Introduction
This essay analyzes the historical context of “All My Sons” by Arthur Miller. The play appeared between 1940 and 1950, in an eventful decade for America and the rest of the world. America was recovering from the effects of the Great Depression that took place in the 1930s. The Second World War marked the first half of the 1940s, while the second half was characterized by the early stages of the Cold War.
The Second World War had significant effects on many countries around the world, including those in America, Asia, Europe and Africa. It influenced the formation of political alliances where countries came together against a common enemy in the war. The effects of this war persisted to the second half of the 1940-1950 decade, merging with the beginning of the Cold War (U.S. Timeline 8).
Apart from the war, there were other events taking place in America during this time. Those included changes in the lifestyle of the American people, among other things. After the prosperity associated with the war tapered off, the American economy experienced high rates of inflation. More than 25 per cent of the population had been living below the poverty line by the end of this decade (U. S. Timeline 9).
The family became a cherished social unit during this time. There were strong ties between family members as the population of the country and the size of the family increased. The average size of the family during this time was about 2.5 children. It was during this time that the country went through the infamous baby boom (Anonymous 5).
The effects of this boom persist to date, given the fact that those born during this time are in control of the country today. Discrimination against African Americans and other minorities, such as the Mexicans, also took place during this time period. Perhaps it happened as a result of the suspicion that the American people had towards outsiders as a result of the war (Anonymous 9).
The social and political situation of any country is reflected in the art taking place at that time. Art, to a large extent, mirrors the social and political situation of the society at that particular time. A historical analysis of art in a given time period will indicate the events that were taking place in that society at that time. The form of art, in this case, includes paintings, songs, poems, plays and sculptures, among others.
The events that took place in this society during that time can be discerned from various forms of art in that decade. It includes the plays staged in the country, the books written among other forms of art.
The play “All My Sons” by the famous American artist A.Miller was written in the year 1947, It opened on Broadway on January, 1947, closed on November, 1949, and ran for more than 300 performances. The play’s setting is America.
This paper is going to study the historical background that “All My Sons” was written and acted within. The author will go further to analyze if Arthur Miller addressed the identified social and political topics in his text. The problems addressed in the play will be separated from those not addressed.
“All My Sons”: Historical Context & Meaningful Issues
As indicated in the above paragraphs of the essay, “All My Sons” was written at the time when several events took place in America and the rest of the world. The text referred to some of the topics, while others were left out. The period considered in this analysis is 1940-1950.
The events that took place before the play “All My Sons” was written (in 1940-1947) were still affecting society. At the same time, the early effects of those events that had not taken place (those that took place in 1947-1950) were being felt. Below are some of the political and social issues that could shape the historical context of “All My Sons”.
The Second World War: America and the War
America joined the Second World War during the early 1940s. The war had both negative and positive effects on American society. For example, by the year 1943, about ten million men had been recruited into the army. These included sons and fathers who were young and healthy enough to go to war (U.S. Timeline 3).
Almost all American families had a son or a father in the army. The men were communicating with their family members back at home through letters. The family members cherished the letters, and it was not unusual to find mothers and wives regarding those letters as family treasures.
Arthur addressed this question in “All My Sons”. The play keeps mentioning or alluding to the “American at war” theme throughout the text. For example, Larry (the son to the protagonist Joe Keller) is fighting in China. The play keeps mentioning how the Keller family (especially Larry’s mother) is anxiously waiting for communication from their son. The issue of correspondence through letters is also addressed in the text (Moore 9).
Kate Keller and the rest of the family are portrayed as being anxious since they have not received a letter from their son. At the end of the play “All My Sons”, Arthur mentions how Ann (Larry’s girl before he went to the war, one of the main characters of the story) produces a letter that was written by Larry from the war. She has kept this letter to herself like a treasure, an indication of the value attached by American families to the letters sent by the soldiers (Moore 9).
The Negative Effects of the War
Separation of families and lovers was one of the negative social effects of the war that shaped thebackground of “All My Sons” play. Husbands were taken away from their wives while boyfriends were taken away from their girlfriends. The men went to fight while the women remained back at home.
Larry is separated from his girlfriend, Ann. When Ann realizes that Larry had committed suicide by deliberately crashing his fighter jet off the coast of China, she is devastated. She now opts to marry Larry’s elder brother, Chris Keller (Moore 10).
Another bad effect of the war is the death of soldiers from accidents or confrontations with enemy forces. This theme is mentioned in this play through the absent character of Larry. Larry died (albeit from suicide) in the war (Moore 12). Many soldiers lost their lives during this war. American families were mourning the demise of their male folk in the war.
The demise of Larry is signified in the play by the apple tree that is planted in his memory in the backyard of his family home. Although the tree is struck down by lightning as the play opens, it is a significant indicator of the loss that the family is reeling from. The damage is brought about by the war, and it is not limited to this family alone.
Wartime Prosperity in America
As earlier indicated in this paper, American society was reeling from both positive and negative effects of the war at the time this play appeared. One of the positive impacts of this war was the recorded economic prosperity (Lindop & Goldstein 94). Many industries were established in America to supply materials to the soldiers through the government (Anonymous 5). The government entered contracts with many producers both within and without the country to supply it with war materials. That included parts for making weapons and in some instances, weapons themselves. The Department of Defense entered into contracts with private producers on behalf of the government (Anonymous 9).
This issue definitely influenced the historical context of “All My Sons.” It is addressed adequately in the play. Joe Keller (the protagonist in the play) is a self-made businessman who prospered during the war. In the text, he is depicted as having entered into a contract with the Department of Defense to supply the government with cylinder heads to be used in making fighter jets.
At the time of the play, he is in his early 60s enjoying the fruits of his labour. His family is relatively affluent as a result of the success of his business during the war. Together with Steve (his neighbour and long-time friend), he had a factory for producing the parts (Moore 19).
Unscrupulous Entrepreneurs takes Advantage of the War
Unscrupulous entrepreneurs are reported to have taken advantage of increased demand for weapons and parts during the war to supply the government with substandard materials. A true story is told of a producer who provided the Department of Defense with faulty parts to manufacture tankers for war. The damaged parts led to accidents during the war leading to the death of many American soldiers (Anonymous 8).
Arthur addresses this theme in his play. The story is fashioned along with the true story of the unscrupulous dealer illustrated above. The protagonist of “All My Sons” unwittingly supplies the Department of Defense with cracked cylinder heads to manufacture fighter jets. He does this together with his partner Steve.
A few weeks after the delivery of the cylinders, 21 fighter jets crashed in the same day killing 21 soldiers who were piloting them. Investigations carried out revealed that the cracked heads were to blame for the accident. That is how Steve and Joe Keller are arrested and taken before the court. Joe is exonerated while Steve goes to prison for three years (Moore 7).
Ethnicity and Race as a Social and Political Issue in America during the 1940s
Whites from other parts of the world were assimilated in large numbers in America during this time. That is especially so after the adoption of the Alien Registration Act that passed during the first half of the decade (Anonymous 4). Between 1943 and 1944 (three years after the act passed), approximately one million people from outside the country received citizenship.
This development is attributed to the revulsion that the Americans had towards the Nazi ideology (Lindop & Goldstein 34). The ideology advocated for racial purity which saw mass execution of millions of Jews in Germany and other communist nations (U. S. Timeline 9).
Arthur does not address this political and social issue in the “All my sons”. The analysis shows that the text does not mention minorities or people from outside America integrated into society.
Discrimination against Mexican Americans and African Americans in the 1940s
This is another issue that is not addressed in All my sons”. Analyzing the period when the play was being created, we realize that the whites were discriminating against blacks and Mexicans who had crossed the border to enter America. This is despite the integration of white Europeans into society in the early 1940s.
When Mexicans got recruited into the war, they were entrusted with menial and low paying jobs in the army (Lindop & Goldstein 29). Americans were naturally hostile to these minorities at the time this play was written. A case in point is the infamous ‘Zoot Suit’ riots that took place in mid-1943 (Anonymous 2). The riots were perpetrated by white soldiers against their Mexican and African American counterparts. This issue is not mentioned anywhere in the play.
The Family and the Baby Boom
The play addresses these social issues that were evident during this time. The rate of marriage increased between 1940 and 1946, as many young Americans rushed to tie the knot before the husband went to the war. The young couple also started bearing children soon after before the husband left. During the same period, the rate of birth rose from about 19 to more than 24 births in every one thousand women in the country. This led to the infamous baby boom in the country (Anonymous 3).
Arthur addresses all these issues in the play. For example, Chris Keller (who is 32) is in a rush to marry Ann Deever, who is 26. Lydia Lubey is just 27. However, she is already married, and within three years, she had given birth to 3 children (Anonymous 9).
Conclusion
The essay analyzed the historical context of “All My Sons” – the play by Arthur Miller. Above are some of the social and political issues that were taking place in America during the time this play was created. As indicated in the above paragraphs of the essay, “All My Sons” appeared at the time when several meaningful events took place in America and in other countries. A. Miller addressed some of them in his play but left some out. Some of those addressed include the participation of the country in the Second World War and the effects that this had on society. The issue of the family and baby boom was also addressed in the play. Some of the issues were addressed directly, while others were referred to indirectly. However, Miller preferred to leave some of the issues out of “All My Sons”. The analysis shows that those are ethnicity and discrimination against minorities.
Works Cited
Anonymous. The 1940s: Lifestyles and Social Trends- Overview. American Decades. 2001. December 1, 2011
Lindop, Edmund, & Goldstein, Margaret J. America in the 1940s. New York: Free Press, 2009.
Moore, Andrew. Studying Arthur Miller’s All My Sons. Universal Teacher. 2000. December 1, 2011
U.S. Timeline. The 1940s- World War II. America’s Best History. 2009. December 1, 2011