All My Sons Courage Quotes Page 1
Citations follow this format: (Act.Line). Every time a character talks counts as one line, even if what they say turns into a long monologue.
| Quote #1 Keller: Don't look at me like that, he didn't tell me any more than he told you. (1.286) |
Not true, Joe! He knows full well that Chris wants to marry Ann. But out of fear of losing his wife's support, he evades confrontation with her.
| Quote #2 Keller: That's the only way you lick 'em is guts! (1.446) |
Joe has just recounted his version of the story of his crime, concluding with a victorious stroll back into the neighborhood after his exoneration. A kind of false courage. Real courage would have been acknowledging the wrong he did – or, in the first place, holding life more sacred than a profit.
| Quote #3 Mother: All right, Joe. Just…be smart. [Keller, in hopeless fury, looks at her, turns around, goes up to porch and into house, slamming screen door violently behind him. Mother sits in chair downstage, stiffly, staring, seeing.] (1.623) |
In this last line of Act 1, the stage directions give us an idea of how the Kellers handle extreme challenges. Joe throws a tantrum and goes in the house; Kate sits outside processing and preparing. She's the more intelligent and stronger of the two, as we come to see. Does that make her more or less guilty than Joe?
