Mr.

Ahmed Abbas

All My Sons: Act II Summary

The second act takes place later the same day. Mother tells Chris that she fears that George is coming to open up the case again. Mother leaves, and Ann tells Chris that they ought to tell her about the engagement soon. Chris leaves, and Ann gossips with the neighbor Sue for a while. Sue complains that her husband resents her for having put him through medical school, saying that "you can never owe somebody without resenting them." Sue says that Jim wants to do medical research and that Chris is the one who put idealistic thoughts of helping the world into her husband's head. She thinks that Chris makes other men feel guilty about their lives, while Chris lives on his father's business--she implies that this is not clean money. Chris enters, and Sue speaks cordially to him, then leaves. Ann tells Chris that Sue hates him and says that everyone thinks Keller is guilty. Chris says that there is no suspicion in his mind whatsoever, asking if she thought he could possibly forgive his father if he had been guilty. Keller enters, and they lightheartedly banter about his lack of education. Keller says that everybody is getting so educated that there will be no one left to take away the garbage. "It's gettin' so the only dumb ones left are the bosses ... you stand on the street today and spit, you're gonna hit a college man." Keller changes the subject and offers to give Ann's father a job when he gets out of jail, ostensibly so that he will not freeload on the newlyweds. Keller takes it as a personal insult when Ann implies that she would never have anything to do with Steve, father or not. Keller leaves.

Jim announces that George is about to enter, and he warns Chris that George has blood in his eye--he should not fight this out in front of his mother. George enters, and there is some cordial but strained small talk for a while. Eventually, George cuts to the chase and tells Ann that she is not going to marry Chris , because his father ruined her family. George explains that he went to the jail to tell their father that Ann was getting married, and he discovered that they had been wrong all along. They did a terrible thing in cutting their father out of their lives. Steve had been alone at work when the cracked cylinder heads came in, so he called Keller. Keller told him to weld the cracks and send the parts on to the army, but Steve was afraid to do it alone. Keller claimed that he had the flu and could not go into work. This excuse made it possible for him later to deny any involvement in the shipment. Chris says he heard all this before in court, but George says it was different hearing it directly from his father, a "frightened mouse" of a man who would never do such a thing on his own volition. Chris counters that he certainly would, and because he was such a frightened mouse he would throw the blame on someone else because he was not man enough to take the heat. George accuses Chris , saying that he must know the family secret, and that this is why his name is not on the business. Chris warns him not to start a fight.

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

Mother enters; there is a general pause. She gushes over George for a while, and he responds kindly, since they have always gotten along. Lydia stops by (she and George were old sweethearts), and it saddens him to see her. Everyone is happy and friendly until Keller enters. George says that his father is not doing well, and Keller is sympathetic. George tries to be hostile, but he keeps getting disarmed by Keller's friendliness. Keller says he is sad to hear that Steve is still angry at him and that Steve never knew how to take the blame. He rattles off a list of incidents in which Steve tried to blame others to save face. George knows that this is true, and his anger is diffused. He decides to stay for dinner after all, and he comments that everything looks the same and everyone looks well. Mother responds proudly that her husband has not been sick for fifteen years. Keller hastily adds the exception of his flu during the war. Mother takes a moment before she realizes what he is talking about, and George notices the awkwardness. His suspicion is reawakened. Frank enters and announces that he has finished Larry's horoscope. The day he disappeared was his favorable day, so Larry probably could not have been killed on that day. Mother insists that Larry is alive, and she says that she has packed Ann's bag and it is time for her to go. George keeps insisting on returning to Mother's slip-up on the matter of Keller's flu during the war, and George tries to get Ann to leave with him. She says she will not leave till Chris tells her to, and Chris throws George out. Ann runs after him, after all, to try to calm him down. The Kellers are left alone. Chris yells at his mother for packing Ann's bag, but she replies that everybody has to wait for Larry to come home. She is very insistent on this point. Chris says that he has let Larry go a long time ago. Mother cries that Larry is alive, because if he is dead, then Keller killed him. "As long as you live, that boy is alive. God does not let a son be killed by his father." She runs out. Chris turns to Keller, finally understanding. Keller does not deny it; he ordered those cracked cylinder heads to be shipped out. Yet, they did not go into the type of plane that Larry flew. Chris says that Keller killed twenty-one men, and Chris then calls him a murderer. Keller explains that it was a matter of business: you work forty years, and in one moment, one failed shipment, the contracts can be torn up and you can lose everything. He thought that the military would notice the cracks anyway and that if they did not, he would warn them. But it was too late-the news was all over the papers that the planes had crashed, and the police were knocking on the door.

Chris is shocked that his father suspected the planes would crash. Furious and betrayed, he asks why his father would do such a thing. For him, his father replies--for Chris , for the family, for the business. Enraged, Chris rants about his father's small-mindedness, in particular his lack of empathy with his countrymen and the human race. "No animal kills his own, what are you? What must I do to you?" He stumbles away, weeping, as his broken father cries out to him.

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

All My Sons Act 2 In points

It's the same evening, at twilight, and Chris is chopping down the rest of Larry's tree. Kate comes out and asks him to watch out for Joe and her when George arrives. She also wants him to ask Ann to leave with George. Chris still avoids telling his mom about the engagement. Ann comes out and has a brief exchange with Chris . She wants them to tell Kate immediately. Sue emerges from the house next door. Over a glass of grape juice, she lets it all hang out for Ann. Number one, Ann should move elsewhere when she marries Chris . Number two, everyone on the block still thinks Joe is guilty. Ann gets totally freaked out. She asks Chris to assure her that Joe is innocent. He does. Joe comes out and after some good-old-boy ribbing, tells Ann he'd like to set George up with some of his local lawyer friends. He's trying to mend fences in light of their marriage, he says. Then Joe ups the offer. He'll give Steve a job when he gets out of prison. Chris doesn't like the idea, thinks it looks bad. But Joe believes they should forgive Steve and help set him up. Jim arrives. He has George in the car. He warns Chris that George is angry and vengeful, and plans to take Ann home. George enters. He's described as a man of about Chris 's age, but pale and tweaked out. He's wearing a dirty shirt. George meets Sue, who invites him to come over and see how they changed the house he lived in. He declines. He notices everything that's changed about the block. George has just been to visit his father, who's shrinking. He launches into why he came. Ann will not marry Chris , son of the man who destroyed their family. Filled with regret for turning his back on his father, George tells Steve's version of the broken cylinder story. In short, over an untraceable phone call, Joe told Steve to cover up the cracks and just send them out. It's not a story Ann and Chris haven't heard. They heard it in court. George says that anyone who knows Steve and Joe knows the truth that Joe was guilty. It was only because Chris believes in Joe that George did, turning his back on his father. George is trying to take Ann away. Things get really heated then Kate comes out. This makes things hard for George. He really likes Kate. Kate mothers him, gives him juice, promises to feed him. George has to leave on the 8:30 train. Kate insinuates that he's taking Ann with him. Lydia comes out. She and George used to have a thing. He's sad that she's shacked up with Frank and has three babies now. Kate says she told him so. Now she wants him to move back, get a job through Joe, and find a girl. Joe enters. Some awkward small talk and then they start talking about Steve. Joe puts out the offer of a job. George doesn't think his dad will accept; he hates Joe's guts now. Acting friendly, Joe brings up another instance in which Steve failed to gracefully take the blame. Ann has called a cab. But Joe invites George to stay for dinner. He's just happily accepting when Kate makes a slip. She says Joe hasn't been sick in fifteen years. But the lynchpin of Joe's story was that the flu laid him up on that fateful day which is why Steve is the only one in jail. George doesn't let Kate's slip pass. He's on the attack. Frank comes in with the horoscope. It implies Larry is alive. This is just what Kate wants to hear. George is leaving, and Kate openly directs Ann to go with him. She even packed her bag. Chris is furious. He tells George to go. Ann does too. But she exits to see him off. Finally, Chris tells his mother he plans to marry Ann. She refuses to accept that. For her, Larry is alive. Larry is alive, because if he's dead, his own father killed him Now it's out. Chris is totally, totally floored. His father is guilty. Joe tries to explain himself. He's a man of business. What could he do? He was building a business for his sons. Chris attacks him, calling him lower than an animal. He weeps.
Printable materials

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

Comment
1. To his last day in court Steve never gave up the idea that dad made him do it. If they are going to open the case again I wont live through it. page 39. Kate said these words to Chris when she was trying to tell him that Steve, Ann and George hate the Kellers family because Steve was pretending to be innocent. Kate was afraid that George would reopen the case again and reveal the truth. That was something kate couldnt go through. 2. He is worried. When he is worried he sleeps. Page 39. Kate said that to Chris as she informed him that his father was worried about Georges arrival. She told Chris that Joe was worried about that visit and his worry was expressed in sleep. 3. When George goes home tell her to go with him. Page 40. Kate said that to Chris when she asked him to let George take Ann with him. In fact kate wanted Ann to leave as she wouldnt like her to stay. She was afraid that Chris would ask her to marry him because kate still believed that her son larry was alive. She also didnt want George to speak about the case as that was something that would trouble Kate and the family. 4. I will bet. Its romantic. It is very unusual to me marrying the brother of your sweet heart page 51. While Ann and Sue were talking, sue showed Ann that she knew about the marriage plans between her and Chris . Sue was showing Ann that she wanted to marry anyone of the kellers family larry or Chris . She wanted to tell her that it was unusual to love Chris after larry indicating that she wanted only money not love. 5. Chris makes people to be better than it is possible to be. He does that to people. Page 42. Sue was complaining about the relationship between Chris and jim. Sue hated the effect Chris put on Jim as he was making Jim believe that he was wrong to go through being a doctor and not being in the medical research field. Sue thought about the phony idealism of Chris which make people want to be better and make the world better, while Chris himself was not doing that. Sue asked Ann a favour that whenever she married Chris , chose a house that was away from them. 6. Lets face it dear Chris is working with his father, isnt he? He is taking money out of that business every week in the year. Page 42 Sue told Ann that Chris who wanted people to be better and change the world was taking polluted money easily from his fathers factory. The factory that was built on the blood of the 21 pilots. She hated Chris driving her husband crazy while he didnt try to change. 7. Everyone knows Joe pulled a fast one to get out of jail page43 Sue showed Ann how everyone in the neighborhood believed the keller succeeded in acting being an innocent to get out of the case and that he was a criminal. 8. Do you think I could forgive him if he had done that thing? Page 44 Chris said that to Ann when she told him that people thought his father was guilty. Such words prepare us for the great resentment Chris would feel towards his father once he discovered the crime. Chris was so idealistic and thought his father to be the best man and thats why he couldnt even imagine he was guilty of shopping the defective heads. Chris would accept anything wrong if even it was his own father.

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

9. I like you and George to go to him in prison and tell him dad, Joe wants to bring you into the business when you get out. Page 47. Keller said these words to Ann as he was trying to show her that he wasnt worried about her brothers arrival. He wanted to drive them away and deceive them by showing his care for their father. He wanted Ann to push on her brother the idea that he was a friend and he wanted the best for their father. He told Ann that would allow Steve a place with him, when he got out of prison.

10. He has come to take her home. What does that mean page 48 Dr. Jim said that to Chris. He told him that George had come to take Ann away. It meant that George wouldnt allow Ann to marry Chris. He asked him to talk to him away and not to fight in the house as George was extremely angry. Jim was worried about kates case. Her health wouldnt bear a fight especially when she discovered their marriage plans and what would George say about his fathers case. He said that George had blood in his eyes. 11. The trouble? The trouble is when you make suckers out of people once. You shouldnt try to do it again. Page 51 George said that to Ann when he was telling her about his visit to his father in prison. He told her that it was wrong of them to turn their backs to their father as his health became worse because he needed their support. He told her that his father was a fool and a sucker who paid the price of a mistake made by another man. He felt that it was wrong to turn their backs to him. 12. You are not going to marry him because his father destroyed your family. Page 51 George told Ann that she couldnt marry Chris because his father destroyed their family. Joe was responsible for the crime, but his father was the one who was blamed. He told her that they turned their backs to their father and made him miserable, while Joe became a rich star. Joe keller took everything and George believed that it would be impossible for her to marry the son of the man who destroyed their family. 13. On the telephone you cant take responsibility. In court you can always deny a phone call page 52. George said that keller told Steve to weld the cracks in the cylinder heads and ship them on his own responsibility on the phone then Joe denied that phone call in the court. 14. Now what are you going to do? Eat his food, sleep in his bed . What are you going to do? Page 52. Same answer in question no 12 15. And your father that frightened mouse whod never buy a shirt without somebody along. That man would dare do such a thing on his own? Page 53 George was trying to tell Ann that his fathers character was too weak to carry on an action such as shipping off cracked cylinder heads on his own and without the assist of Jeo keller. All in all he was trying to tell her that Jeo was responsible for that crime not her father. 16. I believed everything, because I thought you did. Your dad took everything we have. Page 54 It was the first time for George to see his father since he returned from the war and he listened to the whole story from his father he knew his father to be a frightened mouse who would do anything on his own. His father did just what Joe told him to do. George believed in chris and his judgments but when he spoke to his father and heard what had happened he began to thing and compare the character of his father with that of Jeo. He believed his father was innocent and that Joe Keller destroyed their life.

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

17. A little man makes a mistake and the hang him by the thumb, the big ones become ambassadors. 18. I would like him to know, George, that as far as I am concerned, any time he wants, he has got a place. Page 61 19. You dont look like you remember it. .. when we had the shop on flood street, and the damn near blew us all with the heater he left burning for two days without water. Page 61 20. You brother is alive darling. Because if he is dead you father killed him.God doesnt let a son be killed by his father. page 66 21. Then explain it to me. What did you do? Explain it to me or I will tear you to pieces! Page 67 22. Chris Chris , I did it for you .when would I have another chance to make something for you? Page 67. 23. You are not even an animal, no animal kills his own, what are you? What must I do to you? Page 68. ..

Questions:

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

1. What favour did sue want from Ann? Why? She wanted her when she took the household to choose a marriage house that would be far away from the Bayliss house because she said that Chris was driving Jim crazy with the phony idealism of doing researches and giving up the medical career. Sue was upset because of that. 2. From Georges point of view prove that keller is responsible of the murder of the twenty one pilots. He said that his fathers character was weak and that he couldnt take any decision by himself, while Jo keller was the kind of boss who couldnt let 124 cracked cylinder heads to be shipped out of his factory without his knowledge. In fact he was that boss that knew how many minutes a day each of his workers spent in the toilet and he was the kind of boss that didnt leave his plant until he checked every single room and made sure that the light was turned off. 3. Was steve a kind of man who would take the responsibility of shipping off 124 cracked heads on his own? Why? No. he was not able to buy a shirt for himself. 4. Was George successful when he confronted keller? How did keller justify himself? Joe keller was too smart for George. Keller reminded George of situations when his father made mistakes and refused to take the blame. One was when Steve left the boiler on for two days without water until it was about to burn the shop down. He couldnt take the blame and Joe had to fire one of the workers to please Steve. Another was when he gave money to frank for the stocks, when frank lost all the money he blamed him hard for losing the money. 5. What mistake did kate make that turned everything upside down? The mistake was the tongue slip made by kate when she said that her husband Joe keller have NEVER been ill in the last 15 years. 6. What excuse did keller give for doing the crime? That he wanted to do this only for his family and for Chris and Larry. 7. In act two, kate gave reasons for her belief that larry was still alive. What was that reason? When she told Chris that there had been light after Larrys tree had been removed. She was eager to make sure that Ann left with George. Finally she said that larry couldnt have died, because if he was so then keller killed him. 8. How did Steve feel about the people who were made richer as a result of the war? He felt that he wanted to kill everyone who made money out of that war.

Critical questions :

Mr. Ahmed Abbas

1. According to sue men are hypocrites. However, she is a hypocrite herself. Discuss giving three examples. When she knew that her husband Jim went to the depot to drive George, she was angry of him because he refused to drive her to the beach saying that he was hot. She said that men are like little boys for the neighbours they cut the grass. Men want to prove that they are helpful but they are actually not helpful to their family. Sue herself was a hypocrite when she was criticizing Chris but when he entered she spoke to him as if he was a dear friend. 2. A father is a father and a daughter is a daughter. Discuss Joes opinion. An idea stressed in his mind that whatever a father did he is still a father and a daughter still a daughter. He was against what Ann did towards her father by turning her back to him. 3. Get you things. Everything here is covered with blood. George said that to Ann referring to the kellers and everything they had. He said that she shouldnt stay with them or eat their food because it was covered with the blood of the 21 pilots. 4. How could kate neutralize Georges anger? By showing her love and care. 5. Steve could never take the blame. How did Joe use that? No 4 in questions . 6. After franks horoscope. Kate was trying to make Ann leave. Discuss. ..