“I told you to marry that girl”
Lost out by being in the war
Jim and Sue Bayliss
“It takes a certain talent for lying. You have it and I do. But not him”p160
Jim wants to be idealistic but has sold out to become a good father
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim sacrifices his dream of being a researcher and his idealism
“I told her to take up the guitar. It’d be a common intrest for them” p110
Kate believes the Bayliss’ have too little in common
“Everybody knows Joe pulled a fast one to get out of Jail” p131
Colloquial-Show that the neighbourhood think Joe’s guilty foreshadows revelation that he is adds tension
“They give him credit for being smart” p132
Colloquial-Show that Keller is well liked and respected
Frank and Lydia Lubey
“I’ve studied the stars of his life! Somewhere in this world your brother is alive!”p154
Satirical and dramatic irony Discredits fate as a force in this play as Larry is dead
“Does dad expect a parole soon?” p114
Both have a habit of making tactless comments which makes them disagreeable despite their amicable nature
“You’re still making your own clothes? Ain’t she classy” p147
Demonstrative of a couple living the American dream
THEMES
Confession
“The structure of a play is always the story of how the birds come home to roost” Miller
There is always the discovery of the past and a confession this is what makes a good tragedy
“Forget Now. Live”p171
Short scentances-The confession is for the better
“[Desperately. Lost]”p164
The confession evokes pity/fear
“The star of one’s honesty… he (Chris) probably just wanted to be alone to watch his star go out”p160
This is the effect a confession has on others
“[hopless fury]”p126
Simile Causes anger
“I was afraid”p158
Difficult to confess emphasised by short sentences
“I’m not trying to hurt you Kate” “My God”p165-166
Confession usually causes pain
Guilt and Shame
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that. Father or no Father”p117
Colloquial-Ashamed of her Father’s role in the shop incident
“Chris… Chris, I did it for you…For you! A business for you.”p158
Keller deals with guilt by blaming others
“What am I, a stranger? I thought I had a family here, what happened to my family?”p161
Repetition of family Guilt and shame plays a role in the development of Keller’s relationship with his father
“I can’t look at you this way, I can’t look at myself”p168
Keller’s confession leads to shame for Chris
“(She finds herself reaching out for the glass of water and aspirin)”p109
Kate is so ashamed of her deception she has a mental and physical breakdown from a Freudian viewpoint
“(a shot is heard in the house)”p171
Shame and guilt over the cylinder heads could arguably lead to this but I think If this had been the case Keller would have killed himself a long time ago instead I think larry and Chris’s disownal of him and his realisation that he has a social responsibility cause him to kill himself he tries to make amends by killing himself and thus exonerating steeve and his family
“I can’t live with myself anymore”p169
Larry kills himself because of guilt that he has helped build a business that has killed American pilots and shame that his father and father-in-law have made a decision that kills his compatriots.
“They killed themselves for each other”p121
Chris has survivors guilt he feels responsible for everyone
Deception
“I suspected my father and did nothing about it”p166
Chris is self-deceiving
“But there’s God so certain thing s can never happen…Ann, you know I’m right!” p113
Dramatic irony-Kate is self deceiving she gives a flimsy argument and clearly doesn’t truly believe that Larry will come back as she’s horrible to Ann so if he ever does come back Ann will not want Kate to be part of their life
“It takes a certain talent for lying. You have it and I do. But he (Chris) doesn’t”p160
This is Chris’ tragic flaw
“Poplars cut off view” p89
Delusion that Keller can cut himself off from the world
Loss
“I’m practical now. You made me Practical”p166
Repetition of practical Chris sacrifices his idealism for his family
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim sacrifices his dream of being a researcher
“Chris, I did it for you” p158
Keller sacrifices his morality for his family
“I thought I had a family here. What happened to my family? P161
Loss of relationship between Keller and Chris and Kate
“I told you to marry that girl” p148
Loss of future between George and Lydia
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that. Father or no father”p117
Colloquial Loss of relationship between Ann and Steve
“I was going to tell them… it was too late” p157
Clichéd Loss of opportunity to warn about the faulty parts
“four-foot high stump” p89
Symbolises the loss of Larry
“Because if he’s not coming back, then I’ll kill myself” p107
Bathos How Kate deals with loss of Larry = loss of mental stability
“We’re like at a railway station waiting for a train that never comes in” p106
Simile Chris deals with loss of Larry by trying to move on
“[Increasing demand]”p113
Conflict over different ways of dealing with the past and the loss of Larry each character tries to get their point across
“Those dear dead days beyond recall”p110
alliterationLoss of the benign past
“I want a clean start for you, Chris” p124
Idiom Deals with loss of past by breaking from it
“Let’s… raise some hell around here, like we used to before Larry went!” p110
idiomAnn deals with past by resurrecting it
Suicide
“I can’t bear to live any more”… “I read about dad being convicted”p169
Larry commits suicide because of guilt does this make him a coward or a tragic hero?
“If he’s not coming back I’ll kill myself”p107
Bathos Irony as Larry has killed himself foreshadows this discovery
“I’m his father and he’s my son and if there’s something bigger than that I’ll put a bullet in my head!”p163
Bathos Dramatic irony
“You stop that!” p163
Short scentance emphaises shockMother’s reaction to suicide
“[A shot is heard in the house]” p171
Keller’s reaction to Larry’s suicide
“They killed themselves for each other”p121
Chris has a different attitude to suicide than his parents
War profiteering
“What you have is loot and it has blood on it”p121
Metaphor Chris is ashamed of it
“Did they ship a gun or a truck out of Detroit before they got their price?”p168
Allusion-Realism argument it is too idealistic to expect people to work for nothing
“Chris, I did it for you” p158
Keller’s attitude is that war profiteering is fine if it is done for the family
“But I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were” p170
Shows Keller’s change of mind he can no longer justify war profiteering through his family he now believes he has social and moral responsibility
Moral Responsibility
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim neglected being true to himself
“The star of one’s honesty… he probably just wanted to be alone to watch his star go out”p160
Simile Lack of honesty from all characters even eventually Chris
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that. Father or no father”p117
Colloquial Lack of forgiveness from Ann and initially George
“I said he’s dead.I know!”p165
Ann shows moral responsibility when she bravely tries to convince broken pscyotic women that her son is dead as she has found out
“I can’t bear to live anymore”p169
Larry can’t forgive
“I want you to set him free and then I promise you everything will be at an end”p164
Metaphor Ann tires of moral responsibility
“I can’t look at you this way. I can’t look at myself”p169
Can’t emphasised Chris finds it hard to forgive and stay true to himself
“A man can’t be a Jesus in this world”p169
Allusion Keller lies about Steve and his involvement with the faulty parts
Social responsibility
“I’m his father and he’s my son and if there’s something bigger than that then I’ll put a bullet through my head”p163
Irony and bathos Keller’s initial delusion about social responsibility his journey through the play is the discovery that there is more than this
“But I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were” p170
Recognition that he has social responsibility can’t live with the realisation
“To him the world had a forty-foot front; it ended at the building line”p163
Shows Larry initially ignored his social responsibility
“I can’t bear to live any more”p169
Realises he has social responsibility and that he has been indirectly forced by his father to neglect this but does he neglect his social responsibility by killing himself taking a pilot away from benefiting his country?
Heroism
“A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger than oneself” Joseph Campbell (American folklorist)
A tragic hero is “A man not pre-eminently virtuous and just, whose misfortune however, is brought upon him not by vice or depravity but by some error of judgement” Aristotle
Miller was aware of this definition
“I’m his father and he’s my son and if there’s something bigger than that then I’ll put a bullet through my head”p163
Bathos and irony Joe is a hero according to Campbell’s definition
“Forget now. Live”p171
Short scentances show shock Through death he is able to save his family from long term suffering
“I can’t sleep here; I’ll feel better if I go”p170
He shows determination there is a metaphorical recognition that he needs to die
“Well that’s only your business Chris”p100
He doesn’t want to confront his wife so he becomes alienated from his son
Chris knows Keller is “no worse than no men. I thought you were better. I never saw you as a man. I saw you as my father”p168
Cylinder heads cause break with Chris and tragedy
“I suspected my father and did nothing about it”p166
Chris is self-deceiving although it could be argued that fate takes a part as Keller’s deception could have remained hidden from the outside world through the court paper. Keller’s mistake has already destroyed his family the real tragedy as everything he’s worked for has been for them “for you, a business for you”
“She finds herself reaching out for the glass of water and asprin”p109
Causes a mental and physical deterioration for Kate
“Oh my God”p166
Refuses to believe her son is dead despite all the evidence
“I’d hoped that if I waited, mother would forget Larry and then we’d have a regular wedding and everything happy, but if that can’t happen then I’ll have to get out of here”p101
Ironically Mother drives Chris away by refusing to agree with the evidence
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that. Father or no father”p117
Abandons her father and believes Joe only to find out she was wrong to do so
“Oh Chris, I’ve been ready for a long, long time” p120
Repetition of long Although she is not responsible for Larry’s death a great tragedy in her life she does kill his memory by getting engaged with Chris
“The female version” of Chrisp132
Gives up her idealism for pragmatism (starting a new life with Chris) is responsible for tragedy
“He won the war, Frank”p148
George lost the love of his life to Frank
“I told you when you went away, don’t try for medals”p145
Aphorism He was initially eager to get away from the neighbourhood and become a soldier
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim is responsible for his own tragedy but is a hero as he remains a good husband and conformed to the prosaic
“The world had a forty-foot front it ended at the building line”p163
Larry recognises that this is not the case and tries to make amends for it by suicidially fighting for his country
Return of the Past
“The past is always present and cannot be ignored, forgotten or denied” Centola
Idealism vs. Commercialism
Chris, Jim, George and Ann vs. Joe and Sue
“When you marry never count your husband’s money p110
Aphorism The majority of the characters advocate idealism over commercialism
“Because sometimes I think you’re… ashamed of the money”p124
Hesitation shows conflict Keller thinks Commercialism can act as a benign force
“Oh Annie, I’m going to make a fortune for you!”p122
Hypocritical of Chris
“For you, a business for you”p158
Keller and Chris have the same attitude when they have a family they both ultimately want to work for them
“The business! The business doesn’t inspire me”p102
More interested in idealism but has still sold out for money but in denial that he’s done so
“And he’s got money. That’s important, you know”p130
Suggests that Chris can afford to be idealistic sue values materialism
“As soon as a woman supports a man, he owes her something. You can never owe somebody something without resenting them”p130
Money affects relationships
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim has made a compromise between the two
“Joe wants to bring you into the business when you get out” p135
Uses the third person Compromise between commercialism and idealism he knows Steve will not want to work for the better of the business
“I’m practical now. You made me Practical”p166
Repetition of practical Chris sacrifices his idealism for his family
Family Relationships
Keller Family
Keller and Larry
“If Larry were alive he wouldn’t act like this. That was a boy we lost. Larry.”p163
Irony Larry is his favourite son he understands him
“I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were”p170
Keller is prepared to change his views for Larry
Keller and Chris
“I’ve been a good son too long, a good sucker”p102
Colloquial They don’t understand each other but are ultimately prepared to make compromises for each other
“Chris…Chris, I did it for you”p154
Keller taints there relationship by trying to put the blame for the cylinder heads on Chris
“I’m his father and he’s my son and if there’s something bigger than that then I’ll put a bullet through my head”p163
Irony and bathos Shows that he does love Chris
Chris and Larry
“(Chris is discovered sawing the broken-off tree, leaving stump standing alone)”p127
Tries to clear away Larry’s memory
Mother and Chris
“She’s Larry’s girl”p155
Colloquial Seems to care about Larry more
“Forget now. Live”p171
Short scentances Her maternal side comes out to Chris once Larry is dead
Mother and Larry
Irony and bathos “Because if he’s not coming back then I’ll kill myself”p107
Can’t let go of Larry
“I knew I could stop him”p105
Irony Believes she can save Larry
Keller and Kate
“I wear the pants and she beats me with the belt”p150
Kate emotionally blackmails Keller
Deever Family
“Ann, George and their absent father might be viewed as the opposite of the Keller’s”
Ann and Steve
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that. Father or no father”p117
Colloquial Abandons her father and believes Joe with little evidence
“I’ll do nothing about Joe” p164
Sacrifices Steve being exonerated for her future happiness
Ann and George
“You’re coming with me”p144
He is prepared to sacrifice her happiness for his idealism they don’t have a very strong relationship
“This is filthy, didn’t you bring another shirt?”p138
Ann acts as a maternal force for George
Steve and George
“I didn’t see him once when I got home from the war!”p141
George initially chooses idealism over his father
Wears “(your fathers)” hat139
Eventually compromises and wears his hat as he loves him
Lubey Family
“I don’t know why you can’t learn to turn on a simple thing like a toaster!” p94
Demonstrative of the perfect family without idealism living the American dream
American Dream
“The American dream is a subjective term usually implying a successful and satisfying life. Perceptions of the American dream are usually framed in terms of American capitalism, and the freedoms guaranteed by the U.S. Bill of rights”
“I’ll get out. I’ll get married and live some place else”p101
Freedom
“I want a family, I want some kids, I want to build something I can give myself to”p102
Tricolon of want Belief that you can achieve what ever you want if you work hard for it
“I don’t know why you can’t learn to turn on a simple thing like a toaster!” p94
Demonstrative of the perfect family without idealism living the American dream
“I... studied a certain disease. It was beautiful. And then she came, and she cried. And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness” p160
Repetition of she and her Jim sacrifices his dream of being a researcher he is not living the American dream
“I was the beast… Except I wasn’t… Fourteen months later I had of the best shops in the state again, a respected man again; bigger than ever.” P116
Metaphor Failure of American dream should be in prison as has broken the law
Hope
“She’s dreaming about him again”p99
Kate hopes that Larry will return
“I want a family, I want some kids, I want to build something I can give myself to”p102
Tricolon-Ann and Chris want to marry and be successful-live the American dream
“Chris…Chris, I did it for you”p158
Keller wants to provide a significant amount for his family
Humour
“I would love to help humanity on a Warner Brothers salary”p93
Foils provide comic relief in act 1 contrast to later tragedy
“My love, My light”p93
Sarcasm from Jim
“I like to keep abreast of my ignorance”p96
Major character is introduced through humour contrast to his serious and idealistic nature
“Don’t talk dirty (They laugh)”p134
Keller provides comic relief in act two and makes him more likeable
Justice
Justice is a main theme within the play ‘All My Sons’, and an example of justice being symbolised is the idea of Joe telling the children that he has a jail in the basement of his house.Although simple, this metaphor is quite powerful, as it suggests to the audience that he could be hiding more than just a basement to the people of the street. It could also suggest that he is keeping justice locked away within the Keller house, and as the children keep asking about the jail, there is an underlying idea that the truth about Joe could surface sometime within the play.
‘I spoiled the both of you’
Something that is apparent throughout the book is the amount of money that Joe has earned through his business. Some may assume that Keller bribed his way out of prison, due his frequent reference to, as well as his constant reliance on money. He uses this later in the play as a way to try and justify to his family that if he had gone to jail then he wouldn’t have been able to make all this money for them.
“Everybody knows Joe pulled a fast one to get out of jail”.
Whilst this may first seem as a cheap dig at the Kellers, this is confirmed when Jim says (to Kate) “I’ve always known”. This would be negatively viewed, as because of these actions an innocent man (Steve) is in jail instead of Joe. Therefore, the characters are just as guilty as Joe for letting an innocent man rot in jail.
“if [George and Anne] wanted to open up the case again”.
Joe’s prediction is actually correct though, and it is the arrival of George which helps to uncover the truth about the cylinder heads. George therefore does a very good job or prosecuting Joe. A clever inclusion into the play is that George is actually involved with the law, as opposed to it just being a metaphor, like the other parts of the courtroom analogy. We get this idea through Chris’ question to him “How’s the law”.
“You’re not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you?” “I’m not going to do anything about it”
Throughout almost all of the play Chris, Anne and Kate represent Joe’s defence.Chris suddenly becomes a prosecutor, voicing his fury and shame to his father Perhaps here we see a highly uncaring side of Anne, as she will gladly let her father rot in prison even though she now knows that he is innocent.
Religion
“Every Sunday ought to be like this”p90
The play starts on a sunday morning which is a religious time of the week
“chris”
Chris' name could be interpreted as 'Christ' which would suggest a kind of moral superiority that he at least tries to achieve
“downstage, stands the four-foot high stump of a slender apple-tree whose upper branches lie toppled beside it, fruit still clinging to its branches”p89
The apple tree is incredibly important in terms of religious symbolism. It obviously has connotations of the tree of knowledge - the tree which was in the story of Adam and Eve. It's significant that it's there as it is an indication of the 'fall' that's about to happen (in the same way that eve fell from god's grace by eating the apple). It represents in this sense the knowledge of Larry's death and the real causes.
"living next door to the holy family" p131
The tree is a holy symbol however it is broken.the broken tree signifies that in reality, the Keller's aren't as 'holy' as they seem.
"the trouble with you is that you don't believe in anything” "now I live in the usual darkness"
My personal opinion is that Jim represents non belief in terms of religion. The idea that he lives in darkness suggests that there is no light from religion in his life. And perhaps his unhappiness is a result of this non belief. Although, as an alternative interpretation, you could say that the way he admires Chris ("he meets a man and makes a statue out of him" p131) and the fact that Chris could be interpreted as 'Christ' means that he isn't a total non believer.
"Nobody in this house dast take her faith away, Joe" p 107
Although this is a references to Ann's faith in Larry, it potentially has further reaching meaning. The use of "dast" is not in keeping with the general colloquial tone of the dialogue in the play, so it stands out. It almost sounds as if it could have been quoted from the bible. It is keeping with the idea that Mother is hijacking religion as reasoning behind her argument that Larry is alive
"I never believed in crucifying people" p117
Keller says this, and although it's clearly a view that he has gained because he is guilty, it's also representative of a forgiving figure. However, it's also incredibly ironical since he's put Steve through jail for something he didn't do which is worse than crucifiction .
"He was falsely accussed once and it put him through hell" p133
Chris says this to Ann and the irony is that Keller lied and put Steve in prison actions that Christians believe would put him through hell the next time he is accused he will commit suicide an action Christians also believe will result in the perpetrater going to hell
"George, you don't want to be the voice of God, do you?" p140
"And truer love hath no man!" p 148
it has biblical echoes.
"Is it junk to feel that that there's a greater power than ourselves?" p 154
"That's all, nothing more til Christ comes". P155
There's great irony in this statement from Chris. By "til Christ comes" he's refering to Judgement day (and therefore implying that they should never talk about the problem again). But in reality, judgement day is approaching (the day when the truth emerges and the day of Keller's death).
"God does not let a son be killed by his father" p 156
This is the whole concept that has led to Kate's adamant belief that Larry is still alive.
Play
Act One
The Keller's home is describe as a 'secluded atmosphere' and something about 'poplar trees'. This creates he effect of the Kellers home in having something to hide perhaps, which is reinforced by anne's comment that 'the poplars have gotten thick'. Also Their house is described as 'on the outskirts of an american town'. Well 'an' could suggest that this does not only apply to the Keller's, but the whole of american society including the audience who are viewing the play. Also look at Frank entrance. He 'saunters in' creating a sense of mystery and slowness about the place. Also look at the introduction to the materialistic goods such as the 'malt mixer', something which would have been fairly new, considering the context. Also there is a lot in Chris war speech, you could basically write a page on that single section and it is also good for linking in with the section ou have been asked. Remeber, always link this section to the rest of the play, without this you won't get an A.
Act Two
Act Three
