All My Sons
Setting and Symbolism
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Setting:
Place
The entire play takes place the Keller’s back yard. This is
important as it is a semi-public private space: it is essentially
private property, but in the USA it is culturally thought of as
a space open to neighbours, and so does not provide true
privacy. The openness of the yard contrasts starkly with the
secrets which are hidden within the family.
• The setting of the play, and the ease in which characters
move around it symbolises the involvement of the wider
community in the Keller’s family crisis.
• The yard also brings out the nostalgic regret of Ann and
Chris. It is such a familiar space that the characters struggle
to escape from the identities they had when they were
younger, which are tied to it. Ann is Larry’s girl there, and
Chris is always his brother.
• The house itself is an imposing presence in the play. It
represents the American Dream which, on the surface, the
Keller’s appear to have achieved.
Setting: Time
The action of the play takes place over a
single day. This gives the play a sense of
immediacy, and as the action progresses the
audience feels an increasing amount of
tension. The bustle creates many
opportunities for people to be in the wrong
place at the wrong time and therefore reveal
secrets within a very short space of time. This
also shows how quickly years of lies and
deceit can be overthrown and exposed.
Larry’s Letter and Baseball Glove
• Larry’s letter, which Ann reveals in Act Three, is
a symbol of finality. The past has finally caught
up with the Kellers and the period of their lives
which was overshadowed by Larry’s
disappearance is finally over.
• Kate finds Larry’s baseball glove, (pp. 17) but it
is not a symbol of Larry after his disappearance,
as the tree and letter are. It represents Larry as a
carefree adolescent, before he went off to war
and the other characters’ lives were tainted by
his disappearance.
Symbolism: The Apple Tree
The apple tree planted in memory of Larry is the most
prominent symbol in the play.
• It represents his continued presence in the Keller’s lives: they
planted the tree after hearing of his disappearance, and this
marked the beginning of Kate’s fantasy that he is still alive.
• It is significant that the tree falls on the day the truth about the
shop incident is revealed. (pp. 17)
• Chris chops up the remains of the tree and hauls the timber out
of view at the beginning of Act Two, symbolising the annihilation
of their lives as they know them. This also foreshadows the
confrontation Chris will have with his father and mother at the
end of this act, as he is finally ready to take full control of his life:
he removes the symbol of his past. In removing the tree he
metaphorically banishes the ghost of his brother, which has been
overshadowing his life.
Symbolism: The Apple Tree
• For Kate, the tree is a symbol of her son’s death:
when it falls she views it as a confirmation of her
belief that he is still alive, because a supernatural
force has removed the offensive symbol.
• There is a biblical parallel in the symbol of the
apple tree: in the Garden of Eden, when Adam and
Eve ate the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of
Good and Evil, they became self-conscious and
ashamed. Joe and Kate deliberately hide their own
shame, and the falling of the tree symbolically
begins the process of judgement.