All My Sons – Critical Essay Question
Choose from a play a scene in which an important truth is revealed.
Briefly explain what the important truth is and assess the
significance of its revelation to your understanding of theme or
character.
a) Briefly explain what the important truth is
b) assess the significance of its revelation to your understanding of
theme or character.
Issues to consider:
1. What “important truth” will the essay focus on?
2. Will the essay focus on “theme” or “character”?
a) If the essay focuses on “theme”, what theme(s) will it focus
on?
b) If the essay focuses on “character”, what character(s) will it
focus on?
Critical Essay – Example Plan
Choose from a play a scene in which an important truth is revealed.
Briefly explain what the important truth is and assess the significance of its revelation to your
understanding of theme or character.
Important Truth: Larry’s suicide
Theme or Character: Character (Joe Keller)
1. Outline the “important truth”.
– Larry killed himself out of shame and anger over Joe’s involvement in shipping the
defective machine-heads.
2. Outline Joe’s character before the truth is revealed.
– Joe initially refuses to admit that he was responsible for shipping the faulty machineheads.
– When Joe confronts the fact that he shipped the machine-heads, he justifies the
decision:
•
Joe believes that providing for his family is more important than anything else.
•
Joe believes that Larry would have understood his decision to ship the machineheads.
3. Outline Joe’s character after the truth is revealed.
– Joe recognises his social responsibility – he should have protected the airmen who
died, as well as his own family.
– Joe is ashamed of and horrified by his actions.
Critical Essay – Example Plan
Choose from a play a scene in which an important truth is revealed.
Briefly explain what the important truth is and assess the significance of its
revelation to your understanding of theme or character.
Important Truth: Larry’s suicide
Theme or Character: Character (Joe Keller)
1. Outline the “important truth” – the revelation that Larry killed himself in
shame and anger over Joe’s involvement in shipping the machine-heads.
–
2.
Outline Joe’s character before the truth is revealed.
–
–
3.
“I’m going out on a mission in a few minutes. They’ll probably report me missing. If they do, I
want you to know that you mustn’t wait for me. I tell you, Ann, if I had him there now I could
kill him – ”
Joe b“He understood the way the world was made”
“I'm his father and he's my son, and if there's something bigger than that I'll put a bullet in my
head!”
Outline Joe’s character after the truth is revealed.
–
–
–
“Get the car. I’ll put on my jacket.”
“Sure he was my son. But I think to him they were all my sons. And I guess they were.”
“A shot is heard in the house.”
Critical Essay – Plan A
Choose from a play a scene in which an important truth is revealed.
Briefly explain what the important truth is and assess the significance of its
revelation to your understanding of theme or character.
Important truth: