Theres something bigger than the family Comment on

“There’s something bigger than the family. ” Comment on the ways in which Miller presents the family dilemma in All My Sons.

Miller presents the family dilemma as a clash between the ideals of a nuclear family and the ideals of human solidarity. Miller problematizes both ideals in the play- through the slow unravelling of the familial bonds in the face of social responsibility, and the constant tension between husbandwife, father-son and mother-son/s.

I) The Family as the Basic Social Unit Rules & Roles Family can be defined as an institution, a unit of socialisation and ultimately, the building block of society. “Don’t you have a country? Don’t you live in a world? . . . You’re not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you? ” (78)

Quick buzz: What are the expected roles of a “If he ate in my “You’re a boy, what “A new sign over Father, could I do! I’m in Mother and their children? business, a man is in business” house, he’d have an appetite” the plant. Christopher Keller, Incorporated. ”

(I) Miller’s “Family”: Success, Attempts and Destruction “This play is about betrayal, about fathers and sons, about American…about domestic life as evasion, about space between appearance and reality… about the gulf between the times we live in and the people we wish to believe ourselves to be, about the fragility of what we take to be reality. ” (Bigsby) “I resent living next to the Holy Family. It makes me look like a bum, you understand? ”

The “Flawed” Father & “Ideal” Son The conflict of ideals is best represented by the clash of ideals of Keller, the “Flawed” father and Chris, the “Ideal” son. “ There is nothing ruthless about Joe, no hint of the robber baron in his make-up; his ambitions are smalla comfortable home for his family, a successful business to pass on to his sons-but he is not completely fastidious in achieving his goals. Not only has he accepted the American myth of the primacy of the family, his final excuse for all his actions, but he has adopted as a working instrument the familiar attitude that there is a difference between morality and business ethics. ” (Weales)

Keller convinces himself that his sole responsibility in life is to be successful so that he can support his wife and children. “Because what the hell did I work for? That's only for you, Chris, the whole shootin' match is for you!” “Once upon a time I used to think that when I got money again I would have a maid and my wife would take it easy. ” “I could live on a quarter a day myself, but I got a family so I –“

Chris shares a seemingly equal conviction on the responsibility to individuals in the society. “A man capable of immense affection and loyalty. ” “That's the kind of guys I had. They didn't die; they killed themselves for each other…A kind of -responsibility. Man for man. ” “but every time I reach out for something I want, I have to pull back because other people will suffer. My whole bloody life, time after time, after time”. Does Miller present Chris as the perfect son? “He's driving my husband crazy with that phony idealism of his…” (49) “Oh Annie, Annie. . . I’m going to make a fortune for you!”

Husbands & Wives Character after character is introduced in the opening act, with the routines of daily existence of major and minor characters. The Kellers: Aside from being littered with banter, their relationship is underlined by TENSION; Kate’s seemingly excessive reaction to the “jail”, Keller’s careful management of Kate’s emotions. Baylisses: The tension between the Idealist and the Pragmatist.

Husbands & Wives Lubeys: The life that George could have had. Chris & Ann: Their impending ‘marriage’ becomes the agent of change. What is a plot device for COMEDY (bringing about resolution) is here a plot device for TRAGEDY (bringing about conflict and catastrophe).

MOTHER: “A woman of uncontrolled inspirations and an overwhelming capacity for love. ” She fulfils the role of the motherly figure of providing stability and comfort when she infantilises George: “Georgie, Georgie” / “cups his face in her hands”/ “touches his hair” / “her pity, open and unabashed, reaches into him”/ “What’s the matter with your mother, why don’t she feed you? ”/ “Why should he argue? Georgie and us have no argument”.

What is the significance of the use of MOTHER in the stage directions and the text, as opposed to being called Kate? “Interestingly, Kate is called Mother not only by Chris and, not entirely incidentally, by her husband, but also by the playwright, her speeches being so indicated in the text. ” (Bigsby)

III) The Familiar/ Familial Setting • The first act is designedly slow. It takes place “beneath a clear landscape in the broad light of a peaceful day”. However, as Miller remarked… [the] purposefully ordinary setting, made the deepening threat of the remainder more frightening”, for into this recognisable domesticity, this Norman Rockwell scene of Sunday morning in an Ohio town, he slowly infiltrates corrosive elements. (Bigsby, 81)

Miller’s use of Theatrical Contrivance The Ibsen method of showing first an ordinary domestic scene, into which, by gradual infiltration (of sinister elements)is carefully worked out in terms of the needs of the other characters. . . ” (Williams, 38)

Family Loyalty vs Social Responsibility Aside from Keller “crucifying” his friend Steve Deever and making him the scapegoat, the audiences are presented with much more than a mere individual looking out for himself and his business. The notion of loyalty and survival of one family is at odds with the survival of another’- hence we have a broken social contract.

All My Sons “Sure, he was my son. But I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were, I guess they were. ” “God does not let a son be killed by his father. ” The use of the title is apt in capturing the dilemma of the family. While the family to Joe is bounded by blood, Chris’ constant references to his men in the army present a fraternity of brothers. The title and subsequently, the line mentioned by Joe, is a validation of human solidarity.

The Death of the Father: A resolution to the family dilemma? “Paradoxically, the very denial that is designed to protect him from prosecution and incarceration sets in motion the chain of events that lead to Keller’s own selfimprisonment and self-imposed execution. ” (Centola, 56)