Emily Gong

AP English Notes: All My Sons

Characters:
Joe Keller- a heavy man nearing sixty, a retired businessman and
boss; considerably uneducated, but fends off of knowledge gain
through experience and age
Kate Keller-in early fifties, a woman of uncontrolled inspirations and
an overwhelming capability for love
Chris Keller-Keller’s second oldest son, cautious and reserved, seeks
Anne to marry
Ann Deever- Keller’s girlfriend and estranged daughter of Steve
Deever, who has been convicted of murder for twenty-one pilots
because he knowingly shipped out cracked mechanical parts
George Deever- same age as Chris, a passionate man who lathes
Keller from circumventing his punishment
Dr. Jim Bayliss- nearing forty, “very self-controlled man”; very
practical, realistic man; scorns Frank’s supernatural suspicions and
dismisses his horoscope readings as valid information
Sue Bayliss- also around forty, Jim’s wife, a rather chubby, quirky
lady; serious, and stern
Frank Lubey-thirty-two, opinionated man, a superstitious man who
works on Larry’s horoscope on Kate’s request
Lydia Lubey- twenty-seven, robust, joyful
Bert- a young neighborhood boy, extremely playful, likes to play cops
and detectives

Act 1
• First few to be introduced are the men; their conversation
retained nothing of mild importance; Keller states that he’s more
interested in society wants than in the daily news
• Keller cites how communal respect to a questionable occupation
has changed: “in my day, there was no such thing…either you
were a layer, or a doctor, or your worked a shop”
• Mentions Larry Keller; his tree has fallen down, a victim to vicious
gales
• Frank reads horoscopes and tells Keller about how Kate has
asked him to figure out whether the day Larry reported missing
was a favorable day; find out if Larry has really died
• Jim and Frank get in a spit fight as Jim attacks Frank about his
horoscope readings
• Jim alludes to Ann Deever, whose father previously had own and
lived in Jim’s house
• Sue interrupts the men’s conversation with an announcement
that Jim’s patient is on the phone; she is very serious and distant
 to her husband; there is no apparent sign of love or affection
between them
• Her mention of “ten dollars”- concludes that money and finance
is one of her priorities
• Lydia comes in, after which Sue leaves  briefly mentions to
Keller about Anne’s previous love, the late Larry Keller
• Bert runs in and reports to Keller, doing his “police” duties; he
also wants to see a jail in Keller’s house
• Keller is anxious over Kate’s possible reaction to the overturned
tree; Chris interrupts and clarifies that Kate has already seen the
fallen tree while sleepwalking outside at four in the morning
• Kate has shown similar abnormal behavior before [after Larry’s
death]
• Chris wants to confess to her mother about Larry’s death; he
believes she will prove to be an obstacle during his proposal to
Annie Deever because she highly acclaims that Ann will remain
faithful and wait for Larry
• Chris denounces his frequent retreat from getting things that he
wants
• Keller plays on Chris’s characteristic and tries to persuade him
not to provoke Kate with the news; he picks on Chris’s lack of
charisma for other women and constantly states Kate’s instability
• Chris hints at the possibility of his leaving the town to marry Ann;
Keller is distraught at this and manages to placate Chris
• Kate enters the scene; Chris goes to retrieve the potatoes that
Keller thought were garbage
• Kate begins mumbling about how everything seems to happen
that month, about Larry
• She recalls her dream about Larry suddenly plunging from the
sky and then reprimands Keller for planting a tree in Larry’s
remembrance too soon [she completely denies that Larry is
dead]
• Kate questions Keller about Ann’s sudden reappearance; she still
believes that Ann is waiting for Larry
• Keller refutes Kate’s belief
• Kate links Anne’s reappearance with the broken tree and alludes
that Larry might not be dead; she insists that Keller believe it and
that he, of all people, must keep faith (foreshadowing)
• Kate shuns Bert away, outraged at Keller’s promoting a “jail
business”
• Anne goes admiring her old home and meets Doc. Bayliss; she
has reminiscences
• Anne is astounded when she discovers that Larry’s clothes and
shoes are all shined
 • Anne and Kate argue over doubts of Larry’s survival
• Anne has zero-tolerance for her father---she does not care much
if he gets off on parole or not
• Readers find out about the exculpation of Keller and the
conviction of Deever
• Keller praises his hypocritical action to Anne and tells her to tell
Deever (estranged father) about what he said
• Kate urges Anne to be silent about her belief that her father may
have murdered Larry; she still cannot accept his death
• Keller tries to coax Chris and Anne to stop blaming and
condemning Deeverhe hid the cracks in a large batch of
cylinder heads
• Keller exits into his house, out of the scene; Chris and Ann
intimately chat about their previous years; they are obviously in
love
• Chris clarifies his reluctance of openly loving Anne; he was
ashamed of living for himself when thousands of men died for
each other at war
• Keller interrupts and notified Anne that he brother has called
• Keller seems peeved and unnerved asks Chris if Anne came
back with other intentions
• He is extremely pragmatic and has done everything to gain a
corpulent fortune and win what he desires
• Keller wants Chris to declare that he is not ashamed of his
father’s money
• Anne announces that her brother, George, will be coming
• Katie cautions Keller to be careful- a feel of great apprehension
and suspense- Is there more to Keller?

Act 2
• Kate brings snacks and expresses her worries to Chris: is there a
possibility of reinvestigating the case?
• Chris and Anne have yet to tell Kate about their engagement
• Sue enters and talks to Anne; Doc. Bayliss has gone to pick up
George; she asks that Anne and Chris move away from town
because “Chris makes people want to be better than it’s possible
to be”
• Sue’s true intentions and feelings are unraveled when she vents
out how she abhors living near the Keller family (the “holy”
family)
• Anne is disturbed by Sue; she asks for an answer from Chris
about his father’s innocence
 • Keller has grown fearful of George’s arrival; he desperately wants
Anne to accept Deever, as he is dreading the chance of his son
realizing his part in the crime
• George comes with vengeance on his mind; he castigates Chris
and his father, Keller
• George exposes the truth: Keller had convinced Steve that he
would take responsibility for the defections, then committed
perjury
• George questions Chris and his conscience
• He temporarily dismisses the problem when Kate and Lydia
enters the scene
• He grows affectionate when he sees Lydia ( an old flame) but he
had given up the chance of being with her for his ideals
• Keller comes out and chats with a cold George---finds out that
Deever is not a vengeful man who hates all people who profited
from war
• George is cunning--- he tries to win George over by recalling
Deever’s past---fire incident and faulty stock playing--- Deever---
“a man that never learns to take the blame”
• Keller purposefully incriminates Deever to prove his innocence
• Kate’s slow-given assurance about Keller’s flu during the war
again sparks suspicion in George---Keller excuses Kate’s and his
behavior to forgetfulness---doesn’t quite convince George
• Frank abruptly comes running in and shows Kate Larry’s
horoscope- he claims that Larry couldn’t have died on his
“favorable” day---this will jeopardize Chris’s engagement
• George, Chris, Anne, and Kate glower and scream at each other,
Kate and George telling Anne to leave, with Chris refusing her
absence
• Kate urgently slaps Keller and demands Chris to let go of Anne---
she insists that they wait in time for Larry’s return
• Chris is bewildered and infuriated- Kate finally blows the covers
and exposes Keller’s nefarious deed----“ God does not let a son
be killed by his father”
• Keller, horrified and devastated, tries in vain to hold onto Chris;
Chris is mortified at his father’s guilt and selfishness and leaves
his father half-dead and chanting for transparent hope
• Keller rationalizes that he did the business all for his son---to him,
the individual is what stands above all else---“the ends justify the
means” is consistently his life motto

Act 3
 • Jim appears and chats with the waiting Kate; he politely asks her
about what happened, then tells Kate he has always known
about the true face of crime
• Jim explains to Kate that Chris will come back, a changed man
however, a man who can stand to dote on lies rather and
sacrifice his duties as a man to his obligations as a son
• Keller comes out and still thinks that there is some hope left to
avoid his due punishment; he fusses over Anne and Jim,
appearing almost mad with conviction
• Keller’s dreams has completely disintegrated; his son has left his
side, his wife has acknowledged his fate
• Kate quietly pleads with Keller to admit his crime to Chris, to tell
the truth, to say he’s willing to go to prison for what he has done
• Keller’s temper fumes again and rants about his dedication to his
family and the roughness of society and reality justification for
his actions
• Keller then puts all his faith into deceased Larry, claiming that
Larry would never act as Chris has, that he would fully appreciate
what his father has done
• Ann exits out of the house and confronts both Keller and Kate---
she does not have the heart to convict Keller, but she wishes for
Kate to tell Chris Larry’s dead
• Kate utterly refuses; Ann, with no more options, shows her
Larry’s last letter
• Chris returns and tells his mother he’s leaving and never
returning---he is “practical”
• Chris surrenders and shouts out to Ann that the world is “a zoo”
• Keller enters the scene and grabs for Chris; Chris pushes he
away
• Keller labels his decision as the practical way; Chris does not
rebuke but simply states that he thought Keller was better than
“other men”
• Keller answers Kate that he’s going to the police station, as he
has no hopes of redemption from any of his sons they’re
reaching for a goal and ideal that is not part of his world
• “All My Sons”--- the nation and humanity
• Keller commits suicide inside the house and Chris and Kate moan

Important:
• Joe Keller: though may not be fully at fault for imprecisely
calibrating the complex values in his life, he denies responsibility
• Wartime racketeering and merciless pursuits of business profits
to the exclusion of the human decency are part and parcel of the
American capitalist system
• Though insisting that he was thinking for his family---first though
was keep his business
• Poor reflection on the profit orientation of the capitalism
• Draws a distinction b/w men who are easily pressured and men
who can stand up for themselves and make a difficult choice in a
bad situation
• “the little man” who the hero patronizingly defends turns out to
be like the hero
• nuclear family was truly the nucleus of a man’s world
• does not understand that actions o f this small cog do have
implications far wider than he can see with his own eyes
• Keller’s individual or family values: misguided, ignorant and
destruction in raltioan to larger social and culture values
• Kate: prefers to believe that there are forces outside her control
—astrology or God’s choice that ultimately dictate life or death
more than individual choices do
• Knows about Keller’s guilt
• Forcing her son, Larry, to stay alive in order to allowed herself to
continue living with her husband in some acceptable way—
mother’s self deception
• Keller: nothing more important than family
• Chris: man for men; the responsibility for humanity
• “All My Sons”: all people have an obligation to society to value
everyone’s son as though they were their own---“universalism”