Abstract: The present paper makes a critical analysis of two plays: All My Sons and Death of a Salesman written by Arthur Miller, a titan among the American playwrights of the twentieth century. He captures the universal theme of family and of transience of success and how ordinary decent people can be overwhelmed by the great tides of events. There is a powerful moral edge to these two plays in which the family, materialism and values are dominant strands that weave the fabric of the stories. The truth is mirrored at familial, societal and universal level through the protagonists’ rash, selfish and immoral actions and their repercussions. It is the smaller family, living under the same roof, for which the protagonists neglect the duty and responsibility towards society, nation and humanity at large. That becomes the cause of the disruption of the family and their suicidal course.