View of War in All My Sons

View of War in All My Sons

  • Submitted By: amanda0rose
  • Date Submitted: 10/14/2013 6:17 PM
  • Category: English
  • Words: 796
  • Page: 4
  • Views: 96

All My Sons, a play by Arthur Miller, tells predominantly the story of the Kellers. This play takes place after World War II, in the year 1947. It is a criticism of the “American Dream,” which can be defined as a life of personal happiness and material comfort as traditionally sought by those in the U.S. The pursuit of the American Dream consisted of anything tangible, such as things, numbers and people. There is no mention of anything having to do with emotions or the spirit. Throughout the play, Miller calls the American Dream into question, deeming it shallow. One of its characters, Joe Keller, is seen as the epitome of the American Dream, but according to Miller, is morally deficient. He does whatever he can in his pursuit of the American Dream and arrives to the conclusion of war profiteering. During the course of the play, All My Sons, Miller expresses his view of war profiteering to be a moral fortitude that generally loses to practicality and self-protection.
The play focuses on Joe Keller’s conflict of responsibilities, which are to his family and that to a larger sense of community. Originally, he believes that he is justified in sending cracked cylinder heads and causing the deaths of 21 pilots, as this allowed his family to earn an income and allowed his son Chris to succeed to the family business. Keller justifies his actions for he thinks he has a responsibility to his family over the community. To Keller, “Nothin’s bigger than that…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!” (3.77). Miller uses this to criticize the kind of narrow-minded point of view Keller has.
The entire play of All My Sons is a criticism of the American Dream. Joe Keller, is an ordinary American who has lived through difficult situations to work towards the life he has with his family. Despite the lack of education, he has owned a factory which he hopes his son will soon inherit. However, Keller’s pursuit of money...

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