Deciphering Culpability: Self, Family and Society in Arthur Miller's All My Sons

Abstract

Man's love for 'self' is inherent in him. In his journey from life to death, he wishes only to extend his 'self', and his actions are motivated by his private longing to get the only thing in life – 'identity' - without which he sees his life as futile and meaningless. This lust for 'name' or identity is reflected through what one does and how he behaves or conducts himself in his milieu. As this acknowledgement cannot be got in isolation, a man living in society wants to be different from others, not a part of the masses, but something important and unique, having an independent existence and identity. To seek recognition from the outer world, man labours hard publically and, at times, unethically in private, indulging in acts of perversion which leave him a split personality. This love for identity splits the self into two—dignified public image and perverted private self, and this s-lit existence makes man venture into paths of evil, betrayal, guilt, confession and compass, ion in human life. This poignant search for identity has been pervasive in the literature of all ages worldwide.