This idea is again shown by Miller by the fact that the Keller’s appear to be fairly wealthy. For example, they have a maid, and an extensive piece of narrative is used at the beginning of the play to describe their house – “two storeys high and has seven rooms”. The only way the Keller family could have kept such a house through the Depression and lack of revenue during the war, would be by war profiteering – which Joe committed. This therefore shows that Miller is portraying that happiness, is achieved by making money, and the money Joe makes is by making moral compromise. This point is shown in reference to the Keller’s maid – “I used to think that when I got money…I would have a maid and my wife would take it easy” therefore Joe (and hence Miller) is showing that in order to be happy, it is necessary to have money which can only be earned by keeping the business running at all costs.
Miller uses irony to demonstrate that even when people believe that a person has made moral compromises, happiness is still possible. This is shown in All My Sons by the fact that Joe knew that he caused death but because a court found him innocent i.e. he successfully lied in court, he was able to “walk down the street…with a smile”. This therefore shows that in All My Sons, happiness, in the eyes of the Keller’s, can only be achieved from moral compromise in the forms of deceit and perjury. It also shows that happiness can be achieved by moral compromise. “I was guilty as hell…fourteen months later I had one of the best shops in the state again…bigger than ever”. This therefore shows that through lying and betrayal (in that Joe put all the blame on Steve in court) Joe was exonerated, hence could go on living his life and thus be happy. Therefore meaning that happiness can only be achieved by making moral compromises, as, in this case, had Joe been honest, and found guilty, he would not have left jail and would be suffering as opposed to being “a respected man again” with “the whole gang…playin’ poker in this arbour” every Saturday.
The critic’s view that happiness can only be achieved by making moral compromises in Miller’s plays is again shown when looking at the main plot from a different angle. For example, the fact that moral compromises are made not only by Joe shipping out faulty cylinder heads – “you (Joe) thought they’d crash” – but by the fact that Kate is aware of what Joe did, yet both her and Joe conceal the truth from everyone – including their son. Kate conceals the truth in that she lies for Joe because if she admitted to everyone the truth that Joe in fact shipped out the faulty cylinder heads she would be admitting that Larry was dead. “Your brother’s alive…because if he’s dead your father killed him”. Therefore, in terms of Kate, making moral compromises is the only way to achieve happiness, because if she admits to people that Joe shipped out faulty cylinder heads, she would be admitting that Joe killed her son – “God does not let a son be killed by his father”.
All the characters in the play at some point make moral compromises; the difference between them is whether the result is happiness. Chris appears to be the most moral character throughout the story, in that he does want to make moral compromises from the very beginning. “We’ve made a terrible mistake with mother…being dishonest with her. That kind of thing always pays off”. This shows the idea that Chris is aware that even though allowing Kate to “go on thinking that we [Joe and Chris] believe with her [that Larry is alive]” i.e. lying to Kate, may bring short term happiness in that she would not feel alone, however long term, Chris knows that the truth would eventually come out, and great unhappiness would be caused. Therefore, Miller uses Chris as a means to show that happiness is not achieved by making moral compromises, and in fact moral compromises cause misery.
On the other hand, Chris is guilty of making these moral compromises, and although he realises that some of them will lead to unhappiness, he still maintains the concept in the play of concealing things – “I suspected my father and I did nothing about it”. This shows that Chris would rather keep the idea that Joe could have killed 21 pilots, to himself in order to keep his relationship with his father. Therefore, this shows that happiness can only be achieved my making moral compromises, as if Chris had taken Joe to jail – done the moral thing – he would have no relationship with his father and therefore happiness would not be achieved.
Ann knew about Larry’s suicide because of Joe, yet she waits 3 years to show the letter to the Keller family. This could be because she knew the conflict that would follow and hence happiness would be disrupted if she revealed the letter to the Keller family – “you’re making me do this [show Kate the letter]…you wouldn’t believe me”. Therefore, Ann was making moral compromises by concealing the fact that she knew Larry was dead in order to protect Kate’s happiness – “I’m not trying to hurt you Kate”. However in the end, as shown by this example, moral compromises can lead to chaos and disaster. For example, Ann’s revelation of the letter leads to the breakdown of the family because it causes all secrets and lies to be revealed i.e. that Larry killed himself because of Joe’s moral compromise – “I’m [Larry] going out on a mission…they’ll probably report me missing…if I had him [Joe] there now I could kill him”. Therefore moral compromise led to the death of Joe, and hence moral compromise is not the only way to achieve happiness because in the end, the truth will arise from the lies and cause deep unhappiness.
In the same way it can be said that a moral compromise from one person leads to the deaths of 21 other people “you [Joe] killed twenty-one men…you murdered them…you knew they’d crash”. Therefore moral compromise does not result in happiness, as not only did Joe kill other people’s sons by shipping out faulty cylinder heads, but by making other moral compromises – lying about it to his family and in court – he lost his family, and in the end, his life.
In the same way, moral compromises are not the only way to achieve happiness. Chris demonstrates this. For example, unlike his father, Chris does not value money over everything – “the business doesn’t inspire me…if I have to grub for money all day long at least at evening I want it beautiful”. This shows that Chris would not willing to make moral compromises and lie just to make money, or to maintain a business, because he believe happiness comes from something else – “I want a family”. Therefore this shows that for certain characters, happiness can be achieved in a way other than by making moral compromises.
Miller uses irony in his way of showing that certain characters believe that happiness can only be achieved by moral compromises. When Joe is explaining to Chris and Ann about how it was ‘Steve’s fault’ that the faulty cylinders were shipped out, Ann says “He [Joe] just wants everybody happy”. This therefore demonstrates the idea that happiness can only be achieved by making moral compromises. By Joe lying about the fact that Steve was the one who is guilty – “if I could have gone in that day I’d-a told him – junk ‘em…but he was afraid”, he is supposedly creating happiness. Therefore, making moral compromises is the only way to achieve happiness where Joe is concerned, as telling the truth would lead to great unhappiness for Joe. It could also be said that this irony foreshadows the idea that Joe may be trying to make people happy, however in the end, he will be the one that disrupts all happiness within the family.
The Mail on Sunday commented that Miller was “a towering figure who represents the writer as a true moral force”. However when considering All My Sons, the majority of the play, and in fact, all the characters, take part in deceit, lies, and secrets – that is to say they make moral compromises. Overall, these moral compromises lead to happiness in the short term, however long term, these secrets, lies, and moral compromises will be revealed and cause the downfall of the characters and disintegration of relationships which previously created happiness.