Literary Analysis of All My Sons by Arthur Miller

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The Playwright:

Arthur Miller was born in 1915, grew up in middle-class Jewish parents in New York City. He studied at the University of Michigan. He wrote 17 plays, and wrote a series of unsuccessful plays for theater and radio, it was not until the opening of All My Sons in 1947 that Miller won a Tony Award for Best Authored Play.Some of his works are: The Crucible, Death of a Salesman, All My Sons. He died in 2005.

Characters:

Keller Family

Joe: a father of two sons. He is a wealthy owner of airplane parts company.
Kate: Joeâs wife, a woman of uncontrolled inspirations and an overwhelming capacity for love.
Larry: Joe and Kateâs son, An elder son of Joe. He fought as a pilot in the Second World War and was reported missing. (unseen character in the play).
Chris: Larryâs brother, he is in love with Ann Deever, the former girlfriend of his brother Larry.

Deever Family

Steve Deever: Joeâs ex-partner, father to Ann and George, who is sent to prison for the shipping of faulty parts. (unseen character in the play).
George: Steveâs son, a lawyer and a childhood friend of Chris.
Ann: Georgeâs sister, previously engaged to Larry, now engaged to Chris.

Neighbors

Dr. Jim and Sue Bayliss: Kellerâs neighbors. Jim is a successful doctor. He wants to become a medical researcher. His wife Sue is a friend of the Keller family too.
Frank and Lydia Lubey: a childhood friends of the Keller boys, parents of three children.
Bert: a neighborhood child and frequent visitor, he is friends with the Bayliss’ son.

Short summary:

All My Sons is a play set during the second world war, in August 1947, in the mid-west of the U.S.A. It is about a successful businessman, Joe Keller, self-made man who has done a terrible thing. He framed his business partner for a crime. He owned a manufacturing plant with Steve Deever. One morning, a shipment of damaged parts came in, Joe and his business partner Steve were arrested for shipping faulty aircraft parts which caused 21 aircrafts to crash, killing the pilots. Keller claimed that the damaged parts went out without his knowledge! and that his partner was the one who had covered it up. Keller went home free, while Steve remained in jail. It is ironic that

The ones who suffer from Joe’s selfish actions are those who are risking their lives to help others.

Joe Keller was living peacefully with his wife Kate and his son Chris, but had another son Larry who missed in the war. Kate refused to believe that Larry is dead, believing that if he is, then Joe would be responsible for the death of the twenty-one pilots. She hoped that Larry has survived and will return home.

Chris -younger son of Keller family- was in love with Ann Deever-Steve’s daughter and Larry’s old girlfriend -. They decided to marry, but Kate refused that , she thought that if Chris and Ann get married, it means Larry is dead! As a consequence, if Larry is dead, then it means that Joe killed him by shipping out those damaged parts.

Ann’s brother George arrived to stop the wedding. He had gone to visit his father in jail , then he left newly convinced that his father was innocent and convinced of Keller’s guilt. Chris’s confidence in his father’s innocence was shaken. Kate talked to Ann and continued insisting that Larry is alive. Ann was forced to show Kate the letter that Larry wrote to her before he died, which was essentially a suicide note. Ann gave Chris his brotherâs letter. Chris read the contents out loud. It described how, upon learning about the investigation into the incident and his realization of his father’s guilt, Larry couldn’t bear to live anymore. When Joe discovered that Larry killed himself because of his father’s negligence, he realized that he killed all his sons. Joe was going into the house to get a jacket, and then he would drive to the jail, few moments later, a gunshot is heard, and Joe has killed himself.

Main themes :

Personal and social responsibility, The Keller family seems well stable, it is because of Joe. Who has work hard for his family. Meanwhile, he looses the value of human life. Essentially, he forgets the ‘real duty’ which he has been doing.
Guilt and innocence, Joe feels guilty for his deeds. He knows that Steve is an innocent man.
Punishment : Joe enjoys his roles as both husband and father. When truth comes out, Joe has to face not only a return to prison, but also the alienation of his remaining son and the destruction of his family.
Revenge – George comes to the Kellerâs house seeking revenge.
Loss and memory: Kate refuses to accept the news related to Larry’s death, which helps her to avoid the consequences of Joe’s deeds.

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