Idealism vs practicality in all my sons
IDEALISM VS PRACTICALITY 'He 's driving my husband crazy with that phony idealism of his, and I 'm at the end of my rope on it! ' (Sue, Act Two)
Idealism: The pursuit of high principles, purposes and goals.
Practicality: Matter of fact. Mindful of the results, advantages and disadvantages of an action.
The characters in All My Sons live in two worlds: Idealists and Practical Thinkers. This has been an fascinating theme to analyze. In my head, to be practical is not a bad thing. It is the attribute of someone who is level-headed. But in the play, to be practical or to make practical choices is another form of sacrifice. Those who are practical sacrifice a level of 'goodness ' as a human being. Chris goes so far to say that to be practical is not to be human. When characters use the work practical, it 's not a compliment.
'The cats in that alley are practical, the bums who ran away when we were fighting were practical. Only the dead ones weren 't practical. But now I 'm practical and I spit on myself. ' (Act Three)
Who are the Idealists and who are the Practical Thinkers? Are there any true Idealists in the play?
Chris – Idealist?
Chris is touted as the idealist of the play. He has an idealistic vision of his father. He is horrified that the sacrifices his soldiers made during the war mean nothing back at home. Because of his war experiences, he believes in a higher responsibility to the world at large. He has a hard time, even though he still seems to live quite a comfortable life and never outright rejects his father 's money, with materialism: 'I felt wrong to be alive, to open the bank-book, to drive the new car, to see the new refrigerator....Otherwise what you have is really loot, and there 's blood on it. ' (Act One)
He also has a different view of the business than Joe does. He 's willing to leave it behind in order to gain some beauty in his life; he doesn 't want his life to be all about the money. This is the reason he has invited Ann
Idealism: The pursuit of high principles, purposes and goals.
Practicality: Matter of fact. Mindful of the results, advantages and disadvantages of an action.
The characters in All My Sons live in two worlds: Idealists and Practical Thinkers. This has been an fascinating theme to analyze. In my head, to be practical is not a bad thing. It is the attribute of someone who is level-headed. But in the play, to be practical or to make practical choices is another form of sacrifice. Those who are practical sacrifice a level of 'goodness ' as a human being. Chris goes so far to say that to be practical is not to be human. When characters use the work practical, it 's not a compliment.
'The cats in that alley are practical, the bums who ran away when we were fighting were practical. Only the dead ones weren 't practical. But now I 'm practical and I spit on myself. ' (Act Three)
Who are the Idealists and who are the Practical Thinkers? Are there any true Idealists in the play?
Chris – Idealist?
Chris is touted as the idealist of the play. He has an idealistic vision of his father. He is horrified that the sacrifices his soldiers made during the war mean nothing back at home. Because of his war experiences, he believes in a higher responsibility to the world at large. He has a hard time, even though he still seems to live quite a comfortable life and never outright rejects his father 's money, with materialism: 'I felt wrong to be alive, to open the bank-book, to drive the new car, to see the new refrigerator....Otherwise what you have is really loot, and there 's blood on it. ' (Act One)
He also has a different view of the business than Joe does. He 's willing to leave it behind in order to gain some beauty in his life; he doesn 't want his life to be all about the money. This is the reason he has invited Ann