All My Sons
Battle Scars
Where there is conflict, there are always victims that remain strongly impacted. Every human who has stepped foot on this earth has been victimized by something, whether it be painful or pleasant. Arthur Miller’s American tragedy, All My Sons, deals with the American Dream of material wealth leading to contentment. This drama was written so that every character became a victim of loss in some way or form. The conflict that put these normal, everyday citizens into terrible circumstances was war. Although World War II was a victory for America, the victory brought many losses and sacrifices as revealed in the Keller family members Kate, Chris, and Joe.
While she did not have to behold the horrors of the war with her own eyes, Kate Keller was scarred just as much, if not more, than her husband, Joe, and her son, Chris. Kate had lost her second son, Larry, in battle, and like a typical mother would, searched for him everywhere and refused to believe that he was gone for good. The falling of Larry’s memorial tree during an overnight storm did not help much with the nightmares and constant depression either, and in fact made them worse and more consistent. Kate was not prepared to accept her son’s death because it would force her to also admit to her husband’s guilt for “murdering him”, perceived when she says to Chris, “Your brother’s alive, darling, because if he’s dead, your father killed him” (418). Joe had knowingly sent faulty machinery out to the army which resulted in the deaths of 21 pilots. Even though Larry ended up not being one of those pilots, he committed suicide after hearing of his father’s crime, and Kate simply couldn’t come to reality with that. Her pitiful faith in Larry’s life is seen as she tries to create distance between Chris and Larry’s fiancée Ann; “I think her nose got longer” (371). Larry’s detectable death has brought Kate to a state of emotional instability, presented to readers through what is stated by other characters
Where there is conflict, there are always victims that remain strongly impacted. Every human who has stepped foot on this earth has been victimized by something, whether it be painful or pleasant. Arthur Miller’s American tragedy, All My Sons, deals with the American Dream of material wealth leading to contentment. This drama was written so that every character became a victim of loss in some way or form. The conflict that put these normal, everyday citizens into terrible circumstances was war. Although World War II was a victory for America, the victory brought many losses and sacrifices as revealed in the Keller family members Kate, Chris, and Joe.
While she did not have to behold the horrors of the war with her own eyes, Kate Keller was scarred just as much, if not more, than her husband, Joe, and her son, Chris. Kate had lost her second son, Larry, in battle, and like a typical mother would, searched for him everywhere and refused to believe that he was gone for good. The falling of Larry’s memorial tree during an overnight storm did not help much with the nightmares and constant depression either, and in fact made them worse and more consistent. Kate was not prepared to accept her son’s death because it would force her to also admit to her husband’s guilt for “murdering him”, perceived when she says to Chris, “Your brother’s alive, darling, because if he’s dead, your father killed him” (418). Joe had knowingly sent faulty machinery out to the army which resulted in the deaths of 21 pilots. Even though Larry ended up not being one of those pilots, he committed suicide after hearing of his father’s crime, and Kate simply couldn’t come to reality with that. Her pitiful faith in Larry’s life is seen as she tries to create distance between Chris and Larry’s fiancée Ann; “I think her nose got longer” (371). Larry’s detectable death has brought Kate to a state of emotional instability, presented to readers through what is stated by other characters
Cited: Miller, Arthur. All My Sons. Six Great American Plays. New York: Dell Publishing, October 1967, 354-433. Print.