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All My Sons/ Model answers please?
Yes, I know yet another thread on all my sons! I have read all the other threads though and i am still confused about how to approach this exam. My exam's next week, and I'm really struggling with this exam. I have resat the exam twice now, and I still got around the same grade (C). I really need an A grade overall in A2. My overall AS grade is on is a B at the moment and I need 12 UMS to get a A in AS.
However, my problem is this, I have no idea where I'm going wrong. I think my understanding of the text is there, but on the exam paper I have got back the examiner is written lack of AO4 and A01-3
.
I have looked at the exam specifications, and the emphasis is on a04, which is critical comments. How do I go about adding more critical comments in to my essay? Any help would be great, particularly if you have any essays I could look at to see the general structure, and how it compares with my own!
Thanks.
Rep will be given.
However, my problem is this, I have no idea where I'm going wrong. I think my understanding of the text is there, but on the exam paper I have got back the examiner is written lack of AO4 and A01-3
.I have looked at the exam specifications, and the emphasis is on a04, which is critical comments. How do I go about adding more critical comments in to my essay? Any help would be great, particularly if you have any essays I could look at to see the general structure, and how it compares with my own!
Thanks.
Rep will be given.
If this is a thread about your sons, why are you saying 'I have' and 'I am still confused' and 'My Exam's next week'?
Hippysnake
If this is a thread about your sons, why are you saying 'I have' and 'I am still confused' and 'My Exam's next week'?
It's a play by Arthur Miller not her children ha
i have an essay on it 
i did it last week, and it was a B+
i have my exam on wednesday! though i got a U last year, and in jan 09 i got an E
How far would you agree that “All My Sons” is about family values?
Miller uses ‘family values’ as a recurring theme in All My Sons. This concept was based on the belief that the family is above all other considerations. In the play, Family values interlink with the American Dream, which is the aspiration to become prosperous and achieve one’s goals through hard work and determination, and also relates with the myth of Privatism, which is the concern for only one’s direct family. The character of Joe Keller is used as an embodiment of family values, and through this character the flaws of family values are evident.
In act one of the play; it is apparent that Keller’s only motive in life is to protect his family. He tells Chris: “the whole shootin’-match is for you”, (referring to his business), highlighting his lack of concern for the rest of society, and only caring for his own family. It is clear that Keller is well aware that the world of work is very competitive through his word choice: “shootin’match”. The fact that he relates the business industry to a game reflects the challenges and risk taking one has to take in order to succeed. This could be due to Keller’s experience living in both World Wars as well as the Great Depression, which were both economic downturns, thus Keller’s business was likely to have suffered and encountered some business downturns. Indeed, Keller has played the “game” very well, by distributing faulty engines instead of disposing of them, and in turn, killing 21 pilots, instead of his business suffering. This highlights his lack of capability to see beyond his family needs, and shows how ignorant and selfish he also is.
However, Keller playing the ‘game’ well gives no justification to the crime he committed. He attempts to justify his actions by saying he distributed the faulty engines “for you, a business for you”, to Chris. This reflects not only his failure to accept the blame of his own actions, but also shows the emptiness of the American dream, and corruption and inhumanity of family values. His ignorance is highlighted, as he can not see beyond his son and fails to realise the other lives he has sacrificed for Chris.
In addition to this, Joe Keller is able to acknowledge his wrongdoing only after he realises that Larry’s suicide was due to his corrupt morality: “I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were.” Here, Keller finally realises the enormity of the crime he has committed, and accepted that he has an important role in society, not just as a father. In Greek theory, this would be moment of “anagnorisis”, where Keller has finally realises his crime for his past actions. It is only then, when Keller sees beyond the superficial and materialism in the world, and accepts his moral responsibility in society.
In contrast to Joe Keller’s morality is Chris, who has a contrary perception of the American Dream, instead taking on an idealistic approach. This can perhaps be due to the passion of the comradeship during the Second World War that he has experienced. Chris discovered “a kind of responsibility. Man for man”, and appreciated societal values rather than family values, treating everyone in society just as he would treat his own family. Moreover, Chris says: “a little more selfish and they’d’ve been here today”. It is evident from Chris’ tone that he is rather bitter about the harsh realities of the world. In order to survive, you must be practical and only look after yourself and your family, not others.
When Chris finds out that his father does not hold the same idealistic views as him and finds that he is responsible for killing the 21 pilots, he replies "I was dying every day and you were killing my boys”, Chris refers to the pilots as 'his boys' making them a part of himself, thus to indicating the extent of which he feels he has moral obligation to society.
On the other hand, there are elements of Chris where he shows aspects of selfishness: “every time I reach out for something I want, I have to pull back because other people will suffer”- referring to Ann. Chris’ intention of wanting to marry Ann is certainly selfish, especially towards mother as she still believes that Larry is alive. Therefore, by Chris marrying Ann, mother is likely to have substantial heartache as she believes Larry is alive. This questions the audience’s genuinely of Chris’s intentions – is he really an idealistic man, or is he just persuading mother to accept Larry’s death in order to marry Ann?
Mother’s family values are very much the same as Joe Keller’s, as she too cannot accept that she has a social responsibility. In act three, where Jim wryly says “money-money-money…you say it long enough it doesn’t mean anything”, mother only laughs and refers to him as being “childish”, yet there is an underlying moral message that she seems to miss. Miller’s voice is being projected into Jim’s speech, by criticizing capitalism, saying money is worthless and shouldn’t be a person’s only motif. Yet mother overlooks his underlying message by laughing and joking, displaying that she is just as cynical and money obsessed as Joe Keller. The fact that she refers to him as being childish perhaps shows that she thinks she does not take him seriously; perhaps she feels more sophisticated, and sees herself above Jim, possibly showing a hint of ego.
Yet paradoxically, mother is rather loving and caring towards her neighbours, especially towards George Deever – “We all love you, Georgie”. This shows her compassion to love beyond her family, thus she has adopted a social responsibility on a small scale, with her neighbours. An alternative viewpoint could see this as mother just trying to mollify George in order for him to not confront Joe about blaming his father for the faulty engines.
“All My Sons” is not necessarily all about family values: the theme of self-deception is very much evident throughout the play, most clearly with the character of Kate Keller who is unable to accept Larry’s death, and believes in a mix of superstition and Christian faith in order to justify that he is alive, “ there are meanings in such things. She goes to sleep in his room and his memorial breaks in pieces”, mother’s justification as to why Larry is alive appears to be rather pathetic and she seems to jump to conclusions instantly to justify herself. This mirrors her inability to accept the truth.
Self-deception also holds true with Joe Keller, as he is unable to believe that he is responsible for the death of the pilots by constantly blaming Steve, and even shows elements of hypocrisy “that’s what a little man does”, Joe even criticizes Steve for distributing the faulty engines calling him a weaker man, despite the “little man” actually being himself.
Another theme apparent in “All My Sons” is guilt, which is apparent in both Chris and Joe Keller. Joe Keller is guilty due to his money being earned unethically: “there’s nothing wrong with that money…its good money”, as well as advising Chris to use the money “without shame…with joy”. These quotes show a guilty image of Keller, as he is well aware that his money is tainted and earned unlawfully.
Chris Keller also shows elements of guilt too, as he suspected his father “and did nothing about it”. Chris appears to be a man who is very idealistic, often having unrealistic and high expectations for everyone in society, noticing all their flaws, yet he is rather hypocritical since he did not once question his father’s business.
I can now conclude that family values in “All My Sons” are a major issue. Miller uses it along with Privatism and the American Dream to criticise American lifestyle in the post war era. Arthur Miller has used these themes to acknowledge the audience of the consequences of adopting family values, the American Dream and Privatism, and in turn failing to accept a social responsibility. The corruption of family values is apparent in the characters of Joe Keller and Kate: both fail to acknowledge their wrongdoing by allowing the faulty engines to be distributed and in turn, killing 21 pilots. The consequence of their selfishness and materialism is apparent – the Keller family lose a young son, who is unable to accept that his father can have such a corrupt morality therefore resorts to suicide. Joe Keller’s obsession with the American way and family values means that he cannot face being turned by Chris, and prefers suicide instead. In a way, Keller’s death is even a selfish move to make, as he leaves his family in pieces. However, the play is not entirely about family values :there are other issues that arise throughout the play: the theme of guilt is very apparent with Joe Keller due to the crime he committed, along with self-deception and the character of mother, who cannot accept her son’s death until she is ultimately forced to accept the truth. Overall however, the underlying message of the play is “my justification with life’s failures”, Arthur Miller. I believe this represents family values and the American Dream, as Miller makes it clear how these both have major flaws.
1557 words
can you suggest any improvements please ?
i did it last week, and it was a B+i have my exam on wednesday! though i got a U last year, and in jan 09 i got an E
How far would you agree that “All My Sons” is about family values?
Miller uses ‘family values’ as a recurring theme in All My Sons. This concept was based on the belief that the family is above all other considerations. In the play, Family values interlink with the American Dream, which is the aspiration to become prosperous and achieve one’s goals through hard work and determination, and also relates with the myth of Privatism, which is the concern for only one’s direct family. The character of Joe Keller is used as an embodiment of family values, and through this character the flaws of family values are evident.
In act one of the play; it is apparent that Keller’s only motive in life is to protect his family. He tells Chris: “the whole shootin’-match is for you”, (referring to his business), highlighting his lack of concern for the rest of society, and only caring for his own family. It is clear that Keller is well aware that the world of work is very competitive through his word choice: “shootin’match”. The fact that he relates the business industry to a game reflects the challenges and risk taking one has to take in order to succeed. This could be due to Keller’s experience living in both World Wars as well as the Great Depression, which were both economic downturns, thus Keller’s business was likely to have suffered and encountered some business downturns. Indeed, Keller has played the “game” very well, by distributing faulty engines instead of disposing of them, and in turn, killing 21 pilots, instead of his business suffering. This highlights his lack of capability to see beyond his family needs, and shows how ignorant and selfish he also is.
However, Keller playing the ‘game’ well gives no justification to the crime he committed. He attempts to justify his actions by saying he distributed the faulty engines “for you, a business for you”, to Chris. This reflects not only his failure to accept the blame of his own actions, but also shows the emptiness of the American dream, and corruption and inhumanity of family values. His ignorance is highlighted, as he can not see beyond his son and fails to realise the other lives he has sacrificed for Chris.
In addition to this, Joe Keller is able to acknowledge his wrongdoing only after he realises that Larry’s suicide was due to his corrupt morality: “I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were.” Here, Keller finally realises the enormity of the crime he has committed, and accepted that he has an important role in society, not just as a father. In Greek theory, this would be moment of “anagnorisis”, where Keller has finally realises his crime for his past actions. It is only then, when Keller sees beyond the superficial and materialism in the world, and accepts his moral responsibility in society.
In contrast to Joe Keller’s morality is Chris, who has a contrary perception of the American Dream, instead taking on an idealistic approach. This can perhaps be due to the passion of the comradeship during the Second World War that he has experienced. Chris discovered “a kind of responsibility. Man for man”, and appreciated societal values rather than family values, treating everyone in society just as he would treat his own family. Moreover, Chris says: “a little more selfish and they’d’ve been here today”. It is evident from Chris’ tone that he is rather bitter about the harsh realities of the world. In order to survive, you must be practical and only look after yourself and your family, not others.
When Chris finds out that his father does not hold the same idealistic views as him and finds that he is responsible for killing the 21 pilots, he replies "I was dying every day and you were killing my boys”, Chris refers to the pilots as 'his boys' making them a part of himself, thus to indicating the extent of which he feels he has moral obligation to society.
On the other hand, there are elements of Chris where he shows aspects of selfishness: “every time I reach out for something I want, I have to pull back because other people will suffer”- referring to Ann. Chris’ intention of wanting to marry Ann is certainly selfish, especially towards mother as she still believes that Larry is alive. Therefore, by Chris marrying Ann, mother is likely to have substantial heartache as she believes Larry is alive. This questions the audience’s genuinely of Chris’s intentions – is he really an idealistic man, or is he just persuading mother to accept Larry’s death in order to marry Ann?
Mother’s family values are very much the same as Joe Keller’s, as she too cannot accept that she has a social responsibility. In act three, where Jim wryly says “money-money-money…you say it long enough it doesn’t mean anything”, mother only laughs and refers to him as being “childish”, yet there is an underlying moral message that she seems to miss. Miller’s voice is being projected into Jim’s speech, by criticizing capitalism, saying money is worthless and shouldn’t be a person’s only motif. Yet mother overlooks his underlying message by laughing and joking, displaying that she is just as cynical and money obsessed as Joe Keller. The fact that she refers to him as being childish perhaps shows that she thinks she does not take him seriously; perhaps she feels more sophisticated, and sees herself above Jim, possibly showing a hint of ego.
Yet paradoxically, mother is rather loving and caring towards her neighbours, especially towards George Deever – “We all love you, Georgie”. This shows her compassion to love beyond her family, thus she has adopted a social responsibility on a small scale, with her neighbours. An alternative viewpoint could see this as mother just trying to mollify George in order for him to not confront Joe about blaming his father for the faulty engines.
“All My Sons” is not necessarily all about family values: the theme of self-deception is very much evident throughout the play, most clearly with the character of Kate Keller who is unable to accept Larry’s death, and believes in a mix of superstition and Christian faith in order to justify that he is alive, “ there are meanings in such things. She goes to sleep in his room and his memorial breaks in pieces”, mother’s justification as to why Larry is alive appears to be rather pathetic and she seems to jump to conclusions instantly to justify herself. This mirrors her inability to accept the truth.
Self-deception also holds true with Joe Keller, as he is unable to believe that he is responsible for the death of the pilots by constantly blaming Steve, and even shows elements of hypocrisy “that’s what a little man does”, Joe even criticizes Steve for distributing the faulty engines calling him a weaker man, despite the “little man” actually being himself.
Another theme apparent in “All My Sons” is guilt, which is apparent in both Chris and Joe Keller. Joe Keller is guilty due to his money being earned unethically: “there’s nothing wrong with that money…its good money”, as well as advising Chris to use the money “without shame…with joy”. These quotes show a guilty image of Keller, as he is well aware that his money is tainted and earned unlawfully.
Chris Keller also shows elements of guilt too, as he suspected his father “and did nothing about it”. Chris appears to be a man who is very idealistic, often having unrealistic and high expectations for everyone in society, noticing all their flaws, yet he is rather hypocritical since he did not once question his father’s business.
I can now conclude that family values in “All My Sons” are a major issue. Miller uses it along with Privatism and the American Dream to criticise American lifestyle in the post war era. Arthur Miller has used these themes to acknowledge the audience of the consequences of adopting family values, the American Dream and Privatism, and in turn failing to accept a social responsibility. The corruption of family values is apparent in the characters of Joe Keller and Kate: both fail to acknowledge their wrongdoing by allowing the faulty engines to be distributed and in turn, killing 21 pilots. The consequence of their selfishness and materialism is apparent – the Keller family lose a young son, who is unable to accept that his father can have such a corrupt morality therefore resorts to suicide. Joe Keller’s obsession with the American way and family values means that he cannot face being turned by Chris, and prefers suicide instead. In a way, Keller’s death is even a selfish move to make, as he leaves his family in pieces. However, the play is not entirely about family values :there are other issues that arise throughout the play: the theme of guilt is very apparent with Joe Keller due to the crime he committed, along with self-deception and the character of mother, who cannot accept her son’s death until she is ultimately forced to accept the truth. Overall however, the underlying message of the play is “my justification with life’s failures”, Arthur Miller. I believe this represents family values and the American Dream, as Miller makes it clear how these both have major flaws.
1557 words
can you suggest any improvements please ?
A well written essay with good expression. However, not to be critical but I do see a lack of close language analysis (AO2) or writers craft depending on which exam board you study (I do edexcel). In my exam board, to reach the higher mark bands AO2 must be either discriminating or critical. You must explain how the writer has used AO2, and then an evaluation of the reason behind the writers decision (Why?).
Hopefully this helps, obviously it depends on the exam board as I have no idea how essays are marked on the other exam board
Hopefully this helps, obviously it depends on the exam board as I have no idea how essays are marked on the other exam board
(edited 6 years ago)
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