI&22,only two of whom, $ think, are
AmericanHI&22,mana'e to 'i/e the impression that they all are# They also act /ery
well# Mr# Joseph Calleia makes 4eller a man whose past /illainies, until in a flash of
re/elation he acknowled'es them as such, cause him only the same sort of mild,
em-arrassed uneasiness as he mi'ht feel if he had a hole in his sock, it is a /ery
'ood performance, and so is Miss Mar'alo 8illmore's as his wife# The others do
admira-ly, too, and my only criticism of the production is that the tree, alle'ed to
ha/e -een -lown down in a storm and much discussed durin' the first act, had so
o-/iously -een the /ictim of some sharp instrument that distractin' and erroneous
suspicions of /andalism o-trude themsel/es#
Media Adaptations
All My Sons was adapted as a film in 9!&# Chester 3rskine wrote the screenplay#
(irected -y $r/in' Jeis, the cast included 3dward 8# Jo-inson as Joe 4eller, =urt
Bancaster as Chris, Mady Christians as 4ate, Bouisa 7orton as Ann (ee/er, and
7oward (uff as 8eor'e (ee/er# The film is a/aila-le on /ideocassette#
The play was also produced as a tele/ision play in 9.. and a'ain in 9&"# The
9.. /ersion featured Al-ert (ekker, Catrick Mc8oohan, and =etta 1t# John in its
cast# $t is not, howe/er, e:tant# The 9&" /ersion, directed -y John Cower, was a
tele/ision special produced -y the Corporation for Cu-lic =roadcastin'# $t featured
Joan Allen, Nel2ko $/anek, Michael Bearned, Joanna Miles, Aidan Ouinn, Alan 1carfe,
Marlow Eella, and James 6hitmore# $t is not currently a/aila-le on /ideocassette#
Topics 2or )urther Study
Jesearch the pro-lem of profiteerin' durin' -oth 6orld 6ar $$ and the Cold 6ar#
65
6as it a pre/alent phenomenonG 6hat forms did it take )e#'#, cost o/erruns,
ridiculous pricin', fraudulent claims*G (escri-e the worst case you can find from your
research#
Trace the influence of either 7enrik $-sen or Anton Chekho/ on All My Sons*
$n/esti'ate Miller's role in the in/esti'ations of the 7ouse <n0American Acti/ities
Committee )7<AC*, includin' his contempt con/iction and e/entual e:oneration# (o
you a'ree with Miller's positionG 8i/e reasons for your answer#
(etermine the influence of the politics of the left, includin' socialism and
communism, on the American theater and cinema durin' the 9%?s and 9!?s#
#ompare 9 #ontrast
1:";s8 $n the aftermath of 6orld 6ar $$, the industriali5ed world di/ided into two
armed superpowers> the 1o/iet -loc of communist nations and the 6estern
democracies# $n the 6est, the threat of communism led to suspicion and paranoia at
the hi'hest le/els of 'o/ernment# Nuclear war seemed imminent#
Today8 The threat of a nuclear war -etween the 1o/iet <nion and <nited 1tates
dissipated with the economic and political collapse of the 1o/iet <nion in the 9&?s#
$nstead, the threat of terrorism rei'ns as well as the 'rowin' nuclear capa-ilities of
ro'ue states such as Cakistan, $ndia, $ran, and $ra+#
1:";s8The Nurem-er' Trials for war crimes and atrocities, which -e'an soon after
6orld 6ar $$, continued into 9!9# The trials resulted in the imprisonment or
e:ecution of many hi'h0rankin' Na5is, particularly those in/ol/ed in the runnin' the
concentration camps, which e:terminated millions of /ictims#
Today8 Jeaction to 'enocide in se/eral countries has led to a new call for tri-unals
to indict and condemn war criminals# A nota-le e:ample of a modern war criminal is
1er-ian president 1lo-odan Milose/ic, who in 999 was char'ed with the mass
66
murder of ethnic Al-anians and indicted -y the 6orld Court# 1uch 9ethnic cleansin' 9
has also occurred in other states, includin' $ra+, =urundi, and Jwanda#
1:";s8 $n the wake of 6orld 6ar $$, concerns a-out wartime profiteerin' and
unethical practices were widespread# $n the 9.?s such concerns would e/entually
compel Cresident (wi'ht (# 3isenhower to warn America a-out what he called 9the
industrial0military comple:#9 6ar profits also took the form of stealin' the assets of
the war's /ictims#
Today8 $n li'ht of char'es -y se/eral Jewish families that 1wiss -anks cooperated
with Na5is durin' 6orld 6ar $$ and e:propriated 'old stolen from war /ictims, the
whole issue of wartime profiteerin' has once more emer'ed# New concerns ha/e
emer'ed o/er the role some American industrialists may ha/e played in the rise of
8ermany's military in the 9%?s#
1:";s8 Crofessional sports, with some rare e:ceptions )-o:in', for e:ample* were
lar'ely se're'ated# $t was not until 9!" that the color line in Ma2or Bea'ue -ase-all
was -roken when Jackie Jo-inson 2oined the =rooklyn (od'ers of the National
Bea'ue# <ntil that time, African Americans could play only in the se're'ated Ne'ro
Bea'ue#
Today8 African Americans successfully compete in professional sports that seemed
almost the e:clusi/e domain of white athletes, nota-ly tennis and 'olf#
67

All My Sons Guide

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

All My Sons Guide

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

All My Sons by Arthur Miller

You might also like