Kate monologue from All My Sons

Kate’s monologue

I was fast asleep, and — Remember the way he used to fly low past the house when he was intraining? When we used to see his face in the cockpit going by? That’s the way I saw him. Only high up. Way, way up, where the clouds are. He was so real I could reach out and touch him. And suddenly he started to fall. And crying, crying to me…Mom, Mom! I could hear him like he was in the room. Mom! … it was his voice! If I could touch him I knew I could stop him, if I could only – I woke up and it was so funny – The wind … it was like the roaring of his engine. I came out here. I must’ve still been half asleep. I could hear that roaring like he was going by. The tree snapped right in front of me – and I like – came awake. See? We should never have planted that tree. I said so in the first place; it was too soon to plant a tree for him.

Excerpt for study and audition practice. Read the full play for context.