All My Sons Characterization By: Mason & Liam

Joe Keller

Dynamic or Static

  • Joe Keller is a dynamic character because in the beginning of the story he is very close minded and goes through life not worrying about anything and trying to comfort his wife and move her past the loss of their son. Also he views his life as perfect, as though nothing could go wrong. Joe changes internally when the conflict with Steve Deever being in jail and it being his fault when he realizes that his life was easy and successful at the expense of innocent lives and blood that was spilled on his hands. He then gets to such a low that he goes from being a happy successful man to someone who disappointed his son so badly that he decided death was better than continuing to live with Joe as his father and made such a hardship for himself that he ultimately committed suicide.

Round or flat

  • Joe is a round character, he shows a wide variety of emotions. love and caring nature throughout the play. As well as love and caring he displays rage as he is accused of being responsible for the deaths of the Americans. Also you see disparity and sadness as he comes to the realization that the deaths were in fact his and only his fault and these boys that died might as well have been his own sons, and that is aside from the fact that his own son committed suicide because of his disappointment in his father.

Direct characterization

  • “Keller is nearing sixty. A heavy man of stolid mind and build, a business man these many years, but with the imprint of the machine shop worker and boss still upon him. When he reads, when he speaks, when he listens, it is with the terrible concentration of the uneducated man for whom there is still wonder in many in many commonly known things, a man peasant like common sense.”

Indirect characterization

  • Chris indirectly characterizes Joe when he says “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.”
  • “I'm going out on a mission in a few minutes. They'll probably report me missing. If they do, I want got to know that you mustn't wait for me. I tell you, Ann, if I had him here now I could kill him.”

Analysis

  • These quotes characterize Joe as a simple man who is very uneducated but indirectly by his children essentially alluding to the fact that he is a failure as a father and is not fit to be a father

Character and Theme

  • Joes character affects the theme because it shows how an inability to understand and process hardships can lead to bigger problems and can fester until it becomes a serious dilemma

Ann Deever

Dynamic or Static

  • Ann Deever is a Static character, when she arrives to the Keller household she is very desperate for a husband and felt as though she loved Chris, she did not change at all throughout the play and remained stuck in her ways from start to finish.

Round or flat

  • Although she is Static, Ann is a round character, showing anger, love, selfishness, and especially sadness as she thinks about her past love Larry’s death but became happy upon thinking about her new love for Chris and their pending marriage.

Direct characterization

  • “It is 26, gentle but despite herself capable of holding fast to what she knows.”

Indirect characterization

  • "She's a good girl [To Keller.] You see? She's a..." (Mother)
  • "I'm not going out of here alone. There's no life for me that way." (Ann)

Analysis

  • These quotes show that Ann is perceived as a nice girl who is obviously gentle but strong willed. We see that she is desperate for love and has a fear of being alone, she feels as though she absolutely needs love and a man in her life and cannot see any other life for herself.

Character and theme

  • Ann is an example of how being selfish and desperate can lead to rash decisions that ultimately cause problems for yourself despite how much of a good idea it seemed in your time of disparity

Sue Bayliss

Dynamic or Static

  • Sue Bayliss is a Static character, because she is an extremely 2 faced lady. Sue can be very snarky and give lots of attitude. I feel like she is always being very sarcastic which I inferred from some of the parentheses and she remained this way throughout the play.

Round or Flat

  • When it comes to Sue Bayliss, she doesn't go through any epiphanies. Therefore, Sue Bayliss is an extremely flat character. Even though Sue is 2 faced, she sticks to the same intentions throughout the play.

Direct Characterization

  • “She is rounding forty, an overweight woman who fears it.”

Indirect Characterization

  • “And that was bad, because as soon as a woman supports a man he owes her something.”
  • “I married an interne. On my salary.”

Analysis

  • These quotes characterize Sue Bayliss as an unhappy and needy older woman. She is very snarky and speaks to others with back-sass and smart comments. She is always looking for something in return when she treats people with disrespect.

Character and Theme

Sue Bayliss is an example of how people should not be treated and how people need to be grateful for what they have. She feels as though her husband is not good for her because he doesn't provide for her enough and it makes her life miserable, it shows that there are consequences for treating people badly and being a pessimist. If you love someone and are a good person, salary and what job they have should have nothing to do with your love.

Credits:

Created with images by lpittman - "divers underwater ocean"

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