In All My Sons, Arthur Miller has depicted the American Dreams by exposing some fundamental tragedies in the lives of his protagonists. According to modern concept of tragedy, the protagonists should be accountable for their deeds while facing any kind of moral dilemma, they make some wrong decisions and choices for themselves which lead them on the verge of worst kind of tragedy. Such critical thinking is also observed in several TV programs, movies and other media sources where American dream is exaggerated to attract masses to move to America but they have to encounter bitter realities of life (All My Sons Summary, 2010).
What are the American Dreams; these are to grow up with heaps of wealth and precious properties! There are different interpretations of the American Dreams but it is the common gist of it. But at the end of this play, All My Sons, the American Dreams are depicted contrarily where it is described how someone lives happily even after growing up, owing lots of property and becoming prosperous financially. Joe Keller had become prosperous and auspicious in his life financially but his life turned into a tragic life as the story moves towards a conclusive end, Arthur Miller wants to convey two contradictory viewpoints in his play, All My Sons, the American dream is bogus dream which is depicted only in very few and certain people’s life but most of them suffer from some panic situations in life in spite of having money (All My Sons Summary, 2010).
Arthur Miller has evoked some fundamental questions in his play, All My Sons what are the individualistic social obligation, personal responsibility and dissimilarity between personal and public matters. In the play, All My Sons, Keller performs his specific actions during the war, he is depicted an individual who is accountable for himself and his family rather than for society. Miller evaluates Keller’s discriminatory worldview which affirms his belief; there is no value of crimes which are committed for sake of the family (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010). The main reason of conflicts which arises in the mind of Keller, who believes that Keller is not wrong in his proclaims, there is nothing more valuable than the family rather than whole world where Keller lives, “To cut yourself off from your relationships with society at large is to invite tragedy of a nature both public (regarding the pilots) and private (regarding the suicides)” (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Miller wants to show that it is not necessary to enhance some carefulness for others being a family member, it is most important to develop an individual’s responsibilities to the family versus society at large. The family is also depicted as unit within the society and it is distorted or damaged by the individualistic actions. Though All My Sons is related with the past but this past helps to shape present and future of the individuals. It is inescapable to ignore or forget crimes. The characters speak such words or dialogues in the pay which disclose the different secrets about the current history of the Keller family. Arthur Miller displays how such past secrets of life have influenced the lives of his characters in the play who keep themselves in past always (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Arthur Miller has manipulated the flow of the story in the most technical manner that revelation of all secrets of the characters in play occurs on the same day. Such revelations are inevitable, causing the fatal consequences due to Denial and self-deception. The questions are raised how we deceive ourselves and others? We choose things to spotlight on life but we also need to refute some certain things for upgrading our living standards? What are impacts of denial upon the psyche of family and certain society? Keller family history displays what factors causes distortion and confrontation in the life. These factors include Larry’s death and Keller’s sense of liability for the consignment of defective parts. In the whole play, the mother denies first while she has to accept it and same case is with Keller himself. Such acts of denial and self-deception are rooted in both characters who live in a state of self-deception, avoiding one of the realities of life willingly in order to keep up the functional life-style of family (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Chris is also characterized as an idealist who remains angry against the wartime profiteering. Some people views that he is a man of scruples setting apart from the social networks. Chris thinks to abandon all such scrupulous brooding who sends his father to jail. How idealism are not sustainable in the practical world which is very complex. Miller wants to stress upon the values of ideals or dreams by depicting such characters in his play how such ideals are sacrificed according to the current circumstances (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Keller gives solid arguments during wartime how all his actions are so defensible in maintaining good business practice. He always asserts himself as an ill-mannered and uneducated person, boastfully taking pride in his financial success without any business education. But gradually his well-flourished business is victimized of downfalls. Here Miller takes this failure in comparison with loftiest politics and awkward system of capitalism which enhance the value of materialistic pursuits rather than the moral sense. The dramatist raises the question how rules of good business are exempted from moral and ethical norms & laws of the certain society (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Every character is delineated with different kinds of self-blames, Joe Keller doesn’t miss any chance to blame anybody and everyone for crimes of wartime and the main cause of his partner’s imprisonment. When he has to encounter with truths of life, he finds faults in business practice and US army and everyone he may have contacts. When he admits such blames after self-recognition process, Larry had taken to his heart all such shameful blames and Keller commits suicide in fits of despairs (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Chris feels culpable himself for the ongoing of the war and materialistic pursuits but when the crimes are disclosed, he shifts his blame to his father side, blaming his father for his incapability to imprison his jails. You may observe such several instances of deflected blame in this play; very human impulse is reflected to demonstrate the actual relationships and powerful role of characters which maintains self-respect and family honor (All My Sons Study Guide, 2010).
Miller reveals how such individualistic flaws can be interpreted with the economic progress and business success in terms of American dream. Keller has sacrifices all other parts of the American dream for just materialistic pursuits or financial growth only. He has given up the main role of his life as head of family, the basic human nature how he has made sacrifices of Steve and Larry. Miller points out the basic flaws of capitalist system which has no concerns with cultural as well as social morals. Miller criticizes such system of capitalism which encourages just greed for profiteering shares in the business stakes holders who may want to sacrifice the human life and happiness. So American dreams are so attractive apparently but there is too much hollowness inwardly which splits up the social networks in fits of despair and anger. But media and broadcasting sources have interpreted the American dreams in very attractive manner which shatter down the people so badly that they are forced to kill themselves (American Dream, 2010).
There is need to recover the full American dream of vigorous communities with prosperous families whether or not capitalism would lead economic system on right direction of progress and happiness. Only economic prosperity and mobility is very detrimental as man can’t enjoy life joyfully with just financial progress, there should be some social order which controls any kind of chaotic state of mind of individuals within the society to lead a peaceful and blissful life (American Dream, 2010). Is the American Dream can be depicted as nightmare by Arthur miller who portrays the picture of a typical American family life after world war second. All characters are displayed with complacency and prosperity due to thriving business but at end of the play Keller shoots himself to complete the nightmare! The Americans are suffering from such tragic and panic situations which come on their way in the pursuit of the financial progress and prosperity. The people have become so materialistic and morally vacant that they don’t have any scruples in their hearts while committing crimes with the self-deception and denial approaches how they think that they are doing rightfully rather than confessing their crimes (American Dream, 2010).
The media plays vital role in idealizing America via different attractive advertisements on TV channels and heroes of movies how American is shining so brightly and everyone is entangled by such attractive commercial ads which invite the people to come to America. In All my Sons , Arthur Miller has delineated an ideal family characters which seems externally very good and complacent but inwardly there is nothing good, having many dark aspects of American life which seems very charming in media portrayals. The American dream idealizes the particular life-style of people in America which relates with potential and rights rather than morals or means (American Dream, 2010).
In different TV dramas and shows, we observe how people are living an idealized life-style without knowing how it has been achieved via fair or unfair means. For instance the main character of Dr. Huxtable in Cosby Show is depicted how he has good standard of living, apparently good relationships with his family and friends but he never seems to be a good and responsible doctor, he always tries to take advantage of his patients via his deceitful nature. Media disseminate the ideals of American life-style and happiness to indulge the masses to work hard for achieving successful status as publicized by big multinational corporations (American Dream, 2010).
You may observe American dream as depicted by some TV shows and plays like the Cosby Show, Married with Children and Family Ties, all these depicts the same attitudes, hollow aptitudes and confused state of minds, full of despair and despondency as it is shown by all characters of All My Sons. “Real people with real feelings are potentially harmful to the American Dream which, really, encourages selfishness because of the emphasis on individual achievement. It does not explicitly say that one should not trample on others while striving for happiness” (American Dream, 2010).
In nutshell, media depicts the American Dream externally without discussing the main sources of happiness and prosperity. But reality is entirely different; most of people has to use such unfair means which remains them more unscrupulous to attain successful and luxurious status of life. This may result into panic situations for the people how they are suffering, it is not portrayed in media, “Other vision’s and goals not in line with the mainstream American Dream are potentially troublesome to economic progress” (American Dream, 2010).
Works Cited
[1]. American Dream, 2010, retrieved from: http://www.sacredswans.com/AmericanDream.pdf
[2].Miller,2010, All my Sons by Arther Miller, retrieved from: http://pdfdatabase.com/download/all-my-sons-pdf-1438948-html
[3]. All My Sons Summary, 2010, retrieved from: http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2005/2/13/211719/251
[4].All My Sons Study Guide, 2010, written by Arthur Miller, retrieved from http://www.gradesaver.com/all-my-sons/study-guide/major-themes/
