As clearly seen, he only saw immediate outcome i.e. money for himself and his family from selling those faults. He used the chance that the war had given him to make profit, ignoring that other people were suffering from the war. In other words, Joe Keller made money in an unethical way, which the most of society in the world now restrict. This kind of crime against humanity is something which should be prohibited and the criminal, Joe Keller, was to pay back his debts to the society.
Later, he got a chance to confess when his business partner Steve was summoned to the court, but he deceived himself and everyone, making his ‘superficial’ status in the society better and letting Steve go through the sorrow and troubles alone. He only cared about his survival and good image in the society and better life for his family. The trauma Steve had is shown in Act 2, page 140~ 141. George explains how Steve desperately looked for Joe’s help when defects were produced and how Joe sneaked away from responsibility that he held. George says, “Dad was afraid. He wanted Joe there if he was going to do it. But Joe can’t come down… He’s sick. Sick! He suddenly gets the flu!” Another evidence is that Joe promised to take the responsibility on a phone call, which cannot be solid evidence later. The action Joe Keller took was not simply about ditching his business partner, but also becoming a cruel spectator of somebody becoming a loser of life.
Joe was also a coward. He was not brave enough to accept his sin and face the responsibilities. The speech of Joe in Act 2, page 156~ 158 shows that he tries to deny his fault and hide from the reality. Joe emphasizes that Larry did not fly the same model no. that he supplied components for, and keeps shouting “What’s the matter with you!” to his son Chris, rather being honest. Later, he cites an excuse for his sin that it was only and all for Chris, which shows that he was still not ready to accept his greediness for the better status in the society. Also, Joe calls the incident with defects “a chance” for Chris. He passes his guilt to Chris as if his family played an important role to cause his sin.
Joe did not only cheat his family, but also other people in the society. His deception makes people think that he deserves the high status that he has now. This is contradicted to the Steve’s case, where Steve confessed but lost his fame, money, trust, and the future. Do you think this is fair?
However, it can be said that it was Joe Keller’s instinct to think about family first and the fortune that he may use for their family. Every man has a desire to survive and feed his family as a patriarch. Hiring a made for his wife shows his love for his family, providing his family a comfortable life, especially Kate who will have less burden of housework.
As a family caring man, Joe supported Chris’ decision about the marriage with Ann, despite the uncomfortable relationship with two families. This shows he truly cares about his son’s happiness and respect Chris’ opinion. It is also important that Joe respected Chris’ marriage as a matter of Chris’ own life, not a matter of his belonged son’s marriage where he can use his power as a patriarch.
But Joe, in the end, suicides himself. It can be understood that he finally accepted his guilt and compromised his life for that. However, we have to think whether his suicide was justifiable. Personally, I feel that he only escaped from the pressure that he was getting, and he was afraid to face possible consequences that people, Chris, and the whole world will neglect him. Even if he confessed in the court and was condemned to death, the mean of each death is different, since suicide is an action of escape but death penalty is a form of punishment. If I were him, I would have paid back the debts to the society in a form of donation or voluntary work in silence, rather hiding and escaping.
So, what do you conclude Joe Keller as: A selfish opportunist, or a caring family man? My opinion as Joe Keller a selfish opportunist, I strongly argue that killing people for money must not happen anywhere in the world. Because every human’s life has more value than papers printed called “money”, and one’s greediness over the money should be controlled by his rationality.
