Cash4Coursework has been rebranded ‘FreeCoursework.info’ - Visit us to download coursework for free and to earn money from your old coursework!
View this page at Freecoursework.info
Differing attitudes to social responsibilty through Joe and Chris Keller (A. Miller's - page 4
Keywords: social responsibility arthur miller all my sons world war two ii 2 drama chris joe keller
By exploiit on 19/06/2010
Level: GCSE Key Stage 4 (Years 10-11)
Page Number: 4 of 9 pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9put on trial. We know that Keller gave orders for Steve to have defected cylinder heads shipped out to the Army. However he refused to have any part in this shipping and avoided arriving to work that day, leaving Steve to do the deed and take full responsibility for it. George goes on to give details of his father’s trial, and how Joe Keller denied having anything to do with the decision to ship these items, thus dodging persecution and leaving his partner to face the consequences that he was responsible for. With this in mind, we become conscious of Keller’s skill to manipulate a situation to benefit himself. Joe’s exploitation of Steve is a theme that resounds later in the play, when a conversation occurs between Joe and George. George inquires about the company, to which Keller replies whole-heartedly, “Got a nice flexible plant now”. However, when the conversation shifts to George’s father being mentally unwell, Keller begins to lose interest. Stage directions at this point describes Keller’s casual attitude, blowing out smoke, before he half-replies with “Uh-huh”. Through this piece of dialogue, we pick up on Keller’s disregard for his old partner who is not only poorly, but has been unfairly maimed by Joe himself, and his lack of remorse for what he has done to the Deever family. His ideology on business is also significant. He believes that “a little man makes a mistake and they hang him by the thumbs; the big ones become ambassadors”. This is an example of irony used by Miller, to show Keller unknowingly describing himself. It also provides us with further evidence that he shows no sign of guilt for what he has done to Steve – he accepts that this is just “the way they do”. We feel conflict is inevitable at this point, as Keller’s actions are eventually bound to be recognised and when this happens, his callous feelings towards Steve will leave Joe with a number of angry confrontations.
A number of times throughout the play, the idea is presented that Keller is a narrow-minded character. This is initially suggested through Miller’s description of the Joe’s surroundings; his yard is “hedged on right and left”, with “closely planted poplars” cutting off all vision of what is beyond his garden. This implies that Keller’s view of the world is very limited. His close-mindedness is further seen when he constantly denies
Last 5 comments…
There have been no comments posted for this article, but you need to register if you want to be the first!