How far can we say that "All My Sons" is a tragedy?

I think Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons" perfectly fits with most of the definitions of tragedy. The first thing that makes this play a tragedy is the tragic event that has happened before the play stars - Larry's death. Joe has made a terrible mistake and he has to cope with the consequences. He is the tragic character as his family gets destroyed. "All My Sons" also fits a definition of tragedy because of the belief in stars and fate - Frank has made a horoscope and Kate wants to believe in it. Another fact that this is a tragedy is the time scale - all the events happen within 24 hours time. Even though Larry's character or ghost never appears, his presence can be felt all the time. Justification is another thing which makes "All My Sons" a tragedy. Joe knows he has done a terrible mistake, but he wants everyone to believe he has done it for the sake of his family. The play has a death theme in it - first, Larry kills himself, but at the end Joe takes his life away. The connection between the deaths is very strong, since Larry killed himself because he couldn't face his father anymore, but Joe commited a suicide after he got to know the reason of his son's death.

Tragic and dramatic elements in Arthur Miller's play "All My Sons".

Act One.

In act one we get introduced to all of the characters, but George is the only one who doesn't appear till the second act. This builds up tension and leaves the reader suspicious, wondering what exactly is George about to bring into the play. Right at the beginning we get introduced to Joe Keller, who is the main character, and he is described as uneducated. Miller is paying much attention to the stage settings and describes a tree that has recently broken down. As we later get to know, the tree has been a memorial to Joe's son Larry who went missing on November 25th, at that time - three and a half years ago. So now we know that the tragedy of the family has begun before the play has started. When Chris tells Joe his plans to marry Ann, a conflict begins. Before Larry went missing, Ann was his girlfriend and since Kate believes her son is alive, she still sees Ann as Larry's girl. Joe thinks the marriage would pronounce Larry as dead and feels it would be too tough for his wife, Kate, to cope with it. A drama strikes when Chris almost forces Joe to tell Kate the truth - nobody believes that Larry is going to come back. Later in the play Kate appears and tells about her nightmare of Larry falling from his plane and calling her name. She also believes Ann is still waiting for Larry and refuses to believe her son's words. When Ann appears she convinces Kate she doesn't believe Larry is coming back and ruins Kate's hopes. It is later revealed that Ann's father Steve is serving a sentence in prison being guilty for the deaths of 21 men. He and Joe Keller shipped faulty cylinder heads causing airplane crashes, however Joe was released and named innocent. This is a dramatic element of the play, as it reveals the causes of tragedy. Act one ends with a telephone conversation and news that George is about to visit the Keller's for the first time after he visited his father in prison. This leaves everyone worried and we now that there is some darker secret which the family is hiding.

Act Two.

Act Two starts with Chris removing the broken tree, and, perhaps, trying to forget his long-missing brother forever and is hoping for his mother to do the same. Mother(Kate) reveals her fears of George bringing the pas backt. She leaves everyone suspicious, as she acts like Joe really is guilty. Later on, there's a conversation between Sue and Ann. Sue reveals that everyone knows Joe is guilty, but has escaped. She also suggests Ann and Chris to go away if they decide to marry. When Chris appears, Sue leaves, leaving Ann confused and even scared. She doesn't want to believe Keller is guilty and asks Chris to convince her. The drama and tragedy is growing, as nobody wants to believe Keller is guilty, because it would mean that he has killed his own son. When George arrives, Jim gives an advice not to bring him to the Kellers. Neither Ann or Chris understands why till the final tragedy begins. George tells his thoughts on who was guilty for shipping the damaged cylinders - he thinks Joe is to blame. When he meets Joe and Kate, they seem friendly at first, but then start talking about Steve who's in prison. Joe forces George to believe he's innocent, leaving everyone suspicious and worried. Ann then calls a taxi and tells George to leave, hoping the family could still be saved. As mother approaches, she suggests George to stay. Then the conversation turns to its worse - Kate reveals Joe hasn't been sick in fifteen years, which means that the whole thing of Joe being ill and not being able to come over when the faulty cylinder heads were about to be shipped was a lie. Kate then tries to correct her own words by saying she doesn't remember every time someone is sick. The drama continues when Frank appears and says he has finished Larry's horoscope. He insists Kate's son could still be alive since November 25th was his favorable day, which means he couldn't die. The situation gets even worse when Kate again insists Larry is alive. She has already called a cabin and packed Ann's things when George reminds of the fact that Joe has never been ill. When Chris gets fed up with the situation, he starts fighting with his mother and then reveals his plan to marry Ann. As everyone had predicted before, Kate is against the marriage and the events keep getting worse. Act two ends with Joe's that he is guilty. Chris feels devastated and doesn't know what to do now. Overall, act two is very dramatic and full of tragedy. It's amazing how many bad events can happen in few hours. A strong family has been destroyed completely by the return of Ann and George.

Act Three.

Act Three tells about the following morning when Chris has drove away to gather his thoughts. Jim and Kate is having a conversation where Jim admits he has always known Joe's guilty. Kate on the other hand admits she thought Chris knows the truth at some points. She didn't expect his reaction to be like it was. When Joe comes in the play, he has a fight with Kate. She suggests Joe to tell Chris he is willing to take blame and go to the prison, thinking that Chris would never send his father away. Ann comes in and demands Kate to tell Chris Larry is dead, so everyone can move on. They start another fight and Ann is about to reveal a secret that's been hidden for three and a half years. She sends Joe in and then tells Kate about the letter Larry has sent to her. While they are arguing, Chris comes back and informs everyone he's going away alone, because he is unable to cope with the embarrassment of his father. Ann turns to Kate and wants her to tell the truth. When Joe enters, he starts arguing with Chris and then another tragedy happens - Chris starts reading the letter Larry wrote to Ann. It says he has taken his own life because he couldn't face his own dad anymore. This brakes Joe completely and he decides to go to the prison. He then goes inside the house. Kate is begging Chris to convince his father not to go to the prison and finally admits Larry is dead. Few moments later, a shot is heard. Chris enters the house, then comes out crying. Joe has killed himself.