INSIDE THIS GUIDE:

About the Playwright 2

The Story 3

The Characters of the Play

3

The Setting as Eden 4

World War II History 5

Tragedy and the Common Man

6

Pre and Post Show Discussion Questions

8

STUDY GUIDE

Arthur Miller‘s

All My Sons PRESENTED BY THE METROPOLITAN ENSEMBLE THEATRE

STUDY GUIDE BY TAYLOR ST. JOHN

CAST:

Joe Keller…James Wright

Kate Keller…Licia Watson

Chris Keller...Taylor St. John

Ann Deever…Natalie Licardello

George Deever…Doogin Brown

Jim Bayliss…Bob Paisley

Sue Baylis…Karen Paisley

Frank Lubey…Matt Griggs

Lydia Lubey..Courtney Stephens

Bert...Angel Reese

CREATIVE:

Director….Karen Paisley

As children we are taught lessons about how to be responsible and honest. The adults

that raise us often work hard to teach us about morals that they believe will make us good people

and positive. contributors to society. But as we mature, we realize that truth and responsibility

are never as clear-cut as we were originally taught. The world provides guidelines that often put

people‘s personal interests in conflict with their ability to do the right thing.

The American Dream is built on the concept

that if a person works hard, they will reap the benefits

of wealth, acclaim, and success. Yet, many of those

that succeed in achieving the American Dream, do so

by breaking the rules and violating the moral code of

society. In All My Sons, Arthur Miller then poses the

question of what is a person‘s responsibility to the world? Do we, as members of society, have an

obligation to do the right thing or are we only supposed to do only what will get us ahead?

This question is one which illuminates the central conflict in All My Sons. When Joe Kel-

ler‘s machine shop produces faulty plane parts for WWII fighter planes, Keller is faced with the

decision of either destroying his business to do what is right or cover up fatal mistakes and risk

murdering American soldiers. In this, the question of taking responsibility is not nearly as black

and white as simply doing the right thing; it means personal, financial ruin. Thus Miller questions

whether the American Dream of working hard by doing the right thing, is not an impossibility.

In the review of its Broadway premiere in 1947, Brooks Atkinson of The New York Times

noted Miller‘s ―unusual understanding of the tangled loyalties of human beings.‖ It is in these

tangled loyalties that Miller exposes the conflict of a father and son whose definitions of right and

wrong are complicated by the complexities of honesty and responsibility in a society that is only

concerned with how to get ahead. With any luck, this guide will probe into the essential human

questions that these characters and all of us face every day.

-Taylor St. John and Karen Paisley

Debate the Play: What is an Individual’s Responsibility to Society?

All My Sons is a play that deals largely with the responsibility an individual has to the larger society. The

model of Capitalism says that only the strongest succeed. As a class, debate your views on responsibility,

truth, and whether the two can exist side by side.

Are you responsible for contributing positively to society? Why or why not?

Is society responsible to you as an individual?

If doing what was right, meant you would be ruined personally or professionally, what would you do?

“I’m his father and he’s my son and

if there’s something bigger than

that, I’ll put a bullet in my head.”

-Joe Keller (Act III)

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT: ARTHUR MILLER 1915-2005

Arthur Miller has long been considered one of America‘s greatest

playwrights. His plays make a harsh critique of the American conscious and

exposes the delusions of the American Dream. For Miller, plays function to

shed light on corruption and encourage political dialogue about the affairs of

the day. As he says in his own words, ―I can almost tell what the political sit-

uation in a country is when the play is suddenly a hit there. It is either a

warning of tyranny on the way or a reminder of tyranny just past.‖

Miller‘s politics have always played a large role in his playwriting. He

grew up in New York City during the Great Depression when the financial

crash destroyed his father‘s garment business. His father‘s financial disaster

informs his extreme skepticism in America‘s political and economic system.

Thus his plays (Death of a Salesman and All

My Sons) function as critiques of the Ameri-

can Dream.

Far from the American Dream was his personal life which was as deeply

troubled as the lives of the characters he wrote about. In 1956, he married the

famous sex symbol Marilyn Monroe. During their four years of marriage, Miller

stopped writing to attend to Monroe who was ―increasingly tormented by person-

al demons and drug abuse‖ (The New York Times). He would later document his

marriage with Monroe in his most autobiographic play, After the Fall.

During his marriage to Monroe, he was also

called to testify during the McCarthy Hearings by the

House of Un-American Activities Committee in which he

was asked to name the names of other known Com-

munist Party members. When Miller refused, he was sent to jail and blacklisted from

Hollywood. In other words, because of his alleged association with the Communist Par-

ty, people in Hollywood refused to hire him. This incident inspired another of his most

famous plays, The Crucible, in which Miller draws parallels from the McCarthy Hear-

ings to the Salem Witch Trials.

All My Sons was Miller‘s first

major success and launched his career.

During the two years he spent writing

the play, he made himself a promise that if the play was not a

success, he would give up as a playwright. All My Sons premi-

ered on Broadway in 1947; winning two Tony Awards and the New York Drama Critic‘s Circle Award. Miller

went on to win numerous awards and become one the most praised dramatists of the 20th Century. In his

memoir, Timebends, Miller speaks about the importance writing theatre that challenged the values of society

―with the possible exception of being a doctor saving a life, writing a worthy play was the most important thing

a human being could do...that meant grabbing people and shaking them by the back of the neck.‖ It is perhaps

Miller‘s fierce belief in justice and truth for which he will always be remembered.

Arthur Miller with Marilyn Monroe

Testifying for the House of Un-

American Activities Committee

“He spent his life seeking

answers to what he saw around

him as a world of injustice.”

THE CHARACTERS OF THE PLAY: WHEN FAMILY TREES COLLIDE

Page 3

Set in the aftermath of World War II, All My Sons in-

vestigates the Keller family. The family‘s patriarch, Joe

Keller, was machine shop owner during the war and

produced airplane parts for the military. Joe Keller

and his partner, Herbert Deever were arrested after 21

planes crashed due to defective airplane cylinder

heads produced in their shop. Herbert Deever went to

jail and Joe Keller was set free. Both of Keller‘s sons,

Chris and Larry, were soldiers in the war, but Larry (a

fighter pilot) went missing and has not been found.

THE STORY

World War II has ended and

Chris Keller (the surviving broth-

er) has brought home Larry‘s old

girlfriend, Ann Deever, with the

intention of asking her to marry

him. Ann Deever‘s father, Her-

bert Deever, has spent years in

jail after being convicted of pro-

ducing the defective cylinders.

Be

for

e t

he

Pla

y B

eg

ins

:

As

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ur

tain

Ris

es

:

“I thought I had a family here. What happened to my family?” -Joe Keller (Act III)

THE KELLERS

Joe Keller– Owns the ma-

chine shop that produced

faulty engine parts during

the war. Both he and his

partner were arrested, but

Joe was set free and Herbert

went to jail. “A business

man...but with the imprint

of a machine shop worker.”

Kate Keller– A mother

whose son, Larry, has been

missing for three years.

While others have given up

hope of Larry‘s return, she

still believes he is alive. “A

woman of uncontrolled as-

pirations and an over-

whelming capacity for love.”

THE DEEVERS

Herbert Deever– J0e‘s

partner during the war who

was blamed and went to

jail for manufacturing

faulty plane parts. When

we has sent to jail, his chil-

dren abandoned him and

the community scorned

him.

George Deever– A

successful lawyer and

WWII veteran. When his

father went to jail, he cut

off all communication.

He grew up in the Keller

house and was great

friends with Chris.

Ann Deever– Ann was en-

gaged to Larry Keller before he

went missing in the war. She

says that she is no longer

mourning him and is now

engaged to marry Larry‘s

brother, Chris. “Is gentle but

despite herself capable of

holding fast to what she

knows.”

Chris Keller- A soldier

that survived in the war and

returned home. During the

war, he corresponded with

Ann in letters and has fallen

in love with her. “Solidly

built, a listener. A man ca-

pable of immense affection

and loyalty.”

Larry Keller– A fighter

pilot that went missing dur-

ing WWII and has been

missing for three years.

Before the war he was en-

gaged with Ann Deever.

Dr. Jim Bayliss-

“A wry self-

controlled man, an

easy talker, but

with a wisp of sad-

ness.”

THE NEIGHBORS

Sue Bayliss– A

friend of the Keller‘s

who sees Chris‘ ide-

alism as a bad influ-

ence. Bert– An 8 year old

neighborhood boy.

Frank Lubey- “A

pleasant opinionat-

ed man, uncertain of

himself...but always

wanting it pleasant

and neighborly.”

Lydia Lubey–

George‘s love interest

before the war. When

George served, she

married Frank and

had three children.

During WWII, American assembly

lines and machine shops adapted their produc-

tion lines to build tanks, planes, and materials

for the war effort. One of the most famous

products created by the U.S. during WWII, was

the P-40 warplane. This plane model was the

single seat, all metal fighter plane for which

Joe Keller‘s machine would have produced de-

fective cylinder heads. It is also the same plane

that would have been flown by Keller‘s son, Larry during WWII. The planes

were used by 28 nations and were heavily produced until the end of the war.

WORLD WAR II PLANES

Page 4

THE SETTING AS SYMBOL: THE KELLER’S BACKYARD

Q: WHERE IS ALL MY SONS SET?

A: All the action of the play takes place in the backyard garden of the Keller

family. As described in the opening stage directions:

“The backyard of the KELLER home in the outskirts of an

American town. August of our era [1947]...downstage stands the

four-foot high stump of a slender apple tree whose upper trunk

and branches lie toppled beside it, its fruit still clinging to its

branches.”

Q: WHY DOES MILLER SET THE PLAY IN THE BACKYARD?

A: The backyard garden of the Keller home provides a connection to nature.

Nature is a concept that is beyond the control of human beings. Though Joe

Keller has gained a great deal of wealth, in the outside world his wealth be-

comes irrelevant. The natural world is controlled by a truth that is not man-

made. By setting the play in a garden, Miller is also drawing a parallel to the

Genesis story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.

Q: WHAT IS THE STORY OF THE GARDEN OF EDEN?

A: The Garden of Eden is a story in Genesis (2:8) in which God has Adam

and Eve tend to a garden of great beauty, with the instructions not to eat

from the Tree of Knowledge. Eve is questioned by a serpent as to why she will

not eat an apple from the tree, and the serpent falsely convinces her that eat-

ing the apple will allow her know good and evil as the gods do. Adam and Eve

eat from the tree of knowledge and God sends them away from Eden. This

biblical story shows the downfall of man as susceptible to sin and temptation.

Q: WHAT IS THE TREE’S SIGNIFICANCE?

A: The apple tree that has fallen before the play begins is a symbol for Larry,

the Keller son that has been missing for three years. By choosing an apple

tree, Miller makes a specific parallel to the story in Genesis. Thus, ―Joe‘s gar-

den is Eden after the fall, a place of sin‖ (Theatrical Gamut).

Classroom Activity Idea!

Designing Eden

The job of the scenic designer is to create the

visual world with which the actors will live out

the action of the play. Knowing what you know

about the plays relationship to the Garden of

Eden, design a sketch of the set with partner.

Afterwards, discuss your design choices as a

class.

What emotions did you want the environ-

ment to evoke? Why?

Did you create an Eden that was beautiful or

sinful? Justify your choice.

Did you design a set that was realistic for

1947 or did you interpret it differently?

After seeing the production, what were the

differences and similarities between your

design sketch and the MET production‘s set?

“The Garden of Eden” by Lucas

Cranach (16th century)

A P-40 Warplane during World

War II

When soldiers return home after

serving in war, there is almost always a dra-

matic personal adjustment. Spending months

or years on a battlefield where killing and

death are the norm, means that most resort to

their survival instincts. Returning home marks a dramatic shift,

in which soldier‘s are no longer fighting for lives each day. Be-

cause of the large scale trauma that soldier‘s experience, many

have psychological side affects that last a lifetime.

Survivor‘s guilt is a common experience of soldier‘s who

feel guilty for having survived a wartime experience, while friends

and fellow soldiers did not. Having experienced so much stress

and anxiety in wartime, while never understanding why some

people live and other‘s die, leads to a personal shame that many

feel; for returning home alive, when others did not. Chris Keller

in All My Sons experiences this

guilt when he returns home,

while his brother has died in

World War II.

TIMELINE: THE BIG EVENTS OF WORLD WAR II

1939

1941

1942

1944

1945

1947

Sept. 1, 1939:

Hitler’s Nazi Ger-

many Invades Po-

land

Dec. 7, 1941: Ja-

pan attacks the

U.S. pacific fleet at

Pearl Harbor, Ha-

waii

April 30, 1945:

Hitler commits

suicide

August 6, 1945:

U.S. drops atomic

bomb on Hiroshi-

ma, Japan

August 14, 1945:

Japanese surren-

der, ending WWII

Sept. 3, 1939: Brit-

ain and France de-

clare war on Germa-

ny

Dec. 8, 1941: Brit-

ain and U.S. de-

clare war on Ja-

pan

June 6, 1944:

(D-Day) The Allies

launch an attack

on Normandy

beach, capturing

their 1st major

port

May 2, 1945: Ger-

many surrenders

August 9, 1945:

U.S. drops a 2nd

atomic bomb on

Nagasaki, Japan

August, 1947:

The action of All

My Sons begins

Hitler’s troops invade Warsaw

Pearl Harbor Bombing

Atomic Bomb on Hiroshima

and Nagasaki

Newspaper Headline from

Honolulu Star

Ad

olf Hitler

Iconic p

hoto “T

he K

iss”

D-Day Attack

Prim

e Min

ister of

Brita

in W

inston

Ch

urch

ill

AFTER THE WAR: SURVIVOR’S GUILT FROM THE SOLDIER’S PERSPECTIVE

WWII Soldier

―I felt wrong to be alive‖

-Chris Keller (Act I)

For the Amer-

ican teenager,

tragedy might

include break-

ing up with a

boyfriend or

failing a big test. But to the Greeks,

tragedy was a form of performance

where characters like kings and

queens would be exposed by the

gods for a tragic flaw. Through the

course of the play, audiences would

watch the most powerful people in

their society fall to their inevitable

demise.

Many of Arthur Miller‘s

plays fall under the genre of trage-

dy. Yet, Miller‘s definition of trage-

dy greatly changed the perception

of what a tragedy is today. In 1949,

Miller wrote an essay for The New

York Times entitled, ―Tragedy and

the Common Man‖. In his essay he

extends the genre of tragedy to in-

clude not only the kings and nobili-

ty of a society, but the regular blue-

collar people whose lives carry just

as much weight as those of royalty.

―I think that the common man is as

apt a subject for tragedy in its high-

est sense as the kings were.‖

While the Greeks believed

that for a character like Oedipus or

Antigone to be tragic, they needed

to be of a high social status, Miller

saw that tragedies befall regular,

everyday people and we can just as

easily connect with their downfall

as with that of royalty or nobility.

Q: What do you want audiences to leave the theatre talking about?

A: How current the play is for us today. Thousands of people all over

the nation are demanding that we do better as a country. In other na-

tions this past spring, people took their countries back, demanding

that their countries be better. Now we have to create a better world.

What is our plan? How do we do that?

Q: Over fifty years after its first production, why is All My Sons rele-

vant to today?

A: Coming to terms with individual responsibility and creating person-

al ethics is a big deal for every person. We each make hundreds of deci-

sions every day. These are choices. We can choose kindness and honesty or cruelty and

lies. We can choose to try harder. We can choose to lend a hand. Choices add up to a per-

sonal point of view about life and how to live it. Ultimately, it‘s a way of being.

Q: What is your favorite part of the rehearsal process?

A: I love it when we laugh together. It‘s been so much fun to see everyone, in the midst of

such a dramatic show, have such a wonderful time.

Q: What do you think is unique about this production of All My Sons?

A: MET is an extremely intimate theatre. We have gone to great lengths with this produc-

tion to make it even more intimate so that the audience can really feel the play. No seat is

more than 3 rows back. We look at each other, even as we watch the play. We did it this

way to bring us all ―into the world‖ of the play. The Keller family lives in the world with us,

in the world we‘re making. I think being this close is terrific in terms of seeing the perfor-

mances and feeling the play, but I hope too that having the experience this way will also

give us an even deeper understanding of what the play can mean for each of us.

INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR: KAREN PAISLEY

Page 6

Let’s Discuss…

TRAGEDY

All My Sons is a modern tragedy,

borrowing many elements from

the Greek theatre. Tragedy, to the

Greeks, was the term used to de-

scribe the demise of a character

due to a tragic flaw.

What does the word tragedy

mean to you? Describe a trag-

ic event in your life or the life

of someone you know.

What is one of your personal

flaws? Do you believe that it

is a tragic flaw? Why?

What do you think is one of

the tragic flaws of American

society today? How do you

think that flaw will affect

American society in the fu-

ture?

TRAGEDY: THE NOBLEMAN VS. THE COMMON MAN

“I think the tragic feeling

is evoked in us when we

are in the presence of a

character who is ready to

lay down their life.”

-Arthur Miller

Tragic Hero Oedipus Rex

MET Artistic Director,

Karen Paisley

From Karen Paisley, Director of Arthur Miller’s All My Sons

What is the nature of good and evil?

We think of the knowledge of good and evil and knowing the difference, and most of us assume that we

know ourselves , and usually those around us, well enough to predict what we‘d do in a tough situation.

We like to think that we‘d behave admirably, be the leader, the good person, the hero. ALL MY SONS

is a play about good and evil in that way exactly. What happens when we know something is dangerous,

and yet, do nothing? Where does our responsibility for that knowledge, and for other people, begin and

end?

Joe Keller found himself caught in the middle and made a decision that money mattered more than

people. He hoped not to get caught., but he did. Twenty one pilots died because of his decision. The

odds are that had someone put a gun in his hand and ordered him to shoot those affected by his ac-

tions, he wouldn‘t have been able to do that. However, he never saw those people. They were strangers

to him. This distance allowed him to make a choice that made their injury ―ok‖ in the moment he had

to decide.

Arthur Miller makes the case in ALL MY SONS that Joe is actually responsible for those people, that we

are all actually responsible for each other. The choices we make have consequences for others so we

must make noble—good-- choices.

But do we? Is it actually possible to live that way?

Part of the reason that I find this play so compelling is that the story and the characters are complicat-

ed. People are inherently flawed, and even though we‘d like to be able to separate right and wrong eas-

ily, it is actually more complicated too. The actual real bottom line of truth still matters, and never

changes, but getting there and living that reality is harder than we think. In that way, we have, in a

strange way in this play, understanding, and even compassion, for a . . . villain.

For myself, I think Miller does want us to be better, to do more to make the world better, to actually

look and see one another and to understand that the choices we make for ourselves have real life conse-

quences for other people. In short, we aren‘t the center of the universe, but part of the family of Man.

Even today, I think that‘s valuable. It counts. One wonders, what would the world be like if we all be-

gan to consider outcomes for others when making decisions? It‘s an idea worth thinking about, and it

could be that it would be possible for us to try.

ALL MY SONS is a complicated play. Everyone has good reasons for what they do. That‘s why I like it, I

think. It would be boring if we just had a ‗ the moral of this story is . .‖ kind of play. But Arthur Miller

avoids that while still asking us the big questions that we can then hold up to ourselves.

We‘re left then to figure it out for ourselves. In our living and thinking, what do we do? And how do we

do it? Can living the way Chris Keller wants us to live actually be done, or is the real effort in the trying?

Page 7

During WWII, United States factories were con-

tracted by the government to manufacture war

materials. Thus, many companies made huge

profits from the war effort. Do you think that it is

acceptable that some profited financially from the

war while others lost their lives fighting in it?

Why or why not?

Joe Keller and Herbert Deever are accused of

knowingly manufacturing faulty airplane parts

leading to the deaths of many soldiers and pilots.

If a relative or someone close to you did some-

thing illegal or unethical, would you forgive them?

WWII brought with it a major draft of soldiers.

Imagine being drafted in 1941. Do you think you

would feel a sense of responsibility and patriotism

for serving in the war? How do you think people

would feel if there was a military draft today?

The subject matter for All

My Sons was directly inspired by

numerous incidents where compa-

nies were manufacturing defective

products and selling them to U.S.

government for profits during the

war. ―Everybody knew a lot of illicit

fortunes were being made, a lot of

junk was being sold to the armed

services, we all knew that. All the

rules were being violated every day,

but you didn‘t want to mention it‖,

Miller states. In 1941, the Truman

Committee was formed to investi-

gate waste and corruption in gov-

ernment war contracts.

As the story goes, All My Sons is based on a newspaper article given to Miller

by his mother-in-law about a war-profiteer that was arrested after his daughter turned

him in when she suspected that he was producing faulty machines for the military.

According to Miller, ―By the time she had finished the tale, I had transformed the

daughter into a son and the climax of the second act was full and clear in my mind.‖

RIPPED FROM THE HEADLINES: MILLER’S INSPIRATION

AFTER THE SHOW:

After learning about Arthur Miller‘s life and seeing

the production, what parallels do you see between

his life and his plays? Do you think growing up dur-

ing the Great Depression had a major influence on

his work? Why?

Put yourself in Joe Keller‘s shoes. What would you

have done in his situation? Do you think his behav-

ior was justified? Why or why not?

One of the main criticisms of society in All My Sons

is that the competitive nature of capitalism forces

people to act without responsibility to survive. Do

you think a capitalist society can exist alongside per-

sonal and societal responsibility?

What do you think the tree symbolizes? Why does

Miller use an apple tree?

What do you think will happen after the play ends?

BEFORE THE SHOW:

Page 8

BEFORE AND AFTER: DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

Classroom Activity Idea!

Writers and artists often draw inspira-

tion from the world in which they live.

Arthur Miller‘s work is highly political

and was influenced by both the politics

of the war and news stories about war

profiteering. In the following activity,

you will create an original script based

on current events in your local news.

1. Gather local newspapers and arti-

cles about topics that impact your

community.

2. Read them as a class and find a sto-

ry that you think exposes a problem

society needs to address.

3. Using the characters and plot of the

news story, write a short scene us-

ing the newspaper article as inspira-

tion.

4. For the presentation, read the class

the original article and then divide

the roles and read the scene aloud.

The Truman Committee was set up to investigate

corrupt government contracts in WWII