Miller, Arthur: 1915-2005
All My Sons, 1947 - Information about the Play
- General Information
- The play is about guilt and responsibility.
- Information from StageAgent
- Information from Wikipedia
- Facts
- The first play Miller wrote out of college, "The Man Who Had All the Luck" (1944), closed after four performances. He considered giving up but decided to try writing one more play. His next play, "All My Sons" ran on Broadway for 328 performances, and was made into a movie the following year. Miller used the money he made from "All My Sons" to buy four hundred acres of farmland in Connecticut.
From MPR - Awards: The play received critical acclaim and won several awards. Here are some of the notable awards:
Tony Award for Best Author: Arthur Miller won the Tony Award for Best Author in 1947 for "All My Sons." This was a significant recognition of Miller's talent as a playwright.
New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play: "All My Sons" also won the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play in 1947. This award further solidified the play's reputation as a remarkable piece of theater.Developed by ChatGPT AI
- Characters
- The Moral and Social Costs of War Profiteering
The central conflict revolves around Joe Keller, a businessman who knowingly shipped defective aircraft engine parts to the military during WWII, leading to the deaths of 21 pilots including his own son Larry. This highlights the devastating human costs of war profiteering and putting profits over ethical conduct.Individual Responsibility vs Family Loyalty
Joe justifies his actions as being for the sake of providing for his family, raising questions about the limits of family loyalty when it conflicts with moral and legal obligations. His son Chris struggles with this dilemma when the truth is revealed.The American Dream and Capitalism
The play critiques the American ideals of success and prosperity at all costs, as embodied by the wealthy but unethical Keller family. It examines the moral compromises people make in pursuit of material wealth.Guilt, Denial and Atonement
Joe's inability to admit guilt and atone for his actions drives much of the drama. The characters grapple with themes of guilt, denial, forgiveness and the need for moral reckoning.By tackling these weighty moral and societal issues through the microcosm of a family tragedy, Miller's play provided a powerful commentary on the United States' national psyche in the aftermath of WWII.
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- Reader Rating:
- The first play Miller wrote out of college, "The Man Who Had All the Luck" (1944), closed after four performances. He considered giving up but decided to try writing one more play. His next play, "All My Sons" ran on Broadway for 328 performances, and was made into a movie the following year. Miller used the money he made from "All My Sons" to buy four hundred acres of farmland in Connecticut.
- Articles
- Interview by Mike Wood. February 6, 1995
- Review about a performance at the Oxford Playhouse, England. K. Dihal; March 19, 2015
- Precursor in Arthur Miller’s Dramatic World. Masahiro Oikawa