All My Sons Lesson Plan

What is Mother’s reaction to reading Larry’s letter? Why is this significant?

The most astute responses will notice that Mother is not shocked reading Larry’s letter. Despite the fact that she has insisted that Larry was alive throughout the play, it’s clear that she always knew in her heart that she was dead. This is significant because her denial relates to Keller’s guilt, which she was complicit in. She knew Keller sent out those cracked engines that caused the deaths of 21 pilots. Her denial of Larry’s death allowed her to live with herself knowing what her husband had done. She always knew that it was possible that Larry died in one of the crashed planes. The...