KELLER. Well, that’s what a war does. I had two sons, now I got one. It changed all the tallies. In my day when you had sons it was an honor. Today a doctor could make a million dollars if he could figure out a way to bring a boy into the world without a trigger finger. (Act 1)

This quotation shows Joe’s pain at the loss of his son Larry in the war. When Joe was young, having sons was considered better than having daughters. But in wartime, a son is a liability, because you are more likely to lose him and suffer the grief of that loss. Only if a son could be born without a trigger finger, making him unable to fight a battle in which he might die, would a son still be more valuable to his family than a daughter in the play’s world.

CHRIS. I don’t want to argue with her, but it’s time she realized that nobody believes Larry is alive anymore. [KELLER simply moves away, thinking, looking at the ground.] Why shouldn’t she dream of him, walk the nights waiting for him? Do we contradict her? Do we say straight out that we have no hope anymore? That we haven’t had any hope for years now?

KELLER [frightened at the thought] You can’t say that to her.

CHRIS. We’ve got to say it to her. (Act 1)

This conversation between Joe and Chris reveals the main problem that stands in the way of Chris and Annie’s marriage. Kate does not believe that Larry is dead, so in her mind, Annie is still his girl. By the time the play’s action starts, Chris has been waiting years for this to change so he can marry Annie. The source of tension in the exchange, however, is that Chris is tired of waiting and has decided to ask Annie now. It would be better to do it with his mother’s understanding, though, so he wants to tell her that Larry is not coming back, a plan that deeply frightens his father.

MOTHER. Your brother’s alive, darling, because if he’s dead, your father killed him. Do you understand me now? As long as you live, that boy is alive. God does not let a son be killed by his father. Now you see, don’t you? Now you see. (Act 2) 

At this pivotal moment, Kate reveals the reason she has been unable to accept Larry’s death. She knows that Joe was responsible for shipping the defective parts and therefore for the deaths of many pilots who flew with them in their planes and crashed. In her mind, these pilots also possibly include Larry. Her faith in God depends on her belief that God could not have let something like this happen, could not have let Joe be responsible for her own son’s death. If her husband and her living son force her to accept that Larry is dead, the faith that is the foundation of her life will be broken, and she will have nothing to live for. This explains more clearly her previous statement that she would kill herself if she knew Larry was dead. It also picks up on the symbolism of the fallen tree, which represents a change in the way the family views Larry and his legacy.

KELLER. There’s nothin’ he could do that I wouldn’t forgive. Because he’s my son. Because I’m his father and he’s my son.

MOTHER. Joe, I tell you . . .

KELLER. Nothin’s bigger than that. And you’re goin’ to tell him, you understand? I’m his father and he’s my son, and if there’s something bigger than that I’ll put a bullet in my head. (Act 3) 

This quotation is a powerful piece of foreshadowing, as Keller will, indeed, put a bullet in his head by the end of act 3. It also reveals the way of thinking that led Joe to the decision he made about the factory problem. He views family as more important than honesty, courage, or anything else in life. In his view, if one must choose between family and any other concern, one should choose family every time. What breaks Joe’s heart is that he discovers none of his family members feel this way. Larry, Kate, and Chris all choose something else over Joe, even though he has sacrificed for many years to protect them. When Joe discovers that Chris will not forgive him, his life becomes unbearable. This is why he chooses to die by suicide.