All My Sons by Arthur Miller Justification Questions

Remember: To answer the HOTS questions you must first choose thinking skill and then answer the question using that skill. l Your justification should then match the answer that you have given. l When justifying why you used a specific HOTS you are required to relate to the text. Answers that relate only to the skill (“I chose the skill of inferring because I had to read between the lines”) are not acceptable. l

HOTS Question no. 1 A. Choose two characters from the play and explain how they solved the conflict they were faced with. ● Answer the question using the HOTS of comparing and contrasting.

Thinking skill I chose: comparing and contrasting • • I chose Kate and Chris. Both were presented with the conflict of having to accept that Larry was dead and in doing so, accept Joe Keller’s blame for his death. Kate chose to lie to herself and go on as though Larry was going to return. Her denial of Larry’s death allowed her to keep her family together and keep her life as normal as possible. As long as she denied Larry’s death then it was impossible that Joe, his father killed him, selling the cracked engines. Not only does Kate refused to admit Larry’s death, but she keeps on doing so even after Joe’s crime was exposed. In Act three she even orders Ann to go away when Ann insists on Larry’s being dead. Then Ann, having no other choice shows her Larry’s suicide letter. Like his mother, Chris also lies to himself. He doesn’t dare confronting his mother telling her that he is sure Larry isn’t coming back, nor does he question his father about the past or does anything to expose the truth because he didn’t want to hurt his mother and the unity of the family. At the end of the play it turns out that Chris has always suspected his father of being involved in the shipment of the cracked cylinder. However, as the truth came out he could no longer deny it and could no longer be dishonest with himself or those around him. As such, he voiced his opinion and blamed his father for Larry’s death.

B. Explain why you chose that particular thinking skill to answer question 1 A. • I chose the HOTS of comparing and contrasting because it helped me find similarities and differences between how Kate and Chris dealt with the situation. This HOTS helped me understand why they reacted differently to the family’s tragedy.

HOTS Question no. 2 A. Once Ann reveals the contents of Larry’s letter, the whole tone of the play changes. Explain how the letter was such an important development and how it changed everything. • Answer using the HOTS of inferring

Thinking skill I chose : Inferring • Ann reveals the contents of the letter in the last act of the play, causing it to move quickly to the end. Once Kate and later Chris read Larry’s letter, written the night he disappeared, the bitter truth about Larry’s suicide is revealed. Larry’s death can no longer be denied and the terrible truth, namely the fact that Keller himself was involved in his own son’s death is consequently undeniable. The play then moves fast to its dramatic end in which we infer / understand / learn that Joe’s point of view has changed. Joe’s moments of realization that he hurt society lead to his suicide.

B. Explain why you chose that particular thinking skill to answer question 2 A. • I chose the HOTS of inferring because it helps me infer the message of the play although it is not explicitly written. It helped me understand how Joe changed after he had heard how and why Larry died. The HOTS helped me understand that Joe finally realized that he was guilty of his son’s death and that he should have been responsible for the society at large instead of just looking after his own interests.

• Now use the HOTS of explaining cause and effect to answer the same question.

• Ann’s exposure of the letter triggers a chain of cause and effect until the play moves to its dramatic end. As a result of the exposure of the letter, the bitter truth about Larry’s suicide is revealed, Larry’s death can no longer be denied and the terrible truth, namely the fact that Keller himself was involved in his own son’s death is consequently undeniable. Consequently, Joe realizes that he indirectly caused Larry’s death and that Larry expected him to care about society as much as he cared about his family. Joe’s moments of realization that he hurt society lead to his suicide.

Thinking skill I chose: Explaining cause and effect I chose thinking skill of explaining cause and effect because it helps me identify the chain of cause and effect in the events happening towards the end of the play: the letter reveals the truth about the consequences and the reason for Larry’ death, consequently, it is exposed that Keller himself was involved in his son’s death. This revelation triggered Joe Keller’s death, bringing the play to its dramatic end.

• Now answer the same question using the HOTS of distinguishing different perspectives.

The letter is of vital importance in the play because after it is exposed, the character’s points of view are changed. Kate can no longer deny that Larry is dead, Chris gets the proof that his father indirectly killed his brother and Joe has finally reached the moment of realization in which he understands that he should have treated the twenty one pilots as if they were all his sons and that he should have put his moral responsibility ahead of his family’s comfort.

Thinking skill I chose: Distinguishing different Perspectives • I chose this HOT because it helped me identify the change in Joe’s point of view. The letter has a vital role in changing Joe’s perspective from being a self centered person who minds only about the interests of his family to the realization that a person must be also accountable for his society.

HOTS question no. 3 • Outline how Keller, Kate and Chris change as the play progresses. • Use the HOTS of distinguishing different perspectives to answer the question.

Thinking skill I chose: distinguishing different perspectives • • • Throughout the play Keller believes that shipping the cracked cylinder heads and blaming his partner for this was justified because he did it for the sake of his family. At the end of the play his perspective is changed because he realizes that he was responsible for his own son’s death and that he should have had the sense of social responsibility. Kate has denied Larry’s death throughout the play to evade the bitter truth that her husband killed his own son and to keep the unity of her family. After Larry’s letter is revealed she understands the truth, yet she is still trying to prevent Joe from reading the letter and she still wants the family to go on as if nothing happened. In the final scene, after Joe commits suicide she instructs Chris not to take it on himself, to forget, to live. Chris begins the play as an idealist. When Chris returns home from W. W II he is disturbed by the realization that the world is continuing as if nothing happened and that people have been busy making money. Chris tells Ann that he was ashamed of the money he earned and that he expected people to remember how soldiers sacrificed themselves for each otherefore , to be better. Moreover Chris encourages Jim to realize his dream to be a researcher and help humanity. However towards the end of the play Chris is making the compromise although he despises himself for this. He feels he has no choice but to be practical as there is no point in taking his father to jail. “ Do I raise the dead when I put him behind bars? ”

Bridging Text and Context Questions

What is the Bridging Text and Context question l l ? The Bridging Text and Context question requires you to connect a quote or some new information to the literary piece that you have studied. ( “To build a bridge” between the new information you are given and the literary piece you have studied). The answer to the Bridging Text and Context Question should be a paragraph of 80 -100 words and should relate only to the parts of the literary piece that are relevant to the new information.

Before you write anything stop and think over the following questions: n What is the quote (or the information) about? Who is n n the speaker and/or who is he/she speaking to? Explain what the quote says in your own words. How does the quote ( or the piece of information) connect to the text? Give at least one example of the connection to the text. How does the quote add to your understanding of the text?

n Arthur Miller’s plays focus on contemporary values and themes, such as the assumptions of capitalist society in which material wealth is the ultimate measure of success rather than moral behavior and social responsibility. n How does this information help you understand the play better.

• What is the information about? • Explain the information in your own words.

Answer the following bridging question • In 1944 Arthur Miller wrote in his book Situation Normal : ”civilian life in America is private, it is always striving for exclusiveness. Our lifelong boast is that we got ahead of the next guy, excluded him. ” Explain how this quote adds to your understanding of the play.

Get prepared to answer • What is the quote about? The quote is about the shallowness of the American dream according to which a successful person is measured by his wealth. Miller says that people are busy comparing themselves to others, always trying to achieve more and show off their possessions. Who said it? Arthur Miller himself wrote it in his book. How does the quote connect to the play? In the play Miller criticizes the American dream. His message is our community can not be safe and prosperous unless people be responsible for the society at large.

An example from the play – What is important to Joe is the financial success of his business as it gives him social status among the neighbors. People come to pay cards with him and respect him for being smart. Joe sells cracked cylinder heads for money, ignoring the lives of other pilots.

How does the quote add to your understanding of the play? • The quote helps me understand why Joe behaved the way he did when he ordered Steve to ship the cracked cylinder heads.

Putting it all together into a complete answer • The quote helps me understand why Joe Keller committed his crime of selling the air force cracked cylinder heads. Joe was motivated by materialism and greed. He took care only of the interests of his business and the family and ignored responsibility for the lives of other people. Joe lived through the great depression when he lost money and was proud of his ability to rehabilitate his financial situation and realize the American dream of the suburban lifestyle. When Chris accuses him of his crime, he defends himself saying that he was no exception and that making money during the war was a common behavior then. Joe, who strived to realize the America dream, managed to do this through war profiteering. Like many Americans those years, he put his private interests ahead of those of society at large.