1. Larry’s letter is instrumental in forcing Keller to realise his fault. Discuss (20M)
All My Sons a play by Arthur Miller was staged at the coronet theatre in January 1947 and ran for 328 performances. The play was well constructed and realistic in nature, and it was extremely popular among the audiences. All My Sons started in the middle of things and spends most of the play uncovering the facts of the past so that the audience can see the last act consequences in the present. The play actually deals with the fate of Joe Keller, an uneducated self-made man who has committed an atrocious act during World War II. The play ends with the suicide of the Joe Keller who repents after being exposed with the content of his son Larry’s letter.
As mentioned earlier, Joe Keller is an uneducated self-made man who has committed an atrocious act during World War II. Keller has as partner Steve Deever and their factory manufactures cylinder heads for aircrafts. During the war, they receive a contract from the army to supply cylinder heads on an urgent basis. However the cylinder heads had hairline cracks in them and Keller is immediately informed by Deever. But Keller asked Deever to get the cylinder heads welded and that he would take full responsibility of the damaged products. Unfortunately those damaged cylinder heads cause twenty-one planes to crash killing their pilots. However at the trial Keller denies responsibility and is exonerated, and the blame shifts to Steve Deever who is imprisoned. Following that Joe Keller lives in total impunity with his family.
However when he is confronted with the content of his son Larry’s letter, he is forced to realise his fault. In fact Larry’s letter was intended to his fiancée Ann, in which he reveals that he was shamed by his father’s involvement in fraud and profiteering. Consequently he committed suicide by allowing his plane to crash. However the content of the letter was kept secret by Ann because of her