Arthur Miller's All My Sons
Background
All My Sons is based on a true story that Arthur Miller's then-mother-in-law pointed out in an Ohio newspaper. [4] The news reported how, in 1941-1943, the Ohio-based Wright Aircraft Corporation colluded with Army Inspection officers to approve faulty aircraft engines intended for military use. [4] [5] The history of faulty engines reached investigators working for Senator Harry Truman's Congressional Investigative Council after several Wright aircraft assembly workers briefed the company; They would later testify under oath before Congress. In 1944, three Air Force officers — Lt. Col. Frank S. Greulich, Major Walter A. Ryan and Major William Brookmann — were dismissed and later convicted of neglect.
Henrik Ibsen's influence on Miller is evidenced by Ibsen's play The Wild Duck, from which Miller took the idea of two partners in business, where one is forced to bear moral and legal responsibility for the other. This is reflected in All My Sons. He also borrowed the idea that the idealism of the character is the source of the problem.
The criticism of the American Dream that underlies All My Sons was one of the reasons Arthur Miller was called to appear before the House Committee on Anti-American Activities in the 1950s, when America was gripped by anti-communist sentiments. Miller sent a copy of the play to Elia Kazan, who directed the original stage version of All My Sons. Kazan was a former Communist Party member who shared Miller's leftist views. However, their relationship was shattered when Kazan released the names of suspected communists to the House's Committee on Anti-American Activities .
Characters
Joe Keller - 60-year-old Joe was acquitted after being accused of knowingly delivering defective aircraft engine cylinder heads (for Curtiss P-40 fighters) from his factory during World War II, becoming (in his own words) "a guy who made 21 P. -40th wreck in Australia. " For more than three years, he has laid the blame on his partner and former neighbor Steve Deaver, although he himself committed the crime. When the truth comes out, Joe justifies his actions by claiming that he did it for his family.
Keith Keller (mother) - Kate, 50, knows Joe is guilty, but lives in denial, mourning her eldest son Larry, who has been “missing” for three years. She refuses to believe that Larry is dead and claims that Anne Deaver, who is returning to visit at the request of Larry's brother Chris, is still "Larry's girl" and also believes that he is returning.
Chris Keller - 32-year-old Chris returned home after World War II two years before the play began, disturbed by the knowledge that peace was going on as if nothing had happened. He summoned Ann Deaver to the Kellers' house to ask for her hand and heart, but they faced an obstacle, which is Kate's unfounded belief that Larry will return someday. Chris worships his father, initially not knowing what he did.
Ann Deaver - 26-year-old Ann arrives at the Keller home, avoiding her “guilty” father since his imprisonment. Throughout the play, Ann is often referred to as beautiful, beautiful, and smart, as well as "Annie." She had a relationship with Larry Keller prior to his disappearance and has since gone because she knows the truth about his fate. She hopes that the Kellers will agree to her marriage to Larry's brother, Chris, with whom she corresponded by mail for two years. Ann is the bearer of truth in the play.
George Deaver - 31-year-old George is Ann's older brother: a successful New York lawyer, WWII veteran and childhood friend of Chris. At first, he believed in his father's guilt, but after visiting Steve in prison, he realizes his innocence and enrages the Kellers for deceiving him. He returns to rescue his sister from his marriage to Chris, creating a crucial final event.
Dr. Jim Bayliss - 40-year-old Jim is a successful physician but is frustrated by the suffocating home life. He wants to become a medical researcher but continues his job paying bills. He is a close friend of the Keller family and spends a lot of time in the backyard.
Sue Bayliss - 40-year-old Sue - Jim's wife: playful and dangerous, but gentle. She is also a friend of the Keller family, but secretly resent what she sees as Chris's bad idealistic influence on Jim. Sue tells Ann about her outrage at Chris in a particularly explosive scene.
Frank Lubei - 33-year-old Frank was always one year ahead of the recruit, so he never fought in World War II, but instead stayed at home to marry George's former lover, Lydia. He draws up Larry's horoscope and tells Keith that Larry should still be alive, because the day of his death was supposed to be "an auspicious day" for him. This strengthens Kate's faith and makes Anne's life difficult.
Lydia Lubei - 27-year-old Lydia was George's love interest before the war; after his departure, she married Frank, and they soon had three children. She exemplifies the peaceful home life and lends a much-needed resilience to certain moments of the show.
Bert-Bert, 8 years old, a little boy who lives next door; he is friends with the Baileys' son Tommy and often visits the Keller court to play "prison" with Joe. He only appears twice in the play: the first time, his role seems relatively unimportant, but the second time, his character is more important as he provokes a verbal attack from his mother when he mentions "prison", which underlines Joe's secret.
Summary
Act I
The play starts in the middle of the action, suddenly. In August 1946, self-made businessman Joe Keller and his wife Kate are visited by neighbor Frank. At Keith's request, Frank is trying to figure out the horoscope of the Keller's missing son, Larry, who disappeared three years earlier while serving in the army during World War II. There was a storm, and the tree planted in Larry's honor collapsed within the month of his birth, so it looked like Larry was still alive. While Keith still believes Larry will return, the Kellers' other son, Chris, believes otherwise. In addition, Chris wants to propose to Ann Deaver, who was Larry's girlfriend at the time he went missing and who has been texting Chris for two years. Joe and Kate are shocked by this news, but they are interrupted by Bert, the boy next door. He is chatting with Joe and wants to see the "prison". In the game, Bert utters the word "prison", which causes Kate to react sharply. When Anne arrives, it is revealed that her father, Steve Deaver, is in jail for selling cracked Air Force cylinder heads, killing twenty-one pilots. Joe was his partner, but was exempted from responsibility for the crime. Ann admits that neither she nor her brother are in touch with their father anymore, and they wonder out loud if the malfunctioning engine is to blame for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris bursts in and later proposes to Ann, who agrees. Chris also reveals that while running the company, he lost all of his people and is worried about causing Kate to react sharply. When Anne arrives, it is revealed that her father, Steve Deaver, is in jail for selling cracked Air Force cylinder heads, killing twenty-one pilots. Joe was his partner, but was exempted from responsibility for the crime. Ann admits that neither she nor her brother are in touch with their father anymore, and they wonder out loud if the malfunctioning engine is to blame for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris bursts in and later proposes to Ann, who agrees. Chris also reveals that while running the company, he lost all of his people and is worried about causing Kate to react sharply. When Anne arrives, it is revealed that her father, Steve Deaver, is in jail for selling cracked Air Force cylinder heads, killing twenty-one pilots. Joe was his partner, but was exempted from responsibility for the crime. Ann admits that neither she nor her brother are in touch with their father anymore, and they wonder out loud if the malfunctioning engine is to blame for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris bursts in and later proposes to Ann, who agrees. Chris also reveals that while running the company, he lost all his people and is worried Anne admits that neither she nor her brother are in touch with their father anymore, and they wonder out loud if the malfunctioning engine is to blame for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris bursts in and later proposes to Ann, who agrees. Chris also reveals that while running the company, he lost all his people and is worried Anne admits that neither she nor her brother are in touch with their father anymore, and they wonder out loud if the malfunctioning engine is to blame for Larry's death. After a heated argument, Chris bursts in and later proposes to Ann, who agrees. Chris also says that while running the company, he lost all his people and experiences the victim's guilt. Meanwhile, Joe calls George, Anne's brother, who is about to sort things out.
Act II
Although Chris and Ann are engaged, Chris avoids telling his mother. Their neighbor Sue appears, revealing that everyone on the block thinks Joe is equally guilty of supplying faulty aircraft engines. Shortly thereafter, George Deaver arrives and reports that he has just visited the prison to see his father Steve. The latter confirmed that Joe had told him by phone to "weld and paint" the cracked cylinders and send them, and later gave a false promise to Steve that he would report for the delivery on the day of his arrest. George insists that his sister Anne cannot marry Chris Keller, the son of the man who destroyed the Devers. Meanwhile, Frank reveals his horoscope, implying that Larry is alive, which is exactly what Kate wants to hear. Joe claims the flu left him on the fateful day of the shipment, but Keith says Joe hasn't been sick in fifteen years. Despite George's protests, Anne sends him away.
When Keith states to Chris (who still intends to marry Anne) that leaving Larry means abandoning Joe as the killer, Chris concludes that George was right. Joe explains without excuses that he sent out the cracked thugs to avoid closing the business, intending to later notify the base that they need repairs. However, when the fleet crashed and hit the headlines, he lied to Steve and dumped him at the factory for arrest. Chris cannot accept this explanation and in despair exclaims that he does not know what to do with his father now.
Act III
Chris left home. Grudgingly accepting the accusations against her husband, Kate says that if Chris returns, Joe must express his willingness to go to jail in the hopes that Chris will yield. Since he was only eager to make money at the insistence of his family, Joe is adamant that their relationship is above the law. Anne appears shortly thereafter and expresses her intention to leave with Chris, despite Kate's contempt. When Kate angrily refuses again, Ann shows Kate a letter from Larry. She didn't want to share it, but she knows that Kate has to face the truth. Chris returns and is torn over whether to turn Joe over to the authorities, knowing that it does not erase the death of his fellow soldiers and free the world from its natural ruthless state.
When Joe returns and apologizes for his accomplishments in life, his son wearily replies, “I know you’re as good as other men, but I thought you were better. I've never seen you as a man ... I've seen you as my father. "Finally, the letter Chris read reveals that Larry was planning to commit suicide because of his father's guilt. With this final blow, Joe finally agrees to surrender, speaking of Larry : "Of course he was my son. But I think they were all my sons for him. Joe walks in to get his coat and kills himself with a shot offstage. At the end, when Chris expresses remorse despite his determination Kate tells him not to blame himself and get on with his life.
Chronology
Fall 1943: Joe calls on Steve to supply the USAAF with faulty aircraft engine cylinder heads.Fall 1943: Joe and Steve are arrested after 21 pilots crash.November 25, 1943. After reading about his father's arrest, Larry deliberately crashes his plane off the coast of China.1944: Joe is releasedAugust 1946, Sunday morning at 4 a.m. Larry memorial destroyed.August 1946, same Sunday morning: Ann arrives at the Keller home.August 1946, same Sunday morning: George visits Steve in prison (opening)