So I can't help but wonder if I'm the only one who feels that Miller gets pretty predictable after a while. I mean, the first play of his I read, "Death of a Salesman," threw me for a loop despite the ending being given away by the title. Just when it seems like everything's going to be okay and Willie will wake up and deal with reality, boom! Dead. And with "The Crucible," when Proctor seems ready to sell himself out in order to live, he gives us that powerful "leave me my name" speech, one that has apparently stuck with me.
But honestly? While reading "All My Sons," I knew for a fact that Larry was dead and Joe was at fault for the bad parts being sent out. The ending, while mildly surprising, wasn't nearly as shocking as "Salesman." My first reaction to the gunshot was, "Wait, what?" followed by "Jeez, not again."
However, I do admit that Miller has a talent for writing characters who have an unusual talent for avoiding reality. In fact, the characters are what make Miller's plays truly unique. Yes, all plays are character-driven. What makes these plays amazing is the fact that, while you grow attached to Miller's characters, they repay this with a betrayal of sorts. In "All My Sons," for example, the audience does not want to believe that honest Joe, as opposed to lying Steve, could have caused the deaths of 21 pilots. His denial is so emphatic that the audience begins to believe it in spite of themselves. This makes the revelation of his lie that much more bitter for the viewers as well as his own family.
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Your post seems to draw an interesting comparison between All My Sons and Doubt.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I'm not sure you're ever supposed to believe in Larry's death (neither Chris nor Joe do pretty early on) or that Joe is innocent. I don't know how much this play is relying upon surprise for tension as much as coming to grips with reality (a nice observation about Miller 's reality deniers, by the way.)
What do other people think?
I agree that Miller seems to enjoy killing off his characters in the end, just when things seem as though they might turn out alright. Even though I knew what was going to happen from reading it, however, when I saw "All My Sons" last night, I found the ended to be more of a jolt. Maybe it was hearing the actual gunshot, or maybe it was seeing the actors on stage, and the characters trying to work out their problems, but it was more shocking.
ReplyDeleteI don't think anything in this play is meant to be much of a surprise, except for the fact that Larry killed himself because of what Joe did. I did not see that one coming.
ReplyDeleteI mean, you know Joe is going to kill himself, and you are pretty damn sure that Larry is dead. Just like you know Romeo and Juliet die, or that Bruce Willis is a ghost. No surprises there. But it's watching these characters arrive at these realizations and climaxes that's the fun thing.
Also, it's an Arthur Miller play. What did you expect, a happy ending where the white man pursuing the American Dream doesn't kick it in the end? That's like expecting Stephen Sondheim not to write really awesome musicals with fucked up second acts. Or to ask Micheal Bay to make a period drama set in Victorian England.