Quarter 2 Question 1

In the novel All My Sons, by Arthur Miller, characters value family over society or vice versa depending on the role they play in a family. The sons and daughters in the story see society as more important than family, because of their young, and perhaps naive, idealistic ethics. The adults and caregivers, on the other hand, see family as the first priority when making decisions because they must create a safe home and a good future for their children. Chris Keller, a young man, strongly believes that one should value the needs of society. His mother wonders what more she and her husband can do for their children, and Chris tells her she's looking at it the wrong way. He reprimands his mother by saying, "You can be better! Once and for all you can know there's a universe of people outside and you're responsible to it, and unless you know that you threw away your son because that's why he died" (84). Chris is trying to show his mother that there is more than family, in fact, there's the whole world to think about when making decisions. The opposing view is demonstrated through Joe Keller, who justifies the fact that he denied assisting in shipping out faulty airplane parts by saying he was supporting his family. While arguing with his son, Keller pleads, "Chris... Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you. I'm sixty-one years old, when would I have another chance to make something for you?" (70). Keller was trying to build a business for his son. With this goal in mind, he chose his son over the safety of men at war, thereby choosing family over society.
Personally, I have no clear idea how I would pick between family and society. It's obviously going to be on a situation to situation basis, because you can't lay out a specific method for choosing that will work every time. I do have some thoughts on it, though. First, I think that in a situation such as the Kellers, it would have been better to choose society. I say this because the part of the family that Joe was trying to protect was his sons, who both disagreed with Joe's morals, and would have been happier if he hadn't shipped out the parts. When the family understands the predicament and is okay with the consequences it'll have on them, it's better to choose society, although it's not like Joe could have known what his sons would say. My last thoughts on this difficult subject are that one of the best things you can do is to keep your family informed openly and honestly when the decision will affect them, and to consider the pros and cons of each path you could take.

Miller, Arthur. All My Sons. New York: Penguin, 2000.