ALL MY SONS / ARTHUR MILLER

ACT I
The first act serves as an exposition. We are introduced to all the characters,
excluding George whose sudden phone call gives an aura of mystery and suspense to
the end of act I.
SETTING
Time: About three and a half years after arry was reported missing in World War II.
!"#$%&. It's August, the month of arry's birthday. It's (unday, the )hristian holy
day. The play's actions ta*e place within less than +$ hours.
Place: ,hio, -.(.A. The action ta*es place in the bac*yard of the .eller home.
The main conlicts in the pla!
". La""! #elle" was reported missing in action !/IA& on 0ovember +1
th
. This
fact is a source of conflict in the .eller home. .ate, the mother, guided by her
maternal instincts and her deep belief in God and 2ustice, refuses to accept
arry's death. 3oe .eller is torn between his wife and his son on this issue.
3oe, li*e )hris, believes that arry is dead but is afraid to confront .ate. At the
same time, it is important for 3oe to *eep )hris by his side and bring him into
the business. 4ut )hris has plans of his own 5 he wants to marry Ann, even at
the cost of hurting his parents. Thus, the 6uestion whether arry is alive or
dead lingers at the bac*ground throughout the play. It is emphasi7ed by the
fact that /other as*s 8ran* to prepare a horoscope for arry in order to find
out whether 0ovember +1
th
was his favorable day.
+. The case: -pon her arrival, Ann is concerned whether the neighbors stopped
tal*ing about her dad. 9uring the war, .eller with his business partner (teve
9eever !Ann's father& had been accused of causing the deaths of +" American
pilots through criminal negligence. .eller was exonerated after spending some
time in 2ail, while (teve 9eever was found guilty and was sentenced to a
prison term. Ann and her brother George had cut off all ties with their father.
/rs. 9eever had moved her family out to 0ew :or*.
.eller's version of the airplane cylinder;head case and how he was pardoned
by the community is later challenged by George in Act II. .eller's
involvement in the case explains /other's otherwise uncalled for anger over
the <2ail game= .eller plays with 4ert.
THE MA$OR CHARACTERS
$oe #elle" 5 nearing >? a self;made man. @e has fulfilled the American dream by
wor*ing himself up from a factory wor*er to a factory owner. Although he doesn't
have formal educationA he has common sense, which helps him survive. @e seems to
be the true family man. @owever, he has a tendency to avoid anything that smells of
trouble. 8or example, he prefers to read the want ads in the paper. @e also tries to
avoid confrontations with )hris and /other. It's important to note that .eller seems
to bear no grudge towards (teve 9eever for dragging him through the mud.
Ch"is #elle" 5 B+ years old, living at his parents' house. @e is naCve, idealistic, loyal
and honest. @e believes in others. @is most important value is the responsibility he
has to society. @e feels that their lives have been put on hold since arry was reported
missing.
Ann %ee&e" 5 arry's ex;fiancD has come to the .eller house in order to marry )hris.
(he *eeps a secret.
#ate #elle" 5 cannot accept arry's death. (he holds on to anything that may feed
her belief that arry is alive somewhere. (he believes that the brea*ing of the tree,
which was planted in arry's memorial, symboli7es the fact that he is alive.
SIGNI'ICANT THINGS TO REMEM(ER)
a. The ho"oscope 5 mother as*s 8ran* to prepare a horoscope to find out whether
0ovember +1
th
was his favorable day. The answer to this 6uestion will be *nown in act
III.
b. Mothe"*s +"eam 5 in her dream she sees arry in the coc*pit flying over their house.
When he starts falling while calling her name, she wa*es up to the sound of the wind and
the bro*en tree. (he confuses these sounds with the roaring of arry's engine. While
logically this dream may be interpreted that arry is dead, mother's conclusion is that
they planted the tree in arry's memorial too soon.
c. Ch"is*s monolo,-e a.o-t the /a" 5 during the war )hris was a commander of the
company but he lost all of them. @e feels guilty to be alive and to en2oy life and the
money his father made during the war. @e also feels guilty about marrying Ann because
he feels he won her as loot because arry is missing. )hris, the idealist, thought that the
war would ma*e people better. 4ut when he returns he witnesses the same <rat race= 5 the
only thing people care about is money. This is criticism about the American society.