Wednesday, December 3, 2008
All my sons
In All My Sons, a Play (book) by Arthur Miller, characters are contrasting each other in their ethical beliefs about society Vs. family. On one side of the spectrum there is Joe Keller, who believes that one's family is the most important thing that they have. He does all that he does only for his sons and their well being, "Don't think like that. Because what the hell did I work for? that's only for you, Chris." (17). In the middle of the spectrum leaning towards the pro-family is the mother. She understands society and it's rules better, but she also tends to be more supportive of the family, "You above all have to believe" (23). In this quote she is telling her husband that he has to believe that their son is alive because if he isn't then Joe isn't justified in sending away the cracked airplane parts. On the other side of the spectrum there is Larry and Anne, who both believe that society's morals are more important than family. Anne shows this by completly discommunicating with her father and Larry shows this by killing himself as a final act of disjustification of his father's actions.
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4 comments:
On the issue of choosing between family and society, it seems that being on either extreme side of the spectrum is only hurtful. On one side, Joe Keller was responsible for killing 21 men by thinking of his family above all. But on the other side, Ann, Larry, and Chris caused the destruction of their families. Ann completely abandoned her father when he needed her most, and Chris and Larry showed such resentment towards their father that he ended up killing himself. It seems to me that being more flexible on the society vs. family issue, is the best way to go.
I would disagree that Mrs. Keller is the middle ground in this story. Just by observing her behavior and complete refusal to acknowledge the truth so that her "family needs" will be met show how extreme she is. She continually tells others that they know that she is right and that Larry is alive, but I think that by doing this she is only trying to convince herself. Had she been the middle ground, she probably would not have hidden Joe Keller's secret for as long as she did, because she would have felt that he had violated society's code and would need to be punished in some way.
I think that Narah is right on this question. That there is a middle ground, if one is too obsessed with family, something could happen like oh, say killing 21 pilots. If one is too obsessed with society, they could desert part of their family. I believe there is a middle ground where one who is reasonable can stand. One who weighs family and society 50/50. One needs to be flexible to the situation.
I disagree about Kates "middle ground"-ness. I refuse to place her on any spot. Her life is so deep into her own pit of denial that she excludes herself of judgement on the issue. She knows Joe killed those boys, she just doesn't want to believe it had anything to do with Larry. So in her attempt to not let that come to the eyes of all, she lives in complete ignorance and bucks any attempt for the family to move on.
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