Despite the fact that it only follows a single family over the course of a few days, Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman addresses several situations that modern day families deal with, including depression, financial struggles, and suicide. The 60 year old play has appealed to audiences throughout the years as these problems always seem to be present. However, in the 21st century, they seem to be more of an issue than before.
In his daydreams and present day, the main motivator for Willy was his constant need for money in order to pay for the extensive bills and repairs. While he dreamed of being an important man, he struggled to make the payments and was living from paycheck to paycheck- sometimes having to borrow money from his wealthy neighbor. Many Americans- particularly those in the lower and middle class- find themselves in this situation, especially in areas with high rent or lower pay. In fact, according to a survey conducted in 2014, 40% of Americans felt that they just getting by, or struggling to do so. As seen in Miller’s play, the constant stress of needing to pay the bills, repair, or upgrade materials and not having the money to do so can not only lead to individual stress, but tension among family members. While our protagonist only tended to verbally fight with family, this kind of stress can often lead to divorce and domestic violence. Right below adultery, financial issues is the second top factor for divorce, and couples facing high levels of economic stress were three times more likely to experience domestic violence than those not.
Financial stress can also lead to many individual issues, such as heart and gastrointestinal problems, weight issues, eating disorders, insomnia, and high blood pressure. While Willy did not suffer with any of these, as far as the audience is concerned, he did struggle with one of the biggest issues facing the nation: depression. In our modern day, depression affects approximately 20% to 25% of the United States population. While it may seem like small percentage, this does not include all the other common mental disorders, and still contains millions of people. The feeling of hopelessness and emptiness can lead those to attempt suicide, with one suicide for every 25 attempts. Being the 10th leading cause of death, The suicide rates for the United States has stayed relatively constantly throughout the past 50 years as well, staying around 12.1%.
Interestingly enough, assuming that Willy Loman was white, he would fit the second most at risk group for suicide. Based on data from 2014, White males between the age of 45 and 64 are the second most likely group of people to commit suicide. Compared to other ethnicities, white people have a 14.7% suicide rate, compared to a 10.9% rate for American indians and 5.5% for African Americans. Compared to women, men are three and a half times more likely to commit suicide, and compared to other age groups, those between the ages of 45 and 64 have a 19.2% suicide rate, just below the 19.3% rate for those between the ages of 85 and older. The least at risk group is those 20 through 34 years old, with a rate of 14.8. Unlike what statistics might suggest, the protagonist did not use a firearm to end his life, which is what about half of the population would have used. Instead, he crashed his car, which could make up anywhere from 1.6% to 5% of suicides. Despite the method, however, his death was still tragic, and his family is left without his support in their time of need. While our society has made attempts to help those who are depressed, the struggle still exists and the rates continue to stay high. In fact, the rates continue to rise throughout the years, slowly but steadily. Willy was but one of many victims of depression.
Throughout the years, these tragic yet common issues have been shown in Miller’s play. The audience has and will always be able to relate to the story and the characters, from financial struggles, depression, the consequences of both, and others that many will encounter in their lifetime.
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