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Ethical Choices in All My Sons from the Perspective of Ethical Literary Criticism
LIU Si-yan
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DOI:10.17265/2159-5836/2025.08.002
School of International Studies, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
This study applies the basic theories of “Ethical Literary Criticism” proposed by Nie Zhenzhao to Arthur Miller’s play All My Sons, focusing on the ethical predicament Joe Keller faces in his specific ethical identity within the ethical environment of his time. It further points out the process and the consequence of his ethical choices in the conflict between family interests and social responsibilities, so as to reveal the ethical teaching function of the play. Joe’s ethical predicament arises from the contradiction between his family roles and his desire for interests as a businessman. In this conflict, the interaction of the human factor and the animal factor within the “Sphinx factor” causes Joe to make two different ethical choices. Through Joe’s tragic fate, Miller reveals the ethical enlightenment in All My Sons: Individuals, families, and society are inextricably linked, so today’s citizens need to recognize their inherent social nature and fulfill ethical duties in both personal and social aspects. Miller uses the play to criticize the ethical ethos of 20th-century American society and calls on readers to reevaluate the instrumental rationality behind the American Dream.
Ethical Literary Criticism, All My Sons, ethical predicament, ethical choice, Sphinx factor
Journal of Literature and Art Studies, August 2025, Vol. 15, No. 8, 612-619
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