Failing Fathers

The early plays by Arthur Miller share a common interest in the family.Two major plays of this period,Death of a Salesman and All My Sons,are especially concerned with the relationship between father and son.This relationship constitutes the main body of the conflicts,and through the failures of the fathers,the other aspects of the plays are given the chance to be reviewed in a new perspective.This paper first examines the illusions the fathers rely on,and how they establish,reinforce,and suffer from the idealistic illusions according to the archetypal structure of male psyche proposed by Carl Jung.Then the object of research is shifted to the sons.As they are also the participants and maintainers in the illusions,their contribution to the final breakdown of the fatherhood will be credited.Lastly,this paper bridges the link from the failing fathers to the failing fatherhood through the psychoanalysis of the correlation between the domineering fathers and sons in illusion,and how the disillusionment takes place.Besides,the paper attempts to offer insights on how the failing fathers impact the society.This research shows that the failing fathers are the consequence of paternal illusions which consequently lead to the tragic disillusionment and death.Their sons are unavoidably influenced by the illusions and participated in the maintenance of them.At the end of the day,the particular social environment is the cause of the illusions,and determines the tragic fate of the characters.