All My Sons

In the evening, Chris takes apart the fallen tree so that only the stump remains. Joe takes a nap while Kate prepares for George’s arrival, remembering that he liked grape juice as a young boy. Kate talks to Chris, wondering whether Steve “hates” (115) Joe because Joe escaped punishment. When Ann appears, Kate goes back into the house. Chris suggests to Ann that they should speak to his mother about their wedding plans later in the evening, possibly during dinner. He enters the house. Ann is not alone in the yard for long. Sue appears, searching for Jim, and talks to Ann about the financial security that marriage can provide. She also tells Ann that, if she were to marry Chris, they should consider moving away to make a fresh start someplace else. Chris’s success, Sue mentions, makes Jim feel insecure. When he sees how much Chris has succeeded, Sue says, Jim wishes that he could fulfill his dream of being a researcher, despite the lower pay in comparison to his doctor’s salary. Sue also hints that Chris has been “taking money out of [the family business] every week in the year” (118), which prompts Ann to push back against her comments. Trying to be reassuring, Sue tells Ann that everyone in the community knows what really happened with the broken engines. Chris seems idealistic, she says, but she believes this is a sham and she resents him for it. As she leaves, Chris returns. Ann mentions her conversation with Sue, referencing Joe’s potential guilt in the case that led to her father’s conviction. Chris is certain that his father is innocent.

Joe appears. He talks enthusiastically with Chris and Ann about the “extra special” (121) evening ahead, hoping that they can announce their engagement. He also suggests to Ann that she speak to George. Joe wants to set up George in the town, allowing him to escape the “cut-throat competition” (122) in New York. He also says that Steve will always have a job waiting for him at the factory, as soon as he gets out of prison. Chris objects, however, as he does not believe that this would be appropriate. Lydia arrives in the yard, having arranged with Kate to fix Kate’s hair for the evening. Joe sings a song about combing his wife’s hair. Jim returns from the station, having collected Ann’s older brother George. Jim arrives in the yard ahead of George, approaching Joe and warning him that George is angry. He suggests that Chris talk privately with George, away from the family home. Joe is worried that George plans to accuse him of a crime. Jim says that George also plans to take Ann away with him, even though Jim has advised George that Kate is not well. When George arrives, Chris approaches him, shaking his hand in a friendly manner.

As George looks at the house where he grew up, Ann mentions how filthy his shirt seems to be. Chris introduces George to Jim and Sue, who now live in his old house. George declines their offer of a tour, as he prefers to remember the house “the way it was” (125). Kate brings George the grape juice. That she remembered his favorite drink softens George’s anger. Chris and George talk about the factory and George’s legal practice. George is losing his faith in the legal system, he explains. Ann notices George’s hat, which he explains belonged to their father, who “asked [him] to wear it” (125). He tells his sister that Steve seems to have grown smaller in prison. George tells his sister that she must call off her engagement to Chris “because his father destroyed [their] family” (126). He complains to her about how badly they have both treated their father. During his recent meeting with Steve, he learned the truth about what happened on the fateful day. Joe was not in the factory on the day, claiming to have the flu, but he issued the order for the broken engines to be shipped. On the phone, Joe told Steve to “cover up the cracks in any way he could” (127) and promised Steve that he would take responsibility for the shipment. Later, however, he went back on this promise. When Chris confronts him, George insists that their father—a “frightened mouse” (128) of a man—would never make a big decision by himself. Joe was in charge of every aspect of the factory, he insists. Having heard this directly from his father, George believes that Joe is guilty and Steve is innocent. He believes that Chris is afraid of the truth.

Ann tries to convince George not to confront Joe. She asks him not to ruin the evening that has been planned. Kate returns. Her happiness at seeing George is undermined by his comments on how badly he seems to have aged. She compares him to a ghost and offers to cook him a big meal. Rather than go out that evening, she suggests, she should cook a big meal for the family and their guests. She convinces George not to take the train home and to have dinner in the Keller home. Lydia arrives. She is pleased to see George again, as they once dated. They talk about the past until she leaves to find Frank. Kate talks about the war with George, saying that he should never have left Lydia to sign up for the military.

Joe appears and shakes George’s hand. They talk about George’s plans and the factory. Joe inquires about Steve, and George says that his father is not well. Joe makes his offer of a job for Steve but George explains that Steve “hates [Joe’s] guts” (135). Steve loathes anyone who made a profit from the war. Joe dismisses the accusation, mentioning a time when Steve nearly burned down the factory by leaving a heater running. He also accuses Steve of being a swindler, in reference to a time when he agreed to lend money to Frank, who then squandered the money on a bad investment.

Kate and Ann insist that George have dinner with the Keller family. Ann offers to find him a clean set of clothes. George says that Kate and Joe have not changed at all. When Joe mentions his health, Kate unthinkingly reveals that he has not been sick in more than 15 years. Joe quickly tries to cover up her comment, insisting that he caught the flu during the war. George begins to question Kate but Joe insists that he had the flu on the day on which the broken engines were shipped from the factory. George now believes that Joe was lying. He accuses Joe of shipping the broken engines and allowing Steve to take the blame.

Frank interrupts George’s accusation. He has completed the horoscope for Kate, revealing that the chart suggests that November 25 was a fortunate day. This buoys Kate’s belief that Larry is still alive “somewhere in this world” (137). Chris rejects the suggestion, but Kate insists that Larry could be alive. George overhears the conversation, deducing that Kate wants Ann to leave because she will never approve of a relationship between Ann and Chris, as such a pairing would be a tacit admission that Larry is dead. Chris is adamant that Ann not leave, even as a driver pulls up. George returns to his accusation, while Kate appears with Ann’s bags, already packed. After pleading with Ann to join him, George leaves alone.

Chris confronts his mother. Kate insists that Ann should leave as she does not belong in the house. Chris threatens to leave instead, telling his mother that Larry is definitely dead. Joe speaks up in agreement with Chris. Kate slaps Joe, loudly claiming that she will never let go of Larry’s memory. Incensed, she tells her husband that she clings to the memory of her son because “if he’s dead, you killed him” (139). She goes back into the house. Chris is shocked. For the first time, he believes that his father may be guilty in the case of the broken engines. He accuses his father of having murdered 21 American pilots. Joe first insists that he is innocent, then claims that he acted for the good of the family, as his business would have been destroyed if he did not ship the order. He insists that he never believed the broken engines would actually be fitted in the planes, as he assumed that someone would notice the mistake. He claims that he needed the chance to “make something” (141) for his sons. Chris is furious. He lunges toward his father in a violent manner, then turns away from his father, crying.