Materialism and Moral Accountability in All My Sons

Arthur Miller’s All My Sons is a potent critique of materialism and reflects on moral responsibility in modern society. The play highlights how economic survival and family loyalty lead to moral compromise and a contrasting vision of social responsibility and ethical accountability. The father-son conflict in the play portrays a deeper tension between private interest and collective obligation. The paper reveals how the play narrates about an inseparable bond between the individual and the society. It proposes that individual actions are influenced by the larger social forces. The compelling portrayal of human values in context of materialism reiterates broader sense of moral responsibility in testing times. It draws upon a Marxist and normative perspective to expose complexity of human behaviours affected by social structures/pressures. These concerns not only help in understanding the play as a critique of materialism, but also make it relevant in contemporary socio-economic contexts.