All my sons - Arthur Miller
“(Capable of holding fast to what she knows)”
Stage directions - Links to her awareness of Larry’s death.
“My stomach gets hard.”
Motif of illness - Shows the physical consequences of deceit.
“It’s wrong to pity a man like that.”
Unmitigated declarative - Disbelief that Keller shows sympathy towards Steve.
“Please, I don’t want to argue.”
Typical gender roles - She is the peacekeeper.
“I’m not here out of blue sky, Chris. I turned my back on my father, if there’s anything wrong here now…”
Ellipsis - This sacrifice shows that her loyalties lie with the Kellers.
“Larry is dead, Kate.”
Symbolism (The letter) - The letter is used as a plot device to drive the narrative and also reveal that Ann had the letter/knew about Larry’s death the whole time.
Mother: “Annie where did you get that dress?”
Motif of clothing - It reflects her success.
“I’ll do nothing about Joe, but you’re going to do something for me.”
Command - Ann has her own selfish motivations, she wants Kate to clear the slate so she can get onto building a life with Chris.
Jim: “The block could use a pretty girl” .. “Look how nice her legs turned out.”
Unmitigated declaratives - Objectification of Ann which was typical of time.
Mother: “She goes to sleep in his room and his memorial breaks in pieces.”
Irony - Implies her arrival is symbolic, however we find out it’s just Mother’s superstition which is used as a coping mechanism.