1. All My Sons
By Arthur Miller

2. Background information
Pre-reading activity
Background information

3. Information about the setting

4. Some historical information
December 7, Japan bombs Pearl Harbor (additional link).
December 8, The United States declares war on Japan, entering World War II.
April 1945 – Truman becomes president in the US.
August 9, The United States drops an atomic bomb on Nagasaki.
14, 1945, Japan formally surrenders, ending World War II.
The Cold War (1946 until the early 1990’s)- tension between the US and the Soviet Union. Americans were very worried about communism.
It was very important to be patriotic.

5. First failure: Broadway 4 performances
                                                  
Born
October 17, 1915 in NYC, NY
(aged 31 in 1946)
Died
Feb. 10, 2005 in CT (aged 89)
Spouses
Mary Slattery ( ) Marylin Monroe ( ) Inge Morath ( )
All My Sons = 2nd play
First failure: Broadway 4 performances
All My Sons on Broadway 29/1/47 – 8/11/47 and more nowadays.
Film 1948
Film 1986

6. His family was ruined in the Great Depression and the Wall Street crash of He had to work in automobile parts warehouse to earn money for college.
Studied journalism, but graduated in English from the University of Michigan. His decision to become a writer was under the impression of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. He became a playwright and an essayist.
Miller’s plays often depict how families are destroyed by false values.
Numerous problems with the House of Un-American Activities Committee for being a “romantic Marxist”.
1965 – Miller was elected president of P.E.N, the international literary organization.

7. The setting of the play

8. Upstage / downstage

9. Joe Kate Larry Chris Steve George Ann Dr. Jim Sue Frank Lydia Bert
Sociogram for All My Sons
Fill
in the names of the different characters according to
these four family trees:
The Kellers The Deevers
Neighbo
rhood child
(unrelated to these families)
The Baylisses The Lubeys
Joe
Kate
Larry
Chris
Mother
Deever
Steve
George
Ann
Dr. Jim
child
Sue
child 1
Frank
Lydia
child 2
child 3
Bert

10. The Higher Order of Thinking Skills
Compare and contrast: compare the characters, the relationships between the couples, conflicts between moral issues etc…
Inferring: hidden message in the play; what the characters say, the setting (broken tree), the characters’ actions, elements (i.e newspaper)…
Uncovering motives: reasons behind the characters’ actions and words.

11. Literary terms Theatre / play Literature Stage directions Act Scene
Playwright
Tragedy
Symbol
Character
Conflict
Suspense
Turning point
Irony
Theme
Foreshadowing

12. Post-reading activities
Themes and discussions

13. All My Sons The American Dream – excerpt from All My Sons (the movie)
A capitalist society in which material wealth is the ultimate measure of success rather than moral behavior and social responsibility.
Behind the scene – interview with stage director.
Meaning of the title.
What distinguishes a great playwright according to Arthur Miller? Watch.