joe keller quotes + analysis

Introduces him as a capitalist centred character, the other sections are neatly laid – shows he carefully ignores things he wishes to ignore

Reading the want ads of the Sunday paper, the other sections laid neatly beside him

      Not interested in current affairs (the lives of people outside of his immediate family)

-            Only interested in capital gain,  monetary prospects, profit, economic opportunity

-            Perhaps has developed an inversion towards the news due to being on the front page

-            Not political because he is “uneducated and “ignorant”

-            Critique of the American dream – miller is showing how capitalist ideology blinds individuals to their ethical responsibilities. Critiquing the capitalist mentality that privileges economic utility over ethical accountability.

-            Colloquial, casual tone creates a sense of normality but the ease hides a moral refusal where joe is actively withdrawing from awareness of the worlds problems- especially those he’s complicit in.

-            Encapsulates his moral myopia and underscores the central conflict

themes - The dangers of capitalist obsession and ethical blindness.

-     I don’t read the news anymore. Its more interesting in the want ads. (act one)  

     Verbal irony – there is a “jail in the basement” – not literally but emotionally, morally and psychologically.- joes guilt is buried below the surface in “the basement”

-            Symbolism of the basement – the unconscious mind, buried secrets, repression, guilt, joes internal prison

-            On my honour – deeply ironic as his honour is what’s in question the entire play as he sees himself as a good honourable man but his actions contradict that identity as his version of honour is twisted as it justifies sacrificing others to protect his own

-            It can almost be read as a Freudian slip

-            Foreshadows his death in the basement – justice is restored as he died in the “jail of his home” – cyclical structure and Chekhov’s gun theory – he mentions all the aspects of his death in the first act – the gun and the basement/jail

themes - guilt, moral responsibility, irony, freedom versus entrapment, the American Dream.

-      On word of my honour there’s a jail in that basement (act one)  

            Chilling motto of a capitalist system that values success over soul

-            Joe outright saying he chooses to not pay attention to things that challenge his comfort or profit- raw unapologetic admission of selective morality

-            Colloquial, blunt syntax – phrasing is casual, grammatically informal and direct.

-            Elision of “gotta” feels matter-of-fact like hes describing a necessity or instinct

-            Working-class diction reflects how joe justifies morally complex decisions with a simple self-serving logic ----peasant like common sense, stolid mind

-            Signals systemic denial

-            Example of cognitive dissonance in the internal conflict of what’s right vs what joe believes is acceptable – miller is exposing how individuals bend their moral compass when their self interest is at stake, especially in a capitalist society

-            Historical context – moral blindness in capitalist America – joe is the embodiment of the self made business, someone who built his life around the American dream.

-            Historical context- legacy of war crimes – post wwii the world was reckoning with accountability for wartime decisions (Nuremburg trials)there was a growing awareness that “just following orders” wasn’t a valid excuse for moral failure.

themes- moral blindness, individualism, capitalism

i ignore what i gotta ignore

           Mocking a challenging Chriss idealism

-            Tone – sarcastic, dismissive, contempt

-            Word “inspired” used as if its naïve and a luxury- links to Kellers childhood and upbringing during the great depression believing economic survival is central to life.

-            Shows joes deeply utilitarian worldview: actions are measured by results not principles

-            Idealism vs pragmatism – joe is threatened by idealism and this comment is a deflection

themes - utilitarianism, disillusionment, American dream

must you be inspired?

-            At this point in the play the audience believe he’s compassionate and simply cares deeply for his family

-            Colloquial tone and idiomatic language – American idiom evoking working class familiarity

-            Joe equates love with provision and believes that by giving Chris the business he’s giving him his entire life’s purpose

-            Emotional manipulation -its not just a declaration – it’s a demand, joe is trying to emotionally overwhelm Chris

• reveals kellers controlling nature masked in empathy

• end clipping - kellers “uneducated mind”

  themes - famillial obligation, liability

the whole shootin match is for you!

-            Dramatic irony- line delivered playfully but in reality this would be the gun to “arrest” Keller at the end of the play

-            Links the gun to justice

-            Chekhov’s gun theory – he then uses the gun to end his life restoring justice.

-            The gun represents power, and the illusion of control – joe enjoys being the protector and enforcer by pretending to be a policeman joe distracts from his own vulnerability and makes an attempt at controlling the narrative

-            The joke is a prophecy

themes - repentance,consequence

thats an arresting gun!

Audience feels sympathy towards joe – understands his motivations at this point of the play (loyalty and desire to leave his children a meaningful financial legacy) – fuelled by his own childhood and growing up having to work to live/ great depression. – formative years spent working moulded his brain to be centred around money and work.

-            Joe has blinded himself to the true cost of his earnings – death of 21, death of son, false imprisonment of SD, wife’s misery,son desperate to escape

-            Almost trying to convince himself that the money is clean

-            The repetition of “there’s nothing wrong with the money” hints to the audience that there definitely is something wrong with the money.

• He views financial success as a validation of his worth as a father, overshadowing the ethical implications of his actions.

  themes - financial legacy, ethical blindness

i want you to use what i made for you… without shame

…he didnt tell me anymore than he told you

dont look at me like that….

…yourself

calm….

…. slow. with a smile. the beast.

i walked down the street…

-            Main themes – money, capitalism, social expectations

-            Keller views material success at the ultimate goal, his perception of his self worth is determined by prosperity in wealth and restoration of his reputation

-            Caparative adjective in subordinate clause, “than ever” post modifier

-            Temporal deixis “fourteen months later”

-            Superlative phrase

Keller expresses his belief that business success equates to personal worth, showcasing his prioritization of capitalism and reputation over moral integrity.

Fourteen months later I had one of the best shops in the state again, a respected man again; bigger than ever

… in crucifying people

i never beleived…

… shop worker and boss still apon him

imprint of machine..

its with the terrible concentration of the uneducated man

when he reads, when he speaks, when he listens….

… apon experience

judgements dredged…

…among men

a man…

its more interesting in the want ads

i dont read the news any more….

… theres a jail in that basement

on my word of honour…

…what i gotta ignore

i ignore…

… be inspired

must you…

…shootin match is for you!

the whole…

…arresting gun

thats an… (to bert

… what i made for you… without shame

i want you to use…

…p40s only. larry never flew a p40

those cylinder heads went into…

…we can afford it

junk em steve..

… therell be no one to take out the garbage

act 2 everybodys getting so goddamn educated in this counry….

… with some big lawyers in town

im very friendly…

…is my son

my only accomplishment…

… and a father is a father

a dauughter is a daughter…

… why he has to crucify the man

i dont understand…

a father! (as though the ouotburst had revealed him

a father is…

…and they hang him by the thumbs

a little man makes a mistake…

…would rather see everybody hung before they take the blame

there are certain men in the world who…

…out of her mind! x2

shes… (to do with mother)

…plea in his voice) he never flew a p40 ×2

(the beginning of…

… the matter with you? x2 what the hells the matter with you?

are you out of your mind? whats..

…anybody? i dint kill anybody!

how could i kill…

…business, a man is in business - business x5

i am man in…

…knock you out in five mins… let them take my life away

you lay 40 years into a business and they….

lead to his fatal downfall

-            Knock you out – idiom, colloquialism

-            Imprint of machine shop worker still apon him – shows how his lack of education     

 -      Product of capitalism, places business above the social contract

-            Shows joes selfishness

-            His business is his entire “life”  - this reliance and dedication is his fatal falw and will lw being raised during the great depression, being taught that money is central to life has imprinted so much on him he views it as his life

themes - fleeting nature of capitalism, american dream,

you lay 40 years into a business and they knock you out in five minutes.. let themtake my life away?

… i thought i had a familly here

what am i, a stranger?…

…for what?

he would forgive me…

… i wouldnt forgive. because hes my son

theres nothing he could do that….

   Diction – contrast between stranger (exclusion, unfamiliarity and emotional alienation) and family ( sacred, unbreakable institution)

-            Rhetorical question – accusation cloaked as inquiry/ a defense mechanism – joe is avoiding direct confrontation with his own guilt and isstread deflecting by questioning his families loyalty to him

-            Past tense “I thought” signals the rupture between past and present and signals the collapse of joes worldview

-            The audience is pushed to grapple with competing sympathies

themes - emotional alienation and familial loyalty

what am i, a stranger? i thought i had a familly here

•   Forgive – the act of seeking forgiveness signals wrongdoing – joe cant face his guilt and is in denial

-            For what – deliberately blunt and defensive – not asked out of ignorance but denial

-            Structure is disjointed, reactive and tense, joe is under emotional duress

-            Reveals joes cognitive dissonance, his world is collapsing

-            Thematic resonance – moral responasibility, limits of American dream, family vs moral law

-            Dramatic irony – audience are fully aware of joes guilt now

theme - forgiveness and denial in guilt

he would forgive me, for whta?

…forgive. because hes my son

theres nothing he could do that i wouldnt…

… so i made money

you wanted money…

he was ten like i was

i shoudlve put him out when…

how a buck was made in this world

then hed know…

… of you thats all ive ever lived for

(desperately/lost) for you kate, for both…

and peace, its nickels and dimes

its dollars and cents nickels and dimes; war…

-            Repetition of monetary terms – creates mechanical almost hypnotic rhythm reflecting how deeply ingrained capitalism is in joe’s worldview. Almost like a mantra for him

-            Nickels and dimes – small almost trivial amounts of money. When talking about war and peace/ life and death, he reduces these monumental ideas to small change. – linguistic minimalization reflects the moral minimalization at the heart of his logic: human life becomes secondary to business calculations

-            Juxtaposition of war and peace – perhaps an allusion to Tolstoy’s novel

-            Juxtaposition of war and peace and nickels and dimes – collapses the scale of national tragedy into domestic business concerns and reveals joes moral detachment

-            Language shows us how j has compartmentalised his ethics -helps us infer why joe was able to rationalise sending out the defective parts, he saw it as a numbers game rather than a moral choice.

-            Self-justification – repetition is maybe a defence mechanism – joe is defending his past choices by reducing them to practicalities. - mirrors the capitalist ideologies

-            critique of post war values - reflects the moral disillusionment of postwar America, joe’s words represent a systemic failure of values in usa society

-            historical context – joes’ factory is a fictional representation of real ethical failures that occurred, capitalism vs conscience – surge in materialism and middle class prosperity

themes - capitalism, defeat

Its dollars and cents, nickels and dimes;war and peace, its nickels and dimes

…something more than that ill put a bullet in my head

 

Im his father and hes my son and if theres…

-            I think – qualifier – conveys uncertainty and even shock as joe discovers the moral weight of his crime. Contrast from the assured, controlling joe from earlier in the play. His tone becomes reflective, subdued and, crucially, human.

-            They – 3^rd person plural – joe recognises they weren’t just anonymous soldiers – they were individuals, sons and humans

-            My sons – possessive determiner 2my” indicates ownership, joe is finally accepting ownership of his crimes. “sons” could be a sort of biblical reference, that he was playing god/ the holy father by shipping out those parts and that he had a fatherly responsibility to the lives of the deceased soldiers.

-            Moment of anagnorisis

-            Thematic resonance – individual vs collective responsibility and the cost of the American dream

-            Eponymous line – encapsulates the messege of the play of moral righteousness and collective responsibility towards one another.

but i think to him they were all my sons

…they were all my sons

but i think to him…