My sons story is the ninth novel by south african novelist nadine gordimer. All my sons, a threeact play written by miller in 1947, is one of his bestknown works. If there is a all my sons sparknotes, shmoop guide, or cliff notes, you can find a link to each study guide below. All my sons york notes advanced york notes advanced book. All my sons by arthur miller is a play set during the second world war, and is about a successful businessman, joe keller, who has failed to fulfil. All my sons is set several years after the conviction of steve deever, and the exoneration of his partner joe kellor, after their factorys. Another audie awardwinner, this production stars julie harris, james farantino and ayre gross. The very next year, gordimer was awarded the nobel prize in literature, and the swedish academy explicitly cited my sons story in their press release, calling it ingenious and revealing and at the same time enthralling. All my sons is a play by american author arthur miller, first produced in 1947. In 1958, the play was adapted for british television by stanley mann and directed by cliff owen.
A student handbook to the plays of arthur miller provides the essential guide to millers most studied and revived dramas. Act 1 the play opens in the back yard of the comfortable keller home one sunday morning in august 1947, two years after the end of world war ii. Start your 48hour free trial to unlock this all my sons study guide and get instant access to the following. All my sons york notes advanced york notes advanced.
All my sons summary pdf in this lesson, we have explained the overview, short summary, analysis and other aspects of the play all my sons by arthur miller. It was written towards the end of the state of emergency and first published in 1990. It simplifies each act and allows the reader to understand the play, while giving good advice on how to approach essays on the play. A study guide for arthur millers all my sons on apple. The main characters in all my sons are ann deever, chris keller, larry keller, joe keller, steve deever, and kate keller ann deever is larrys former girlfriend and chris. The show, which starred ed begley, beth miller, arthur kennedy, and karl malden, ran for 328 performances.
All my sons is at its heart a play about how we deal with those who we love and or greatly admire when they let us down. When the war came, both keller boys and george were drafted. It was directed by elia kazan to whom it is dedicated. A study guide for arthur millers all my sons, excerpted from the gale groups acclaimed drama for students series. A capable cast supports julie harris, whose moving performance may arguably be the best of her career. This onepage guide includes a plot summary and brief analysis of all my sons by arthur miller.
Jim bayliss jim sue bayliss frank lubey lydia lubey bert act one the back yard of the keller home in the outskirts of an american town. Authored by a team of leading scholars, it offers students a clear analysis and detailed commentary on five of millers plays. Now, his son is about to marry the partners daughter, the affair is revisited, and his lie of a life is unraveled. The book has been awarded with new york drama critics circle award.
Sue presents a cynical view of the events and characters of the play. Arkady kirsanov has just graduated from the university of petersburg and returns with a friend, bazarov, to his fathers modest estate in an outlying province of russia. In his earlier monologue with ann, he confesses that he feels it draining out of him. The play opens in the hedgedin backyard of the keller home, with joe keller, head of the family, father of two boys, husband to katie keller, sitting outside reading the paper alongside his friend and neighbor dr. In all my sons, joes suicide carries a flavor of revenge on those who have pushed him to face his crime. All my sons is a threeact play written in 1946 by arthur miller. It ran for 328 performances and garnered important critical acclaim for the dramatist, winning the prestigious new york drama critics circle award. All my sons summary by arthur miller in this course, we will discuss the background, actwise summary, detailed analysis, themes and major and minor characters of the play all my sons by arthur miller. Arthur miller was born in was born in new york city on october 17, 1915 to isidore and augusta miller.
At the time, millers father owned a successful clothing business and the family lived in a harlem neighborhood. At that time, joes factory made parts for airplanes. Background to the action of the play all my sons begins, in the fall of 1943 during world war ii, joe keller committed the crime that drives the plot. The first edition of the novel was published in 1947, and was written by arthur miller. Directed by elia kazan, the play opened on broadway in.
After three years, kate still clings to the hope that her son is alive. Siddhartha mukherjee, pulitzer prizewinning author of the emperor of all maladies tell my sons is one of the most profound and inspirational. All my sons, arthur millers first commercially successful play, opened at the coronet theatre in new york on january 29, 1947. The father gladly receives the two young men at his estate, called marino, but nikolais brother, pavel, soon becomes upset by the strange new philosophy called nihilism. The book was published in multiple languages including english, consists of 84 pages and is available in paperback format. All my sons is a play by arthur miller in which the keller family is haunted by the memory of eldest son larry, who died during world war ii chris keller invites his. She resents what she calls chriss phony idealism, which, she thinks, makes her husband want to give.
Are our expectations too high, or should people live up to the standard that others set for them. Top american libraries canadian libraries universal library community texts project gutenberg biodiversity heritage library childrens library. This guide is written for teachers and students who are studying arthur millers play all my sons. Information on arthur millers influences all my sons all my sons plot summary and character descriptions from. All my sons summary by arthur miller english summary. Designed with busy students in mind, this concise study guide includes. Chapter 6 lesson 16 transcript additional activities. Full text of arthur miller all my sons internet archive. They have only one sadness in their lives the loss of their other son, larry, who went missing in world war ii. This book offers one of the most profound and detailed descriptions of the strange world of cancer and should be essential reading for all of us who seek to understand that topsyturvy terrain. Steves daughter ann was larrys beau, and george was their friend. In some ways, all my sons is a sad comingofage story for chris.
Arthur miller does not give us an answer of course but there are moments in this drama that get us pretty close. Learn more about all my sons with a detailed plot summary and plot diagram. The death of a salesman, the crucible, after the fall, and this play, all my sons. And i guess they were, i guess they werejoe keller i think that arthur miller wrote four great plays. All my sons summary from litcharts the creators of sparknotes. All my sons, a play in three acts, is set in a small town several years after world war two, and begins with jim bayliss, a doctor, and joe keller, head of the keller family, sitting in kellers backyard, reading the paper. A storm the previous night has shorn in half a tree that is.
Keller owned a manufacturing plant with steve deever, and their families were close. The horrors of death that hang around this story while the rest of the world moves forward ignorant of the problems caused by cutting corners. All my sons summary all my sons is a play by arthur miller in which the keller family is haunted by the memory of eldest son larry, who died during world war ii. The plays deals with the moral problems and dilemmas that face people who in a capitalistic society like america, and the tension that exists between the concern a person feels for ones own family and the responsibility one should have for society as a whole.
All my sons is set several years after the conviction of steve deever, and the exoneration of his partner joe kellor, after their factorys defective militaryuse aircraft parts results in several deaths. But i think to him the pilots killed were all my sons. All my sons, death of a salesman, the crucible, a view from the bridge and broken glass. The play is based on the true story of a manufacturing conspiracy during ww2. Scott fitzgeralds the great gatsby summary duration. All my sons tells the story of joe keller, a successful, middleaged, selfmade man who has done a terrible and tragic thing. Useful study of the all my sons text with detailed analysis of major themes, characters and metaphors.
All my sons, a play in three acts, is set in a small town several years after world war two, and begins with jim bayliss, a doctor, and joe keller. A ll my sons by arthur miller is a play set during the second world war, and is about a successful businessman, joe keller, who has failed to fulfil his. Litcharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in all my sons, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work. Invaluable if you are a student studying the book for an exam. This study guide for arthur millers all my sons offers summary and analysis on themes, symbols, and other literary devices found in the text.
In 1929, the family business failed as a result of the depression and moved to. Psychologists say that there is often an element of revenge in a suicide, with the suicide placing his or her body for maximum dramatic effect on the person who is deemed culpable. The guide is written specifically for students in the uk, but i hope it may be helpful to users from other parts of the world. Written in 1947, all my sons by arthur miller is the sad postworld war ii story about the kellers, a seemingly all american family. All my sons a play in three acts by arthur miller characters. It was directed by elia kazan to whom it is dedicated, produced by elia kazan and harold clurman, and won the new york drama critics circle award. All my sons production history all my sons opened on broadway at the coronet theatre in new york city jan. Joe keller, a successful businessman, lives comfortably with his wife, kate, and son, chris, in a suburban american neighborhood. Give information from the play to support your answer. In one corner of the yard is an apple tree that has been snapped off in the storm the previous night. Pdf all my sons book by arthur miller free download 84. Chriss wider vision of humanity is informed by the war. The main characters of this plays, classics story are.
Classicnotes all my sons basic free book notes provider features short book summary, full book summary, chapter summaries, author information, links, and quizzes. Pdf all my sons york notes advanced download full pdf. Supersummary, a modern alternative to sparknotes and cliffsnotes, offers highquality study guides that feature detailed chapter. Free download or read online all my sons pdf epub book. It opened on broadway at the coronet theatre in new york city on january 29, 1947, closed on november 8, 1949, and ran for 328 performances. Joe keller keller kate keller mother chris keller ann deever george deever dr. All my sons study guide contains a biography of arthur miller, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. All my sons summary from litcharts the creators of. Written by arthur miller in 1947, all my sons is a tragic play set in post wwii suburbia and is considered an american classic. He framed his business partner for a crime and engineered his own exoneration.
34 688 989 342 775 1388 712 723 1087 908 1505 907 161 564 1334 1380 931 1415 88 1569 1084 566 1400 1600 739 1055 1384 1342 1287 997 714 1212 671 904 508 355 108 672 829 1091 1010 1333 546 1298 330