All My Sons was written by Arthur Miller in 1947. All My Sons is a play that takes place in the 1940s, during World War II. All of the main characters are influenced by either World War II or the Great Depression before it, which had lasting effects on their lives. All of these factors greatly influenced American society at this point in time, and All My Sons was written in response to the changes that society had undergone during this point in time.
All My Sons is a play that revolves around Joe Keller, who has been accused of allowing defective airplane parts to be sent into World War II. All of the main characters are influenced by either World War II or the Great Depression before it, which had lasting effects on their lives. All of these factors greatly influenced American society at this point in time, and All My Sons was written in response to the changes that society had undergone during this point in time.
The main theme of All My Son is sacrifice; Arthur Miller explores what sacrifices people will make for themselves and each other when moral dilemmas arise. Joe Keller: The protagonist of All My Sons is a middle-aged man who used to be well off and prominent in his community, but has since come under suspicion for the wrongful deaths of twenty-one pilots during World War II. All three of Joe’s children – Chris, Ann, and George – have problems relating to their father after the accusations that he caused the death of those pilots.
All three children want to stand by their father or live up to their father’s name or expectations, but they don’t agree on how best to do so. Chris Keller: The oldest child of Joe and Kate Keller, Chris is an Army veteran who returned from duty suffering from tuberculosis; as such, he struggles with depression and PTSD and strongly desires not to be associated with his father’s alleged crimes.
All My Sons is about Joe Keller, who once owned an industrial factory but was caught selling faulty parts to the US military. All of the parts he had supplied were defective and caused the death of 21 pilots during World War II. One day, Joe’s son Chris comes home from war with his friend Harry. Harry works for Joe at his old factory when it opens again after WWII ends.
When Chris’ girlfriend Susie asks where Harry has been all this time, he reveals that he was imprisoned in Germany because he tried to kill himself after being forced to watch his entire unit be executed by firing squad for trying to escape their imprisonment. All three soon begin to face various conflicts in their lives. All My Sons was published in 1947 and premiered on Broadway in February of the next year, when it ran for 184 performances.
All My Sons is a play about what happens when something from your past keeps being used against you- people can’t seem to get over the idea that Joe Keller killed twenty-one pilots even though he was imprisoned for his crime. All My Sons also discusses how assumptions can be made based on very little information and have huge effects on one’s actions following those assumptions. All My Sons has been adapted into films three different times all featuring screen legend Burt Lancaster: All My Sons (1948), Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995), and Rites of Summer (2011).
Joseph and Kate Keller are a married couple with two sons. The play All my Sons follows the events after their son, Chris, returns from World War II. He has been reported as MIA but actually he has been imprisoned in a German prison camp for nearly four years after being shot down over Czechoslovakia. When Chris arrives home, his mother is shocked to see how much he has changed from the handsome young man who left to serve his country.
His father is very happy to have him back and attempts to help him recover from this major life change by helping him find a job at the family business despite what others say about not hiring veterans because they do not know anything about business work outside of war time . All of this helps build up to the final event of the play, which is a court case surrounding an airplane propeller that was sent to Chris’s father’s shop for repair. All My Sons deals with many important issues such as family dynamics and trying to live up to who others expect you to be.
In All my Sons , there are several themes that Arthur Miller uses throughout the play that help bring out certain emotions from his audience . The first theme deals with the consequences of economic success. In All My Sons , Joseph Keller has become a successful business man by providing spare parts for military planes during World War II. Because of this, he is able to provide life insurance for his wife, Kate Keller so she can take care of their home if anything were to happen to him. All this is in attempt to make it appear that Joseph Keller has done everything for his family.
This theme also shows how the economy was booming during this period of time after World War II . Society looked up to these men who risked their lives during the war, yet cannot risk anything when they get back home. The next theme shows how society pressures people into living up to other’s expectations instead of being themselves . All throughout All My Sons , Joe Keller tries extremely hard to appear successful while he is really hiding a large secret about what actually happened with his plane parts during World War II.
This means not only trying to keep the truth hidden from others but it also means withholding information from himself too. Since everyone expects him to be successful, he tries to live up to that expectation despite the fact that it is impossible for him to do so. All these expectations weigh down on Joe Keller until he finally has a break down in front of his entire family . All My Sons shows how being true to yourself is always better than being who others expect you to be, which will only lead to harsh consequences later on.
Author Arthur Miller states, ” All my sons is about what people are willing or unwilling to believe in order not to know what they don’t want to know. ” The theme of denial plays an important role throughout All my Sons . All through out All My Sons , Joe Keller denies anything he does not want others (and himself) knowing about. He tries intensely hard all throughout the play to not know what he does not want to know.
All My Sons shows that when there is something you do not want to believe, sometimes the only thing you need in order to keep it hidden is for yourself not to know. All My Sons ends with Joe Keller retaining his denial even after everything has unraveled . All his life he tried extremely hard to deny anything he did not want others knowing about and in the end, All My Sons goes back full circle- showing how easy it really can be for an individual to deny any negative information they do not wish anyone else to learn about them.