Father-Son-Relationship:
Three Sons— Larry, Chris, and George:
In All My Sons, Arthur Miller has presented father-son-relationship very beautifully and remarkably. He has presented some bitter and pleasant experience which takes place in this relationship. On one hand he has poured all the noble qualities in son and on the other hand he has presented father as immoral, greedy, scrupulous and totally materialistic. The whole play revolves round two important male characters - Joe Keller, an established industrialist and his younger son Chris Keller, a young man of principles and ideals. Further there is depiction of George Deever and Steeve Deever. George is the son of Steeve Deever.
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| Play All My Sons by Miller—Theme of Father-Son-Relationship |
Joe Keller and Chris Keller:
Joe Keller's Opposing Chris’ Intention of Marrying with Annie:
When Chris expresses his desire to marry Annie, the daughter of Steeve Deever, Joe Keller opposes Chris’ intention because he knows that his wife Kate Keller would never consent this marriage. Kate Keller still believes that Larry is alive and he would come one day. Here Joe Keller favours Kate Keller, so Chris feels somewhat bitterness because his father sides his mother and does not care the feelings of his son.
Chris’ Devotion for his Father:
In spite of not favouring Chris in the matter of marriage, Chris remains devoted to his father. When Kate becomes somewhat apprehensive to know that George is coming and he would most probably re - open the case regarding the dispatch of the defective cylinder heads to the Air force during the war, Chris assures her that he would stand by her and by his father against George. Then George arrives, and Chris actually takes a firm stand against George's impeachment of Joe Keller. Chris defends his father in a very resolute manner.
Chris’ Wrath against Joe:
When Chris comes to know reality of his father, he feels sad. He shows anger against himself and Joe. He thinks why he could not recognize the real face of his father. Knowing that his father is guilty of supplying defective cylinder heads to the Air Force, Chris says that nothing can now stop him from taking Joe to the police. He takes Joe Keller also as the killer of his elder brother Larry. Chris now denounces his father.
Chris’ Inability of Taking Decision:
However, even at this stage Chris does not find it possible to take any action against his father though he is feeling deeply upset and grieved by what his father has done. He tells his mother that he has now become a practical man and therefore a coward. He tells Annie that, even if he takes any action against his father, he cannot revive all those pilots who lost their lives not for the welfare and honour of the country but due to serious and unpardonable folly of his father.
Chris’ reading Larry's Letter to Make his Father Realize his Mistake:
Chris knows that it is very difficult to awaken the conscience of that man who has forgot the meaning of humanity and has become completely immoral under heavy greed of money and materialistic pleasures, so he reads out to him the letter which Larry had written to Annie informing her that he was going to commit suicide because of his father's fraudulent action in supplying the defective cylinder - heads to the Air - Force. Joe Keller now realizes the gravity or his misdeed and offers to go to jail for the crime which had driven Larry to commit suicide.
Chris’ Regarding his Principles and Ideals Higher Than his Love for Father:
Chris has high esteem for his principles and ideals. He has certainly been a loving and devoted son to his father, but he is not able to give any excuse to his father's guilt in having deceived the government and having served the interests of his family at the cost of a large number of lives. Chris has certainly idealistic leanings, and even though he has become practical as he himself says, his idealism ultimately wins over his practicality.
Chris’ Grieving at his Father's Death:
Although Chris denounces his father for his heinous deed, yet he, after his father's suicide, plunges into grief. He takes this responsibility on him. He tells his mother that he did not want this sort of thing to happen. Kate tells him not to take the blame for it on himself. She then urges him not to grieve over what has happened but to start a new life.
A Great Difference between Chris and Joe:
After a close study of the play, we find a great difference between Joe Keller and Chris Keller especially in their attitudes of life. When, Joe Keller tries to hide the secret of the case of defective cylinder - heads. Chris shouts at his father- “What did you do? Explain it to me or I'll tear you pieces.” At this Joe tells- “I'm in businessman, a man is in business, a hundred and twenty cracked, you're out of business, you got a process, the process, don't work you're out of business: You didn't know how to operate - your stuff is not good ; They close you up, they tear up your contracts , what the hell's it to them.”
Larry's Priority to Honour:
Larry had also great devotion for his father. He honoured his father. He showed great love for his father. But he was not able to tolerate his father's crime. He read in the newspaper that his father and the partner of business supplied the defective cylinder - heads to the Air force after mending them as formality and as a result a large number of aeroplanes fitted with that equipment crashed in the air. Many innocent pilots met with tragic death. This brought him great humiliation and he committed suicide. Thus Larry's idealism led him to kill himself rather than remain alive and suffer the anguish caused to him by the deaths of many of the pilots. Here we find that it is the son's integrity as a man of honour which triumphs over his love for his father.
George's Scorning his Father:
George, the only son of Steeve Deever gets higher education and becomes a renowned lawyer. George and his sister Annie Deever scorn their father who has been passing his life behind the bars in the case of defective cylinder - heads, because, twenty - one innocent Pilots lost their lives, and Joe Keller's elder son Larry Keller was one of them who was engaged with Annie Deever. George had broken the relationship with his father. He had not even been on terms of correspondence with his father. He had never even sent him a Christmas card. He considered his father the principal criminal of this heinous crime.
George's Discovering the Reality and Performing the Role of a Dutiful Son:
However, Georges’ eyes are opened when he goes to see his father in prison in order to inform him that Annie is going to marry Chris. Now he learns the true facts of the case. He undertakes to pay a visit to the Keller's family in order to expose Joe Keller's crime and punish him. He boldly and openly accuses Joe Keller of having ruined the Deever family. In doing so, George plays the role of a dutiful son.
George's Repentment:
George tells his sister that they were on a great mistake in recognizing their father. They think that their crime is more serious. They deprived their father from the love of his children. His father, due to misunderstanding, has to pass a greater part of his life behind the bars. He tells his sister Annie:
“Annie we did a terrible thing, we can never be forgiven. Not even to send him a card at Christmas. I didn't see him once since. I get home from the war! Annie, you didn't know what was done to that man, you don't what happened.”
Thus we see here that George had believed his father to be the real culprit but later he discovers that the real culprit was his father's partner, Joe Keller. Chris and Larry had originally believed their father to be a high - minded man, but both of them subsequently discover that their father had behaved in a most selfish manner and had betrayed their sense of duty and responsibility for the sake of their business and family interests.
