Joe Keller All My Sons Literary Analysis

Greek tragedies are marked by the likes of Oedipus and orteas ; individuals whose cataclysmic ends are caused by their own errors of judgment and misgivings. In his acclaimed text “All My Sons”, Arthur Miller pays homage to the genre of Greek tragedies by exploring the tragedy of the common man, whose ideals, morality and actions are puppeteered by the societal norms of the era. In the drama, this figure is embodied by Joe Keller a man who is neither inherently good or nefarious; whose struggle for material and domestic security ultimately results in his tragic demise.

Keller is first introduced as an affluent businessman; an archetype of the rags to riches; a genial neighbor who is beloved by children and adults alike or in layman's terms …show more content…
This act becomes the catalyst for all conflicts within the text, the most potent being the utter decimation of the Keller household. Which is especially tragic given that that Keller’s hamartia is that he places the needs of the family above that of strangers, an action which allows him to justify his misdeeds. To illustrate, “You wanted money, so I made money. Why must I be forgiven?”, shows that Keller believes that his fraudulent act is justified because it was the only mean that enabled him to be the provider of wealth and the “man of the family”; in a sense, the pilots are collateral damage in Keller’s personal war effort. On the other hand, Keller’s denial of his culpability shows that he is suppressing his guilt, evidence that regardless of the wickedness of his sin he retains a moral …show more content…
In the text, the fragile lines holding the Keller’s relationship began to waver at the end of the second act, when the notion that Joe willingly sold he faulty components is cemented in Chris’s mind. Henceforth, causing him to reject his father’s role in his life, “Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in a world?”, is evidence that unlike his father Chris believes that man has a greater responsibility to his fellow comrades than to family. The clash in moral beliefs causes the relationship between father and son to disintegrate, displacing Joe’s sense of self. To demonstrate, “(desperately,lost): For you Kate, for both of you, all I ever lived for”, it is evident that Keller desperately wishes for Kate and Chris to understand his motivation or else they will have rejected his role as the provider of the family, rendering him as nothing more than a glorified death