Teaching All My Sons

Instructions for You

Objective: One of the big letdowns of All My Sons is that Joe doesn't seem to be punished at the end. He escapes jail and leaves his business partner in the lurch before enjoying freedom on the outside for an extended period (most of the drama). Then, when it gets too much…well, you know the rest.

In this two-day activity, the students will imagine a different ending, where Joe doesn't commit suicide, is rearrested, and ends up in court. Some of the class will be Joe's defense team, arguing he isn't evil enough to deserve a life sentence, while others—representing the prosecution—will demand the judge throw the largest book possible at him.

Joe's entitled to a fair trial, even if he's been a bad apple, so we better get prepping to make sure he receives his due process of the law before deciding what to do with him.

Materials Needed: The students will need to know how a criminal trial works and the  Judicial Branch of California provides a concise summary of this here.

Step 1: Begin by having students discuss the ending of the text, using the Shmoop page What's Up With the Ending? Call particular attention to how the audience views Joe when he commits suicide. (Don't worry, we'll get along to the fictional trial soon.)

Step 2: Have students split into groups of three to four and instruct one member to lead the group. That student should initiate the group discussion by revealing how they view Joe's suicide, thinking about whether it's a tragic ending or a cowardly act by a man who wants to avoid punishment at any cost.

This should lead into an exploration of Joe's character throughout the play, with students discussing if such an act is symptomatic of his personality, or a sporadic and unexpected development they didn't see coming.

This group discussion activity should be used as an indicator of how you'll split the class for the fictional trial. Those that sympathize with Joe could become his defense team while others, who snort with derision, will be candidates for the prosecution. Those that aren't sure would be the perfect candidates for jury duty.

Step 3: Instruct students that in a parallel universe Keller doesn't commit suicide at the end but rather is arrested by the police. Tell them that the cops were notified of his wrongdoing by Ann, who had enough of whatever is going on in the Keller household and decided to let the authorities take over. The case for the jury is centered on whether Keller is in fact guilty of sending defective cylinder heads and the possible punishment for this.

During this section of the activity, pass out copies of "How Criminal Cases Work" from the Judicial Branch of California. The students should read the article independently, and answer the following questions as they read:

• What events lead up to a criminal trial?
• Why is a jury included in a trial?
• Why may a jury not be used in a trial?
• What are the various stages of a criminal trial? Explain what happens during these.
• What happens during the sentencing process?

Step 4: Where there's a prosecution there must also be a defense team, also of four students: Joe has to have a fighting chance. Two witnesses should be picked to be interviewed by the prosecution and defense teams. Then, a jury should be selected, who will decide whether Mr. Keller will be heading home or to jail.

When deciding on these roles, you should make sure the numbers are proportionate to your class size: if you only have fifteen to twenty in a class then it's hard to imagine there will be twelve angry men (or women) in the jury box. There should, however, be four members of the prosecution and defense teams, so each can play a significant role in the trial.

Step 5: Give the students more detailed instructions about their roles, to ensure they know their parts in the proceedings. You can throw in some of your own, but here are a few that should be included:

Opening statements:

• One member of the prosecution and defense teams should give an opening statement of around five minutes, introducing their stance.
• The prosecution should present Joe as a hardened criminal who is now going to get his just desserts.
• The defense should be suggesting Keller is misunderstood, a family man rather than the world's most evil villain.
• The student speakers should be persuasive and passionate in revealing why their stance is correct and the other side lacks credibility.

Witnesses:

• Each witness will then be interviewed by the prosecution and defense teams who will have generated a prepared series of questions.
• They have to stay in character during the questioning: if one is Kate then she should suggest some loyalty to her husband, as is the case throughout the drama.
• For ideas of which witnesses you can assign, check out Shmoop's list of characters in All My Sons.

Closing Statements:

• The prosecution and defense teams will each deliver a closing speech of around five minutes.
• The speech will remind the jury of their team's take on events, whether Joe Keller is a threat to national security or should be allowed back to the suburbs to have cake and tea with his family.

Verdict:

• Each member of the jury will decide whether Joe is innocent or guilty and meet in the hall as a jury for five minutes.
• When the time comes, they should announce their decision and explain why they decided this way.

Step 6: Time to let the students prepare for the mock trial. This should take about half an hour to a full class period, depending on how much unstructured research and outlining you'd like your students to do.

• The prosecutors and defense should review their texts and Shmoop for evidence.
• The students playing witnesses should be encouraged to read through the drama and their character pages on Shmoop once more.
• The jury can make flashcards for the final exam. Why not?

Step 7: Now it's time to facilitate the trial.

Structure the classroom so it resembles a courtroom. Here are some suggestions:

• Sit in your usual position as judge.
• Place two tables in front of you, for the prosecution and defense teams.
• The jurors can sit at a number of desks lined up along one side of the classroom. Make sure they are able to survey proceedings.
• Finally, place one desk beside yours where witnesses will sit and be questioned by members of the prosecution and defense teams.

Have everyone take their seats—the trial's in session. Let's hope for a Law and Order-worthy performance. After the verdict is reached, have the jury come together and decide on a potential sentence (if they've decided Joe is guilty).

Optionally, to extend the trial, you can have students compose a newspaper article, one to two pages in length, which comments on the case they've just overseen in class.

Instructions for Your Students

Student Intro: One of the big letdowns of All My Sons is that Joe doesn't seem to be punished at the end. He escapes jail and leaves his business partner in the lurch, before enjoying freedom on the outside for an extended period (most of the drama). Then, when it gets too much…well, you know the rest.

In this activity, you'll imagine there's a different ending, where Joe doesn't commit suicide. In the new ending, Joe is rearrested and ends up in court, where he'll face the full wrath of the judicial system.

Some of the class will be Joe's defense team, arguing he isn't evil enough to deserve a life sentence, while others will play prosecutors, demanding the judge throw the largest book possible at him.

Joe's entitled to a fair trial, even if he's been a bad apple, so you better get prepping to make sure he receives his day in court before deciding what to do with him.

Step 1: Begin with a quick recap of what's gone down at the end of the drama courtesy of Shmoop's website. You'll be focusing on analyzing Joe's character and actions, so as to prep you for defending or attacking him later.

Your teacher will divide you into groups to talk about Joe and his controversial activities. Discuss his suicide and whether this is a tragic outcome for a man who only wanted the best for his family, or another attempt to flee punishment by a guy who just can't face up to his crimes. Was this final act indicative of Joe's character throughout the text?

Step 2: You and your fellow students are going to hold a trial for Joe, imagining he didn't commit suicide at the end of the drama but was rearrested for his wrongdoing in the faulty cylinders episode. In this alternate ending, the cops were notified of his wrongdoing by Ann, who had enough of whatever was going on in the Keller household and decided to let the authorities take over. The case for the jury is centered on whether Keller is in fact guilty of sending defective cylinder heads and the possible punishment for this.

You and your fellow students will play prosecutors, defense lawyers, witnesses, and jury as you conduct Joe's trial. First, though, you need to understand how trials work by reading a part of a California court system manual. Go to "How Criminal Cases Work" and answer these questions as you read:

• What events lead up to a criminal trial?
• Why is a jury included in a trial?
• Why may a jury not be used in a trial?
• What are the various stages of a criminal trial? Explain what happens during these.
• What happens during the sentencing process?

Step 3: Your teacher will assign you one of these roles:

• A prosecution team of four students, who will argue that Keller is perhaps the most dastardly villain ever in the history of the world
• A defense team, of four students: Joe has to have a fighting chance.
• Two witnesses who will be interviewed by the prosecution and defense teams
• A jury, who will decide whether Mr. Keller will be heading home or to jail

Step 4: Your teacher will review in more detail how the trial will run:

Opening statements:

• One member of the prosecution and defense team should give an opening statement of around five minutes, introducing their stance.
• The prosecution should present Joe as a hardened criminal who is now going to get his just desserts.
• The defense should be suggesting Keller is misunderstood, a family man rather than the world's most evil villain.
• The student speakers should be persuasive and passionate in revealing why their stance is correct and the other side lacks credibility.

Witnesses:

• Each witness will then be interviewed by the prosecution and defense teams who will have generated a prepared series of questions.
• If you're a witness, you have to stay in character during the questioning.
• For ideas about the witnesses that have been assigned, check out Shmoop's list of characters in All My Sons.

Closing statements:

• The prosecution and defense teams will each deliver a closing speech of around five minutes.
• The speech will remind the jury of your team's take on events, whether Joe Keller is a threat to national security or should be allowed back to the suburbs to have cake and tea with his family.

Verdict:

• Each member of the jury will decide whether Joe is innocent or guilty and meet in the hall as a jury for five minutes of voting.
• When the time comes, the jury will announce their decision and explain why they decided as they did.

Step 5: Spend the rest of the class prepping for the trial.

• If you're a prosecutor or defense lawyer, review your text and Shmoop for evidence.
• If you're a witness, review your text and your character pages on Shmoop once more.
• If you're on the jury, your task is to make flashcards for the final exam while everyone else preps for their performance.

Step 6: Help your teacher rearrange the classroom for the trial. You have to make sure there's a place for the judge to sit, tables for the prosecution and defense teams, and, of course, seats for the jury.

When the case begins, perform your designated role. If Joe's innocent, he and the defense team rejoice. If he's found guilty, then the judge will give the jury a number of sentences to choose from.

Step 7: Compose a newspaper article, one to two pages in length, which comments on the case you've just overseen in class. 

Mention the witnesses questioned, the outcome, sentencing, and Joe Keller's reactions to the proceedings.