Plot Summary (AQA A-Level English Literature A): Revision Notes
Plot Summary
Setting and opening
The play begins in the backyard of Joe Keller's home in a small American town, shortly after World War II has ended. Joe is reading his newspaper when the action starts. The night before, a powerful storm has knocked down an apple tree that the Keller family had planted in memory of their son Larry, who disappeared during the war three years earlier.
Two neighbours arrive to visit Joe that morning. Frank Lubey mentions that Joe's wife Kate has asked him to check Larry's horoscope to determine if the day Larry vanished, 25th November, was a fortunate day. Another neighbour, Dr Jim Bayliss, also comes by to chat with Joe. These opening interactions establish the neighbourhood setting and hint at Kate's refusal to accept Larry's death.
The fallen apple tree serves as a powerful symbol throughout the play, representing both the family's lost hope and their inability to maintain the façade they have built around Larry's memory.
Act One: Ann's arrival and family tensions
Ann Deever comes to visit
A young woman named Ann Deever arrives at the Keller home the night before the main action begins. She sleeps in Larry's old room. Ann was Larry's girlfriend before he disappeared, and she has now come to visit at Chris Keller's invitation. Chris is Joe and Kate's surviving son, and it becomes clear that he and Ann have developed romantic feelings for each other.
Other neighbours appear during the act, including Sue Bayliss and Lydia Lubey, who converse with their husbands. A boy called Bert plays a game where he pretends to be a police officer and imagines there is a jail in Joe's basement, which Joe goes along with in a friendly manner.
Bert's innocent game about the "jail" in Joe's basement subtly foreshadows the theme of guilt and imprisonment that runs throughout the play. This seemingly playful detail hints at Joe's hidden culpability.
The past is revealed
Chris tells Joe that he saw Kate in the garden the previous night when the tree fell. She ran into the house crying. Both father and son recognise that Kate desperately clings to the hope that Larry will return, even though they both understand this is impossible. Chris informs Joe that he has invited Ann to visit because they are in love and want to marry. When Kate appears, she describes a vision she had of Larry flying his aircraft over the house, calling out for her.
After a few drinks, Joe and Chris decide they will tell Kate about the engagement plans at dinner that evening. However, Kate admits she cannot cope with the reality of Larry's death, creating immediate tension about Chris's plans.
Kate's inability to accept Larry's death is not just maternal grief—it becomes clear later that accepting Larry's death would force her to confront the truth about Joe's responsibility for the wartime crime.
The Deever connection
When Ann joins the family in the garden, Jim asks about her father, who is in prison. This prompts the revelation of a crucial backstory. Ann's father, Steve Deever, and Joe Keller were business partners three years earlier. Their factory manufactured aircraft engines for the American Air Force during the war.
At some point, someone at the factory discovered that a batch of engines had cracks in them, making them faulty. These defective engines were knowingly shipped out anyway, and the decision resulted in the deaths of twenty-one American pilots when their planes crashed. Steve Deever was found guilty of this crime and sent to prison, whilst Joe was cleared of responsibility because he claimed he was not at the factory on the day the cracked engines were dispatched. The entire play revolves around this past event and its consequences.
The Central Crime:
This wartime incident forms the moral heart of the play:
- Steve Deever and Joe Keller's factory produced faulty aircraft engines
- The defective engines were knowingly shipped to the Air Force
- Twenty-one pilots died as a direct result
- Steve was convicted and imprisoned
- Joe was acquitted by claiming he was ill and absent that day
- The truth of what really happened drives the entire dramatic conflict
Ann makes it clear that she has accepted Chris's proposal to marry him, signalling her rejection of any lingering hope that Larry might return.
Act Two: confrontation and truth
Morning tensions
Act Two begins the following morning. Chris notices the broken apple tree, which serves as a physical symbol of the family's loss. Sue and Ann have a discussion about marriage, during which Sue criticises Chris's idealism. She suggests that everyone knows Joe was actually guilty of the crime, not just Steve Deever. Jim has gone to collect George, Ann's brother, from the train station.
When Jim returns, he warns Joe that George is angry and intends to cause trouble. George has come specifically to confront Joe and to take Ann home with him.
George arrives
When George appears, he and Chris discuss work matters. George is wearing his father's hat, which becomes symbolically important. He confesses to Ann that they have treated their father, Steve, poorly by not communicating with him and refusing to believe his version of events regarding what truly happened at the factory.
Steve has told George the truth: Joe Keller gave the order to ship out the cracked engines, then pretended to be ill so he would not be at the factory that day. This way, Joe avoided direct responsibility whilst Steve took the blame. George wants to confront Joe directly, but Ann tries to persuade him to wait.
George wearing his father's hat symbolises his new role as defender of his father's honour and truth. It represents his transformation from someone who abandoned Steve to someone willing to fight for justice on his behalf.
The lie unravels
Lydia mentions how happy she is to see George because they were once romantically involved. When Joe appears, he questions George about Steve and offers him a job at the factory once Steve is released from prison. However, George makes it clear that Steve despises Joe and everyone else who benefited from the war.
A critical moment occurs when Kate claims that Joe has not been ill in fifteen years. George immediately recognises this as proof that Joe was lying about having flu on the day of the incident. Joe attempts to correct Kate's mistake by saying it is too late to change what happened now.
The Crucial Slip:
Kate's casual comment—that Joe hasn't been ill in fifteen years—inadvertently exposes the lie at the centre of Joe's defence. This single statement proves Joe couldn't have been sick on the day the engines were shipped, destroying his alibi and confirming Steve's account of events.
Frank appears suddenly to inform them that according to Larry's horoscope, the day Larry disappeared was indeed favourable, which means he might still be alive. This further reinforces Kate's delusion and creates more conflict. Chris calls this idea insane, but Kate holds firm. George prepares to leave with Ann.
In a moment of clarity, Kate reveals to her son Chris that she knows about Joe's role in the munitions shipment. Stunned by this truth, Chris explodes in fury at his father.
Act Three: tragedy and resolution
Chris disappears
Act Three takes place late at night. Chris has driven away following the revelation, and Kate sits alone on the porch. Jim appears to reassure Kate that Chris will also prioritise Kate over abstract ideas of honour and justice, just as Jim did when he chose money and family over his values. Joe insists he would have killed himself if there had been something more important than family at stake.
Ann appears with a letter from Larry. This is a crucial piece of evidence she has been withholding from the family. Ann wants Kate to release Chris from the lie about Larry's fate, but when Kate refuses, Ann must reveal the truth contained in the letter.
Jim's pragmatic philosophy—that everyone eventually chooses family and security over ideals—serves as a foil to Chris's struggle. It suggests that moral compromise is inevitable, making Chris's ultimate rejection of this worldview all the more significant.
Larry's letter
Chris returns and apologises to Ann for behaving like a coward. He can no longer work in Joe's business and plans to find a new life in Cleveland. His idealism has transformed into cynicism as he now sees the world clearly for what it is.
When Joe reappears, another argument erupts. Joe tells Chris to throw away the family money if he considers it tainted. Chris admits that he once worshipped Joe blindly but now understands reality. Ann decides to share Larry's letter, which contains the revelation that will finally shatter this family.
The final truth
In the letter, Larry confesses that he committed suicide in response to learning about Joe's crime. He could not live with the shame of what his father had done. Joe reads this news and quietly goes inside the house to shoot himself.
Larry's Letter—The Ultimate Revelation:
Larry's suicide letter reveals the devastating truth that destroys the last remnants of the family's denial:
- Larry learned about his father's crime before he disappeared
- Unable to bear the shame, he deliberately crashed his plane
- His death was not an accident but a direct consequence of Joe's actions
- Kate's refusal to accept Larry's death was unconsciously tied to protecting Joe
- The letter proves that Joe's crime didn't just kill twenty-one pilots—it also killed his own son
The play concludes with Kate holding Chris and trying to comfort him, telling him that he must continue living despite the tragedy. The Keller family's denial and deception have led to ultimate destruction, with both sons lost as a consequence of Joe's actions.
Key Plot Points to Remember:
- The play unfolds over two days in the Keller family's backyard, beginning with a fallen apple tree that symbolises lost hope
- The central conflict revolves around a wartime crime: Joe Keller shipped faulty aircraft engines that killed twenty-one pilots, but his business partner Steve Deever took the blame
- Key revelations drive the plot forward: George exposes Joe's lie about being ill, Kate accidentally confirms Joe wasn't sick for fifteen years, and Ann's letter reveals Larry's suicide
- The three-act structure shows escalating tension: Act One establishes the family's denial, Act Two brings confrontation and partial truth, Act Three delivers the full devastating revelation and tragic consequences
- The play examines themes of responsibility, guilt, and the cost of prioritising family over wider moral duty, ultimately showing that denial cannot prevent truth from emerging