...George knows full-well that Joe covered up and deflected the blame onto Steve. But Joe is scared for the majority of the play of facing the truth, and the possibility of going to jail. Joe tells George about the time that Steve blamed Frank for buying him stock that plummeted after Steve had told him to buy that exact stock. Joe says that Steve wouldn't take the responsibility. And George admits that his dad is a "frightened mouse" who would never do something like this on his own. Joes continues to say, "There are certain men in the world who rather see everybody hung before they'll take blame" (Act 2, Pg. 54). However, in reality it is Joe who is the frightened mouse. Joe will not take the blame for his own fault. Not only is Joe too frightened to take the responsibility of selling the false plane parts, but he is also too frightened to explain to Kate that Larry is never coming back. When Ann finally shows Kate the final letter from Larry, Kate is convinced that Larry is dead. The letter solidifies any lingering hope in Kate's belief that Larry is still alive. Ann does what she has to do to make Kate realize that Larry is dead. Kate is the only person, besides really Frank, who believes Larry is still alive. Ann says, "So I didn't bring this to hurt you. I thought I'd show it to you only if there was no other way to settle Larry in your mind" (Act 3, Pg. 65). Kate is opposed to Ann marrying Chris. Kate believes that Larry, Ann's old boyfriend, is still alive. If Kate admits that Larry is dead, it puts Joe into an even more uncomfortable position than he is already in. In addition, she thinks that if Chris marries Ann it would be wrong to Larry, whom Kate thinks is still alive. ...
