Conflict in All My Sons
The conflict in the play “All My Sons” in embodied by two different sets of values. The older generation represented by Joe and Kate strongly believed in family values and Pursue of the American dream at any cost. In contradiction, Joe and Anne express the younger generation’s ethics and ideals clearly shown in the thoughts of idealism that money is not the most important thing in life. Even though the younger generation’s ideals are sometimes thought of as being irrational and in conflict with reality, all throughout the play their validity is greater.
Many times in parents-child relationships the parents have a very different view on things than the child they had raised. Most of these gaps are produced as a consequence of the different times they have grown in. In the play “All My Sons” the diversity between the two generations with two sets of ideals are mostly not a result of generation gap but a result of greediness and age. Many people when they are young see the world from a more optimistic point of view and that is true for Chris and Anne. As people get old and have their own kids they are thought of to be more rational in their actions in order to protect their children. Joe Keller worked his whole life trying to create a better future for his sons, but at what cost? Arthur Miller’s main point in the play is that people should look beyond their inner circle of society. Joe chose to ignore whatever does not concern his little circle.
Although optimism is clearly shown in Chris’ words his ideals are not to be mixed with dreams for they could be a reality. All throughout the play Chris is convincing people to believe in his reality. Some of them, the Doctor for example, believe that Chris is right and a life that is not so money centered is possible. Others, the Doctor’s wife for example, on the other hand, do no take Chris seriously because of his young age and poor experience in carrying out his own ideas. She expresses that by saying that Chris should go and work on his own before he preaches others. Her disagreement about her husband working in research is excused with a money issue. This shows the reader once again that the parent generation in this play, who are supposed to be representing the American Dream, chose to give up happiness for money. Do American ideals not include “pursuit of happiness”? Chri...
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...Even though her words express understanding more than agreement for Joe, she expresses no morals or any opinions for that matter. The reader would expect her to have her own tragic ending as well for through out the play she consists on the fact that her life would come to an end if she finds out that Larry did in fact die.
Different generation gaps may result in different ideas of curfew or bedtime but should not result in diverse ideas on humanity and morality, for these are universal issues that had always been in effect all through time. That is why Keller’s ideals are no more than an excuse to do bad things and then feel that what he has done was the right thing to do for it was “all for his sons”. The end of the play and the climax of finding out Keller was guilty in delivering the broken cylinder heads are a push for Chris to practice his ideals and live on his own as appose to with his parents using his parents money. After this tragic moment for Chris when he finds out that everything he had believe in and protected were lies he started doubting his morals but the readers and the audience knows that he knows where the line of morality is and he would never cross it.
The almighty American dream, commonly misconceived as the property of those who reap great materialistic wealth, has been analyzed and sought after through generations. However, this dream, “could come from anywhere and be anything you want in this country” (Goldberg), and the numerous success stories of impoverished beings proves this. This subjectiveness stems from the great diversity within human nature and the variation of goals and pleasures. The characters in novels such as The Glass Castle, To Kill a Mockingbird and the play, The Crucible, act to portray several attempts towards achieving this dream. Ultimately, the almighty American Dream manifests itself through the novels as the desire to accomplish stability and content within one’s
III. Individual Dreams Vs. Family Responsibilities - A central conflict in the play arises when there is disparity between the individual's dreams and his/her familial responsibilities
Each man was trying in their own way to deal with the stress from the traumatic events in their lives. Vonnegut chose to write science fiction novels to expel his demons. Mark, Vonnegut’s son, stated that Vonnegut became a writer to come to terms with what happened in World War II (Wolisnky). Mark went on to say, “Art gives you the resilience to survive mental illness (Wolisnky). Pilgrim dealt with his trauma by escaping in a world of science fiction on Tralfamadore. He believed that sharing the knowledge which he had gained from his little green friends on Tralfamadore with the world would save the earthling souls that were “lost and wretched” (Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five).
...many realities that exist within America's society and that most do not fit the typical American dream. Even those people that achieve some measure of success, as Ralph did, are often plagued by personal problems that outweigh any measure of wealth or reputation. The lie of the American dream is that it promises to fix humanity's problems with material gain – it promises happiness from things that are not capable of giving it. And so, followers are all left unfulfilled by the great American dream, left with a reality that is much different than what was so easily guaranteed. The reality that everyone experiences, whether it is the suburban soccer mom or the tired immigrant, is that the dream is mostly unachievable. The reality we think exists is only a myth – a true mythological reality.
In America, every citizen is guaranteed life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Although each person is given these rights, it is how each person uses them that defines how successful they will be in America. There are several obstacles that some Americans face on their pursuit of happiness. In this country’s past, Americans lived by a very specific set of beliefs that valued the importance of hard work, faith, and family. As time progressed and America began to evolve as a nation, this capitalistic society no longer devoted itself to family and faith but rather success, and the pursuit of prosperity. The shift from dependence on tradition towards a society that values success and how people struggle to b successful when society makes it difficult marks a common theme in Lorraine Hansberry’s play, A Raisin in the Sun. Two of the main characters in this story Lena Younger (Mama) and her son Walter Lee directly reflect the shift from tradition to a focus on success and capital and the struggles they face in regards to racism. Mama and Walter Lee’s contrasting values about the American dream and the way in which they pursue their own dreams while facing racism exemplifies the shift from valuing tradition like in previous generations in America, to valuing success and prosperity like in more current generations.
The play is set in the 1920s when women started to receive clerical jobs and were expected to complete certain milestones in life. For example, in the scene labeled “at home” young woman – the main character – tells her mom that she is going to get married, because everybody does it, but then says she will not because she does not love Mr. Jones (Machinal). Ultimately her choice was to not get married, but in the end she does because her mom needs and wants her to get married for financial stability and the young woman feels that her destiny was to care for her mother. However, in the scene titled “prohibited”, the young woman starts deciding her destiny and chooses to cheat on her husband, Mr. Jones (Machinal). This is the moment when she realizes she can control her own destiny. That she does not have to be the happy housewife that society says her fate has to be. But there was still one problem, society still appeared to be in control of her destiny because she hasn’t decided on what her exact destiny would
Hansberry starts the play with a family with frustrated dreams. These dreams mostly involve money. Although the Younger family seems turnoff from the middle-class white culture they want to obtain the same materialistic dreams as the rest of American society. The America Dream is for everyone, as Hughes state in his poem “Let America be America again. Let it be the dream it used to be. Let it be the pioneer on the plain seeking a home where he himself is free”. Is like Hughes is saying let the Younger be able to fulfill their dreams, even though they are not middle-class people. Let them have the freedom to get want they desire. Which indeed is possible for the Younger to obtain if they stay thinking positive and in
Each character in the novel has their own interpretation of the ‘American Dream – the pursuit of happiness’ as they all lack happiness due to the careless nature of American society during the Jazz Age. The American Dreams seems almost non-existent to those whom haven’t already achieved it.
The plays, The Glass Menagerie and A Raisin in the Sun, deal with the love, honor, and respect of family. In The Glass Menagerie, Amanda, the caring but overbearing and over protective mother, wants to be taken care of, but in A Raisin in the Sun, Mama, as she is known, is the overseer of the family. The prospective of the plays identify that we have family members, like Amanda, as overprotective, or like Mama, as overseers. I am going to give a contrast of the mothers in the plays.
...provide the hope in the play that the younger generation will carry on the future responsibly. Sheila and Eric are better than their parents, who are too set in their ways.
Even in today?s world, children are very susceptible. Walter displays a selfless characteristic which becomes overshadowed by unwise decisions later in the play. In one particular scene, his son Travis asked both parents for money. Walter acts out of pride by giving Travis his last pocket change. This symbolizes Walter's willingness to be a moral father.
In Lorraine Hansberry's inspirational play A Raisin in the Sun, a working class African American family's life is turned upside down when death comes for their father. In this play, the main characters: Walter, Benetha, Ruth, and Mama(Lena), all dream of having a better life. Despite the living conditions that rule their lives, they each try to pursue the "American Dream." Although the "American Dream," is different for each character, by the end of the play and through many trials and tribulations; the Younger's come to realize who's dream is the most important.
In the beginning of the play, Walter is foolish and quarrelsome, with his heart set on becoming affluent. As he grasps how hard work his father worked and how hard his family works, he reasons that living by his standards is more important than gaining wealth, and he stops feeling resentful towards them. This play highlights how many members of society focus more on making money than living by their ethical
In any case, the reader encounters much dark humor in the novel. There is a sense of an embittered humor with the Tralfamadorian phrase, "So it goes," which is repeated over 100 times in the novel. John May says that Vonnegut's purpose in repeating the phrase after each statement of death is to build its meaning with each incremental refrain (Contemporary Literary Criticism 8: 530). At first, the saying can be looked upon as funny in an ironic way. However, as one reads further, the phrase becomes irritating and irreverent. The reader cannot fathom so many deaths meaning so little. According t o Wayne McGinnis, it is most likely Vonnegut's intent to cause such feelings from the reader (Contemporary Literary Criticism 5: 468). This punctuating phrase forces the reader to look at the novel's deaths one after the other.
...hut the child out of their lives. Rather than dealing with the mistake or misfortune as a parent should do and stand by their child’s side, both parents ran away and tried to hide from the problem. The feelings of each character were completely forgotten and lost. Each were treated as some sort of object that could be thrown away and replaced. And ultimately, the outcomes in their lives reflected their poor parenting. The choices they made unfortunately came from the lack of skills they were taught when they were young and impressionable. Neither character knows what it is like to be a part of a loving family because they were both used as objects for money or fame. Sadly, the lack of parenting led to the demise of each and we are reminded, from over a hundred years ago as well as today, that successful parenting today will lead to successful adults for the future.