BY ARTHUR MILLER

All My Sons

All My Sons Historical Context

AMS was published in 1947 The Great Depression began in the final months of 1929

and continued for over a decade World War II: 1939-1945

Germany invades Poland on Sept. 1, 1939 beginning the war The Holocaust begins in 1939 1940- Germany invades France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg,

Norway, and Denmark1939- U.S. military is underfunded; Roosevelt directs

military and industry to begin mobilizing for war 1940- Registration for the military draft becomes

mandatory in the U.S. 1940- Roosevelts calls for the manufacture of 50,000 new

aircrafts per year

1930s and 1940s- selected facts

1936- Hitler and Mussolini establish the Berlin Rome Axis, a fascist political and military alliance

1936- Jesse Owens wins four gold medals at the Berlin Olympic Games

1937- Walt Disney produces Snow White 1944-D-Day (Allied forces land at Normandy

beach) 1945- U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japan

1947: U.S.

Jackie Robinson, first black player in the major leagues, plays for the Brooklyn Dodgers

President Truman signs that Truman Doctrine to combat Communism

Roswell, New Mexico- supposed UFO crash U.S. Air Force is made a separate branch of

the military.Hilary Clinton, Mitt Romney, and O.J.

Simpson were all born this year

1947: Around the world

India gains independence from Great Britain U.S. and U.S.S.R. emerge as superpowers

after WWII and the tension that begins between the two will be called the Cold War

Soviet- dominated governments are set up in Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Romania

A SHORT INTRODUCTION TO HIS LIFE AND WORK

Arthur Millerb. 1915 d. 2005 (age of 89)

Personal Information

Born to Jewish immigrant parents enrolled in the University of Michigan where he

studied writing and worked on a number of playsMoved to New York after graduating and worked as

a freelance writer Had a short marriage to actress Marilyn Monroe Had two children with his first wife

Information from http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/database/miller_a.html

Playwright

Social commentator

Miller and wife Marilyn Monroe

Miller’s Plays

All My Sons- 1947Death of a Salesman- 1949The Crucible- 1953- regarding Salem Witch

Trials (a commentary on McCarthyism)

Miller & Politics

All My Sons was blocked to production in Europe because it could have a potentially negative depiction of the U.S.

His first novel, Focus, denounced anti-Semitism in America

In 1954 he was refused a passport 1956- questioned by the House on

UnAmerican Activities; he was accused of being a communist

ALL MY SONS- 1947

Miller’s Writing

Miller often addressed issues that are present in everyday life

His themes were often inspired by issues that the common American person would face.

Believed “Theatre can change the world.” “The assumption—or presumption behind [my] plays

is that life has meaning. I would now add… that what they meant to me at the time of writing is not in each instance the same as what they mean to me now in the light of further experiences…. The society to which I responded was constantly changing, as it is changing while I write this sentence.” (1981)

THEMES

Social responsibilityDenialGuiltMoralityMoral plight of working class The desire to achieve the American dream

and how it affected the actions of men

“In Greece’s best time, people who were nonpolitical were regarded as idiots It was the idiot who didn’t understand that man was social, that our fate in the deepest sense of the word was bound up with all of mankind.” 1980

Themes- Morality

Morality- a code of conduct which determines what is right and wrong in society

Someone who is very moral differentiates between right and wrong and makes decisions based on those beliefs