Miller's All My Sons example essay topic

o be successful in the 20th century one must be able to accept change, for the world never sleeps. The goal of every North American is the American Dream, which is what trapped Willy Woman in the play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller. Willy's inability to adapt to the changing world around him leads to his tragic demise. His perspective is similar to a child's; he is never willing to take responsibility for his actions. As a result of his immaturity, Willy builds these enormous dreams, which are unrealistic for a man of his age. The original belief that causes Willy to live and raise his children the way he does, is the belief of the American Dream.

He not only viewed this dream as one of being happy, and comfortable, but also as being materialistically ahead of everyone else. The Death of a Salesman tells the story of a man (Willy) confronting failure in the success-driven society of America and shows the tragedy which eventually leads to Willy's suicide. Miller uses Willy as a symbolic icon of the failing America. He represents those people that have striven for success but in doing so have achieved failure instead. Arthur Miller uses Willy to portray the typical American psyche which has an extreme craving for success and superior status. Miller focuses on the relationship of the Father and Son in accordance to American Values.

For example, a father influences his sons and impose a set of values. If a father is a positive role model, then his influence on his sons will be positive. Conversely, if it is negative, the outcome will be negative. american dream: 1.) Security (? ), Stability, Success, Love (none of which are truly had in Death of a Salesman) - All a lie.

2.) People's false beliefs, shallowness, Miller condemned the American ideal of prosperity on the grounds that few can pursue it without making dangerous moral compromises. Joe Keller, the chief character, is a man who loves his family above all else, and has sacrificed everything, including his honour, in his struggle to make the family prosperous. He is now sixty-one. He has lost one son in the war, and is keen to see his remaining son, Chris, marry. Chris wishes to marry Ann, the former fianc " ee of his brother, Larry. Their mother, Kate, believes Larry still to be alive.

It is this belief which has enabled her, for three and a half years, to support Joe by concealing her knowledge of a dreadful crime he has committed. Arthur Miller, the playwright, found the idea for Joe's crime in a true story, which occurred during the second world war: a manufacturer knowingly shipped out defective parts for tanks. These had suffered mechanical failures which had led to the deaths of many soldiers. The fault was discovered, and the manufacturer convicted. In All My Sons, Miller examines the morality of the man who places his narrow responsibility to his immediate family above his wider responsibility to the men who rely on the integrity of his work. She will not believe him dead, as this involves the further belief that Joe has caused his own son's death, an intolerable thought.

She supports Joe's deception. In return she demands his support for her hope that Larry will come back. a tree, planted as a memorial to Larry Joe is a very ordinary man, decent, hard-working and charitable, a man no-one could dislike. But, like the protagonist of the ancient drama, he has a flaw or weakness. This, in turn, causes him to act wrongly. He is forced to accept responsibility - his suicide is necessary to restore the moral order of the universe, and allow his beloved son, Chris, to live, free from guilt. He cannot restore life to the dead, but he can give life (free from a sense of moral surrender) back to his living son, Chris.

He loves his family but does not see the universal human "family" which has a higher claim on his duty. He may think he has got away with his crime, but is troubled by the thought of it. He relies on his wife, Kate, not to betray his guilt. Chris Keller has been changed by his experience of war, where he has seen men laying down their lives for their friends. He is angry that the world has not been changed, that the selflessness of his fellow soldiers counts for nothing. He feels guilty to make money out of a business which does not value the men on whose labour it relies Kate Keller is a woman of enormous maternal love, which extends to her neighbours' children, notably George.

Despite her instinctive warmth, she is capable of supporting Joe in his deceit. To believe Larry is dead would (for her) be to believe his death was a punishment of Joe's crime (an intolerable thought), so she must persuade herself that Larry still lives. Joe sees this idea to be ridiculous, but must tolerate it to secure Kate's support for his own deception. Ann Deever shares Chris's high ideals but believes he should not feel ashamed by his wealth. She disowns her father whom she believes to be guilty. She has no wish to hurt Kate but will show her Larry's letter if she (Kate) remains opposed to Ann's marrying Chris Dr. Jim Bayliss is a man who, in his youth, shared Chris's ideals, but has been forced to compromise to pay the bills.

He is fair to his wife, but she knows how frustrated Jim feels. Jim's is the voice of disillusioned experience. If any character speaks for the playwright (Arthur Miller), it is Jim. Sue Bayliss is an utterly cynical woman. Believing Joe has "pulled a fast one", she does not mind his awful crime, yet she dislikes Chris because his idealism, which she calls "phoney", makes Jim feel restless. She is an embittered, rather grasping woman, whose ambitions are material wealth and social acceptance.

She does not at all understand the moral values which her husband shares with Chris. George Deever is a soul-mate of Chris. When younger, he greatly admired him. In the war, like Chris, he has been decorated for bravery. He follows Chris in accepting that Steve is guilty. Now he reproaches Chris for (as he sees it) deceiving him.

He is bitter because he has grown cynical about the ideals for which he sacrificed his own opportunities for happiness. Lydia Lubey is a rather one-dimensional character: she is chiefly in the play to show what George and Chris (so far) have gone without. She is simple, warm and affectionate, rather a stereotype of femininity (she is confused by electrical appliances). Her meeting with George is painful to observe: she has the happy home life which he has forfeited. We understand why George declines her well-meant but tactless invitation to see her babies. Frank Lubey (unlike George, Larry, Chris and Jim) is a materialist.

He lacks culture, education and real intelligence, but has made money in business, and has courted Lydia while the slightly younger men were fighting in the war. His dabbling in quack astrology (horoscopes) lends support to Kate's wild belief that Larry is still alive. Show how the set of the play (the exterior of the Keller house) works as a symbol of Joe's values. Arthur Miller Arthur Miller's All My Sons is a perfect example of a literary work that builds up to, and then reaches, an ending that simultaneously satisfies the reader's expectations and brings all the play's themes to a dramatic conclusion Miller explore the dangers of unprincipled greed, the limits of family loyalty, the importance of taking responsibilty, and the futility of suicide. "All My Sons" illustrates the dangers of unprincipled greed and the limits of family loyalty.

It allows children to work through the moral issues of cheating and taking responsibility. This story shows the futility and tragedy of suicide as an escape from problems. Miller creates a tense tale showing how greed and capitalism can have disasterous consequences upon people's lives. Larry feels so betrayed by his father that he committed suicide. Kate can no longer hold onto her belief that Larry is alive, and Chris' illusion about his father is shattered. The Keller family is torn to pieces by this startling revelation motivated by greed.

Miller manages to create a tense tragic play which comments on the social state of America and the emptiness of the American Dream. The sub-plot to the play is intriguing and keeps the audience hooked as to whether certain characters are lying to themselves about the truth or genuinely are oblivious to the truth. Arthur Miller used his play All My Sons as a vehicle to explore the false values and hypocrisy of the American Dream story revolves around the consequences of questionable choices Though Joe was exonerated on appeal, guilt and irresolution hang over the family. All My Sons is a powerful and moving exploration of the paradoxes and illusions upon which the American dream is built. Says Miller: "People elsewhere tend to accept, to a far greater degree anyway, that the conditions of life are hostile to man's pretensions.

The American idea is different in the sense that we think that if we could only touch it, and live by it, there's a natural order in favor of us; and that the object of a good life is to get connected with that life and abundant order". This play is built around the inevitable disruption to the peaceful Norman Rockwell-like facade which greets the audience at the opening. Miller's vision of the fissures on its surface is not nihilistic though. As Christopher Big by observes in the program notes, Joe Keller's appeal to "See it human", is one which reminds us that it is sometimes too easy to separate large-scale moral and ethical dilemmas from the human mistakes and misjudgments that sometimes lead to tragic, or even evil, outcomes. The real issue is the necessity for a sense of personal responsibility which grows outward from the individual to society. Playwright Arthur Miller's probing dramas explore the promises and the pitfalls of the American dream, and their themes and characters still resonate today.

His first major success, All My Sons is a powerful story about one American family caught up in the moral struggle between personal responsibility and public duty at a time when our role in the world was rapidly changing With a sense of realism and a strong ear for the American dialect, Miller has created characters whose voices are an important part of American history. His insight into the psychology of Americans and his ability to create stories that express their deepest struggles, have made him one of the most highly regarded American playwrights. The 1947 play, a powerful human drama of staggering consequence, is an examination of moral compromise and its costs He uses that (real second world war) event as a springboard for an examination of personal responsibility and guilt, of the power of love vs. the love of power, and of greed, even when it's called "providing for one's family". Joe Keller, a man at war with himself -- torn by what he appears to be and what he knows himself to be Kate Keller, wife and mother, who keeps secrets and clings to illogical hopes because she must. if one cannot look beyond their personal circle, they are condemned to an ignorant existence ended by a tragic moment of realization.

Joe Keller goes through this slow, and painful, process of realization One of America's greatest dramas, the impassioned, homefront saga of a family struggling with its wartime secrets still resonates today. airplane parts manufacturer whose profiteering may have compromised his own son, a pilot missing in action..