Announcement

1. Announcement Screening of Gulliver’s Travel tonight – LT 6, 5.30pm. Please indicate interest by raising your hands.

2. “A paradox of denial.” How far do you think this is a helpful comment in your reading of the play?

3. In the play, Miller presents to audiences denial as a psychological self-protective device that enables self-interest and survival. The human condition of post-war America is regarded as truly a paradox of denial- where denial is a seemingly normal way to survive reality and yet, inevitably destroys it. However, instead of merely chastising the web of lies and half-truths, the play ultimately convinces audiences to “see it like human”.

4. The Creation of Myth The First Stage of Grief: Kate’s Denial “The women have to preserve the nest. They're a very conservative force.” (Miller) Role of the Mother as bearing the responsibility of being the “centre” of the hearth. To protect and preserve the “nest”, Kate lives in a state of denial and preserves the spaces and memory of Larry. Preservation of memory through use of setting (props): “No, don’t you remember? That’s Larry’s room.” (Mother, P26) “I mean, the shoes are all shined.”(Ann, P27)

5. In Mourning Presenting the appearances of normalcy in front of neighbours, Kate’s real sorrow is evident in her private moments: “[she] cried in the kitchen/ I could hear her right through the floor of my room”. (Chris, P13) The audiences are presented with a glimpse of the acknowledgement of a loss, however momentarily it is. The storm symbolises a revival of the mourning process again as the memorial (a tree i.e. a living thing representing Larry) is struck dead and leaves “[the] fruit still clinging to its branches” (P3).

6. “Kate has constructed a myth about her elder son and required the rest of the family to inhabit it, and myth, by definition, is timeless.” (Bigsby) Definition of “Myth” “The foremost functions of myth is to establish models for behavior. By telling or reenacting myths, members of traditional societies detach themselves from the present and return to the mythical age, thereby bringing themselves closer to the divine.” (Eliade) The motif of Time (past): “Kate, you look so young, you know? You didn’t change at all… You too, Joe, you’re amazingly the same. The whole atmosphere is.” (George, P71)

7. Denial of Reality: “Never, never in this world!” (Kate,P74) The motif of dreams functions as a form of escapism for Kate. The myth of Larry is a “reality” that the family and community has sustained, but the “dreams” pointedly reveals this reality as nothing but a construct. The simulation of madness (the delusional mother)accorded to Kate is apt in further delineating this break from reality and the denial of Larry’s death. “She’s dreaming about him again.” (Keller, 13)/ “You lost your mind?”, “Three and a half years you been talking like a maniac-”, “She’s out of her mind” (Keller, P75)

8. Collective Myth Making: Pursuit of Happiness? Role of neighbours as representation of the communal “ignorance”: Frank perpetuates the family myth of Larry’s survival with his relentless pursuit of “favourable days” and fate. The notion of determinism attached to the motif of “favourable days” suggests the lack of free will, and by extension, denial of the need for individual responsibility. Consider Jim’s involvement in the collective mythmaking. Miller reveals in Act 3 that Jim always knew about the Kellers’ guilt. Why does Jim need the Keller Family to remain “perfect” or “intact”? Astrology Motif: “… every man does have a star. The star of one’s honesty. And you spend your life groping for it, but once it’s out it never lights again”. “I wish he wouldn’t, Kate… And I went back home with her. And now I live in the usual darkness; I can’t find myself; it’s even hard sometimes to remember the kind of man I wanted to be. I’m a good husband. (Jim. P80)

9. Conscience and the American Consciousness The American Consciousness of post-war America is one that revolved around “the business”, the survivalist mentality and “every man for himself”. Keller’s Denial of Responsibility and Involvement Keller denies his responsibility to the community based on the “norm” of the society. This belief of the “norm” is challenged by his conscience, where Miller symbolises both sons as his conscience.

10. Survivor’s Guilt: Denial of the Changed Man Lying becomes a mode for “living with” the terrifying truth and denying the guilt that comes with it. “Chris would never know how to live with a thing like that. It takes a certain talent for lying. You have it and I do. But not him.” (Jim, P80) Is this true? “The idealistic youth who energetically professes to detest dishonesty is as guilty as his parents of attempting to hide from reality… At some level, Chris fears that, if he allows himself to see his father’s human imperfections, he will also have to recognise his own limitations – and his experiences in the war make him dread that confrontation.” (Centola)

11. TheBystanders The denial of responsibility creates an equally stronger force that demands accountability within the characters. Miller’s characters essentially are complicit in the wrongful conviction of Steve and effectively guilty in their non-action. Miller’s use of Foreshadowing and Foreboding ‘Mother sits in chair downstage, stiffly, staring, seeing.’ (P43, end of Act1) / Now you see, don’t you? Now you see. (Mother, P75, Act 2) A Collective Consciousness to Ignore The rest of the community, much like creating the delusional myth of perfect lives, chooses to ignore what they can ignore: “But I never once said I suspected him.” (Ann, P50)/ “Nobody says it”.(Chris P50) / “Don’t be afraid, Kate, I know. I’ve always known.”(Jim P80)

12. Suicide: The Final Denial “Even Larry’s death shows the paradox of denial. His suicide is unmistakably a way of protesting and atoning for his father’s crime. However, by choosing to die instead of returning home to bear the shame of his father’s guilt, Larry fails to accept responsibility for bringing his father to justice for his crime. His death, like his father’s eventual suicide, reflects and attempt to escape from the humiliation he would experience within his community.” (Centola)

13. The Return of the Repressed Deeversas Harbingers of Doom: Ann – arouses initial suspicion, George – suspenseful “climax”, Anne- confirmation of Larry’s death through the letter: “because if he’s dead, your father killed him.”(Kate, P75) The truth has been repressed from the consciousness of the Kellers and the community. The Deevers represent that which has been removed and hidden from the reality that everyone has constructed. The impulse of the Truth is strong enough such that it threatens the fabric of the family and society that has been created. The confrontation with the truth results in Kate’s violent reactions to suspend the truth. Stage Directions: Mother smashes him across the face. (P75) Language: Absolute words, repetition, curt tone. “Nothing. You have nothing to say. Now I say. He’s coming back, and everybody has got to wait.” (P75)

14. Larry’s “Return”: Final action, final words “Although coming near the end of the play, Ann's letter from Larry in All My Sons illustrates the gigantic effect of a single object on the meaning of anything previously enacted. The scene is powered like a nightmare game of "telephone". Each character, as she or he absorbs the message, is savagely torn out of innocence, real or imagined, and launched into a sadder, more complex but philosophically larger world.” (Boruch)

15. The Paradox of Denial “Collision of fictions which are mutually destructive.” (Bigsby) “It is, finally, a play whose triumph comes from Miller's own ability to "see it human", to embody confused values, flawed ambitions, betrayals, denials, profound disillusionments, in characters convincing alike in their needs and self-deception.” (Bigsby)