All My Sons

In All My Sons, a lot of different characters chose to do different things when it came to sticking up for their family versus being honest to society and doing the right thing. Joe and Kate Keller both lied about the cracked cylinder heads for what they considered to be the benefit of the family. Keller says, "Chris...Chris, I did it for you, it was a chance and I took it for you"(70). This shows how he really thought he was doing the right thing because he didn't want to lose the business for his son. I think this shows how he had a different idea on what was the right thing to do in this situation, because his main goal is to provide for his son.  Ann and George are completely opposite on this view. They both went along with society, and didn't for a second believe their dad was innocent, which is actually a little surprising. It shows when Ann says, "Joe, you owe him nothing"(49). Ann sticks up for what she thinks is right, even though it is going against her own dad. By the end of the play, I think that George begins to realize that he has to balance family with what society believes. He tells Ann, "He loved you so much... Annie... we did a terrible thing. We can never be forgiven. Not even to send him a card at Christmas"(54). Although initially he believed in society, now he is beginning to think that believing his family is better.

I think that it really depends on the situation when or when not to go against what society it telling us to do. For example, I would not tell on someone who is cheating because to me, them cheating is not effecting anybody except themselves. I think it is mostly important to stand up against something if it has a large impact. The rocket ship that crashed is a time when I believe the scientists who knew there was a faulty part should have said something. The rocket blew up and killed people, something that was probably preventable. Also, I think it is appropriate in society to stand up if everybody else is saying something that is extremely offensive, and you really disagree with them. For example, I really hate it when people use the word "retarded" as an insult, and I try to let other people know that this is something that bugs me and is really offensive. Overall though I really think it depends on the severity of the issue as to whether it is better to stand by your own ethics or go along with what is easiest.