ALL MY SONS
A Play in Three Acts by Arthur Miller
NOTE:
Images below are from the 2010 West End production of All My Sons at the Apollo Theatre, London.
Photographs: © Nobby Clark 2010
Introduction:
During WW2, industrialist Joe Keller commits a crime and lets his business partner Steve Deever take the rap. A few years later his sin comes back to haunt the now-successful businessman when his son Chris plans to marry Deever's daughter.
Setting:
The Place: The backyard of The Kellers' house in a small midwestern, American town.
The house is two stories high, has seven rooms, and "would have cost perhaps fifteen thousand in the early twenties when it was built" (1.1). We can see that the Keller's enjoy a materially comfortable life.
The Time: All My Sons takes place in 1947 (and was first produced at that time). Men had just returned from World War II and all of the characters in the play (except Bert) have lived through the Great Depression. Being poor in the 1930s makes it all the more important for Joe to keep his family comfortable now. Money is not something he takes for granted.
The Opening: At the beginning of the play we see the fallen tree in the backyard that has been knocked down in the previous night's storm. The tree was planted in memory of Larry, the Kellers' son who has been missing in action for three years.
The Keller's backyard
The Kellers
ALL MY SONS takes place in the summer in a small American town a few years after World War II. The events of the play occur on a single set, the back yard of the Keller home, where a tree has recently been torn down by a storm.
The Kellers are solidly middle-class and have a working-class background. They are not rich, but they are financially comfortable, and there is a sense throughout the play that they worked hard to reach this state of stability.
Timeline:
A number of things have already happened before the play begins. They are important events for understanding the characters and the action in the play.
Outline of events
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Autumn, 1943: Joe allows Steve to supply the USAAF (the Air Force) with faulty cylinder heads.
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Late autumn, 1943: Twenty-one planes crash; Joe and Steve are arrested.
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November 25, 1943: Larry, the Kellers' younger son, goes missing in his plane off the coast of China.
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1944?: Joe makes a successful appeal, is exonerated, and comes home; Steve remains in prison.
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1945: Chris Keller starts to write to Ann Deever.
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August, 1947: Ann has come to visit Chris; George (unknown to Ann) visits Steve.
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Saturday night ? August, 1947: Larry's memorial tree blows down.
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Sunday ? August, 1947: Opening of the play
Kate (mother) Keller, Joe Keller's wife, and the mother of Chris and Larry.
Joe Keller, a successful businessman; he and his wife Kate live a comfortable life, enjoying the fruits of Joe's success in business and in the community. They had two sons; the younger son, Larry, was a pilot who went missing (presumed dead) three-and-a-half years ago during World War II. The older son, Chris, works with his father at the family firm.
Kate Keller
Joe Keller
Chris Keller
Ann Deever
Chris Keller, Joe's only living son, and Ann Deever come to visit their families and announce their plans to marry. Ann is Larry’s former love.
Ann Deever, an old family friend who has come to visit. She used to be Larry's girlfriend and now is about to be engaged to Chris.
Characters:
George Deever
George Deever, the brother of Ann and the son of Steve Deever. He grew up as the Kellers' neighbor before his father was imprisoned for selling faulty goods to the military. He has just been to visit his dad for the first time since he went to jail.
Dr. Jim Bayliss
Jim Bayliss, friend to the Kellers who lives next door with his wife, Sue.
MORE ABOUT JIM BAYLISS on shmoop.com
Sue Bayliss
Frank Lubey
Lydia Lubey
Lydia Lubey, wife of Frank Lubey satisfied with her simple life as wife and mother.
Bert
Bert, a neighborhood boy who comes around to play at the Kellers.
Who Said It?
Do you know who said what?
Do you know what was going on in the story?
Read quotes from the play and take a practice quiz.
Themes:
The theme of a literary text is a universal idea or message that stretches through an entire story.
A THEME is often a LESSON we learn about LIFE or PEOPLE.
A theme may show up in a pattern (such as reoccurring examples of the beauty in simple things).
Or a theme may be something that builds up through the story - like the tragedy of war.
Click on the button below to see a presentation about some themes in All My Sons.