'All My Sons' Critical Essay
'All My Sons' Critical Essay
Choose a play in which a character makes a crucial error.
'All My Sons', is a post-war American drama, written by the highly respected, award winning dramatist, Arthur Miller. The drama concentrates upon the life of a businessman, Joe Keller, who, at one time, by a whisker, averted business dilapidation due to the distribution of cracked cylinder heads to the Air-force, resulting in the deaths of 21 pilots, and indirectly, but ultimately the death of his son. However, he cowardly incriminated his business partner, and friend, going on to build a wealthy, thriving business, however, his evildoing eventually comes back to haunt him. Keller's crucial error is, undoubtedly the selling of the faulty cylinder airheads to the military, and resultantly, Keller ultimately pays with his life for his crime, seen as a cowardly evasion of justice and the punishment – some feel – he truly deserves. Throughout the play, indication of Joe’s moral predicament is unravelled as the plot unfolds.. Although Joe Keller was a victim of the war, Keller remains at fault on all accounts of unfaithfulness to a friend, dishonour to his family, and treachery to a nation. The play encompasses such themes as a father-son conflict and the dangers of pursuing the American Dream, however, it also displays that if you want something badly enough, you can get it, which is highly relevant in Joe Keller's case.
The character of Joe Keller is seen to be ignorant and quite obnoxious. Early on, from the outset, Miller gives us a clear description of Joe Keller: 'A heavy man of stolid mind and build, a business man these many years, but with the imprint of the machine-shop worker and boss still upon him. When he reads, when he speaks, when he listens, it is with the terrible concentration of the uneducated man for whom there is still wonder in many commonly known things, man whose judgements must be dredged out of experience and a peasant-like common sense. A man
Choose a play in which a character makes a crucial error.
'All My Sons', is a post-war American drama, written by the highly respected, award winning dramatist, Arthur Miller. The drama concentrates upon the life of a businessman, Joe Keller, who, at one time, by a whisker, averted business dilapidation due to the distribution of cracked cylinder heads to the Air-force, resulting in the deaths of 21 pilots, and indirectly, but ultimately the death of his son. However, he cowardly incriminated his business partner, and friend, going on to build a wealthy, thriving business, however, his evildoing eventually comes back to haunt him. Keller's crucial error is, undoubtedly the selling of the faulty cylinder airheads to the military, and resultantly, Keller ultimately pays with his life for his crime, seen as a cowardly evasion of justice and the punishment – some feel – he truly deserves. Throughout the play, indication of Joe’s moral predicament is unravelled as the plot unfolds.. Although Joe Keller was a victim of the war, Keller remains at fault on all accounts of unfaithfulness to a friend, dishonour to his family, and treachery to a nation. The play encompasses such themes as a father-son conflict and the dangers of pursuing the American Dream, however, it also displays that if you want something badly enough, you can get it, which is highly relevant in Joe Keller's case.
The character of Joe Keller is seen to be ignorant and quite obnoxious. Early on, from the outset, Miller gives us a clear description of Joe Keller: 'A heavy man of stolid mind and build, a business man these many years, but with the imprint of the machine-shop worker and boss still upon him. When he reads, when he speaks, when he listens, it is with the terrible concentration of the uneducated man for whom there is still wonder in many commonly known things, man whose judgements must be dredged out of experience and a peasant-like common sense. A man