All my sons is a play set in a small American Two just after World War 2 has ended. The play start with Joe Keller, the head of the family, and Jim Bayliss, a doctor, reading the paper in Keller’s backyard. The theme present in the exposition of the play is that of family and familial obligations.
Joe Keller, as previously mentioned is the ‘head’ of the family as he runs a successful business during and after WW2. He is a man who cares about the happiness of both his wife Kate and his only son, Chris who also works in the family business with him. Joe is concerned about his family’s wants and this is shown when he himself reads the ‘want’ advertisements - “see what people want”. The Keller family used to consist of four members, the fourth one being Larry, Joe’s other son who has been killed in a plane crash during the war, yet his body has not been found. Joe as well as Chris seem to realize that Lary is not coming back. On the other hand, Kate still has hope that her missing son will return some day signifying that family must be on permanent high alert. Her concern for her son is shown as she asked Frank to predict Larry’s horoscope to see if November 25th - the day of the accident - was Larry’s favorable day.
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