First performed in 1949, Arthur Miller’s screenplay, The Death of a Salesman, is still relevant with modern political and societal issues. Miller presents his themes not by explicitly stating them, but rather, subtly tying them into the actions and consequences of the characters. Moreover, the morals extrapolated from the Loman family’s demise apply directly to the modern era as the same issues are being faced by Americans nearly 70 years later.
First, one of the largest political issues of the play involved Willy Loman’s income. A mediocre salesman, Willy lost his salary and was forced to work on commision until he was eventually fired. In addition to having restricted income, the Lowan family was in substantial debt, working to pay off their home along with smaller items such as their car and refrigerator. Miller used this situation to demonstrate the cycle of debt many real families of the late 1940’s experienced. Willy expresses his frustration saying, “I just finished paying for the car and it's on its last legs. The refrigerator consumes belts like a goddamn maniac. They time those things. They time them so when you paid for them, they're used up” (Miller 56). This cycle is a symbol of how despite his work ethic, Willy feels unable to improve his family’s economic status.
While not the focus of his play, this cycle of economic hopelessness relates very well to the current cycle of poverty faced by many groups of Americans. The effect of the issue can be seen in American academic, Michael Porter, expressing, “The lack of businesses and jobs in disadvantaged urban areas fuels not only a crushing cycle of poverty but also crippling social problems such as drug abuse and crime” (Porter). This problem, addressed by Miller, has become a divisive political issue debated by people in government. While some people believe it is the government’s responsibility to help these individuals escape the cycle with government programs, others believe the individuals should be able to escape through perseverance and education, without government support. With the 2016 election approaching, this problem will certainly be brought to the forefront of people’s attention. While Miller doesn’t explicitly state his opinion, it is likely that he would have supported government assistance as the story shows Willy nearly working himself to death with no success.
In addition to economics, the play’s events relate directly to current societal issues involving depression. In the play, Willy is depressed. Even though we see in flashbacks that he was once happy about his career and family, he becomes unhappy as his professional and family life deteriorate. The depression Willy suffers through becomes a major idea in the play. Depression takes over his entire life as he struggles to live in the present, constantly reflecting upon happier times. The depression is bad enough that Willy attempts suicide by driving off a bridge and inhaling gas. Miller uses this character not only to show the extent of the misery faced by depressed people, but also to show the lack of support they often have. The Loman family knew about Willy’s attempts on his life with a rubber gas tube but did nothing to help him. Miller shows that the family’s response of anger only led to his eventual suicide.
The idea of lack of support depressed people have, brought up by Miller, is a serious problem today. Approximately 43,000 Americans kill themselves every year accounting for about 0.013% of the United States population. According to psychologist Donna White, “Cultivating supportive relationships can play a big role in making depression more manageable” (White). Perhaps if the Loman family was more supportive towards Willy, and had not pretended his condition didn’t exist, he would not have died and they would be happier because of it. Furthermore, nearly 7% of the American population experiences depression while a majority of these individuals try to hide it from at least some of their family members (Facts). Again, this serious road block was addressed by Miller. In the play, Willy would lie to his peers, talking up his children’s accomplishments, even though they were mostly untrue, so that his life would not appear as sad and pathetic as it actually was. Miller has Willy behave this way to show that it is impossible for individuals to receive support if they are not truthful about their lives with themselves or others. Like the cycle of poverty, depression is extremely relevant today with the upcoming election. Currently, the U.S. spends over 42 billion dollars on anxiety disorders annually with apparently limited success. Altogether, the way the government decides to combat this issue is of importance to politicians and voters alike.
In conclusion, The Death of a Salesman is very relevant today, despite being 67 years, as its ideas relate to modern political and societal issues. While the play brought up several other issues that are still important today, such as balancing sports and schoolwork in high school, two of the largest topics brought up by Miller were the difficulty to escape poverty and the lower middle class, along with the seriousness of depression. The relevance of these items today is a testament to quality of Miller’s universal message as he addressed problems that transcend a specific moment in time, making the play meaningful to each of its viewers.
"Facts & Statistics." Anxiety and Depression Associates of America. ADAA, n.d. Web. 30 July 2016.
Porter, Michael. "Michael Porter Quote." A-Z Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2016.Porter, Michael. "Michael Porter Quote." A-Z Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 July 2016.
White, Donna. "Supporting Individuals with Depression: The Importance of Self-Care | Psych Central." Psych Central, 03 Nov. 2010. Web. 30 July 2016.
4 comments:
To begin, I personally appreciate how you opened your introduction with the year the play was first performed. Because the assignment is about relating the literature to current events, you add depth to your analysis by mentioning that The Death of a Salesman is from several decades prior to today. Furthermore, you give background about Miller by stating that he subtly incorporates themes into his piece, rather than “explicitly stating them”. Then, you wrap your introduction by asserting that the themes are still relevant to today, despite the fact Miller wrote the play almost seventy years earlier. I like your take on the intro, you hint at the topics of your paragraphs by explaining “…the Loman family’s demise appl[ies] directly to the modern era as the same issues are being faced by Americans”; however, you don’t give too much away about your focus, making your essay seem less repetitive and well put together.
Additionally, I agree with the current events you chose to mention. I also wrote about the economic troubles the Loman family faced and how many Americans today are still struggling with the same economic troubles. I liked the support you drew from Michael Porter, the cycle of poverty is both crippling and never ending. I can also appreciate how you formed a conclusion about political ideology and addressed the 2016 election, it opened my eyes even more to the piece and led me to further my own thinking. Your decision to acknowledge the theme of depression is an important one. The theme of depression in the play still accurately represents the way depression is handled in America today. Such as you mentioned, the American government puts efforts into combatting the disease, with little success. Moreover, your choice to tie the issue into the election again shows just how important the issue of depression really is.
In conclusion your piece is both well put together and completely relevant to current societal and political issues. Well done!
Your post does a very good job in relating some of the themes in Death of a Salesman to modern day political and societal issues. I hadn’t considered the way that the Loman family responded to Willy’s attempts at suicide before reading your post, and now I realize what how their unsupportiveness and the way they ignored his suicide attempts led to him committing suicide. This makes me wonder how many suicides could be prevented if the depressed person had more support from their family members, which you address in your post.
The way that you used quoted material throughout your post was very effective in proving that the themes in Death of a Salesman are still relevant today. By quoting modern experts and using facts and statistics from recent studies you prove that the issues brought up in the play are still relevant. I also liked the way that you constantly referenced to the issue of poverty as a cycle, and choose quotes that also made this reference. Making a constant reference when talking about poverty in the play and poverty in modern times helped to connect the two.
Another thing I liked about your post is the way you made reference to the upcoming 2016 presidential election. By alluding to an upcoming and important political event, you further established how the issues are still relevant today. Another thing that helped establish the relevance of the issue of poverty was how you discussed the different political stances about poverty, and what stance you think Miller would have supported based on the events of Death of a Salesman. Overall, you did a very good job relating some of the themes in Death of a Salesman to modern political and societal issues.
I really loved how The Death of a Salesman dealt with so many common topics and had characters that many people could relate to. Like you said, the play incorporates many themes, including depression, poverty, losing a job, the struggle to support a family, and much more. Most people have had experience with at least one of these things, if not more. Miller addresses many struggles, allowing more readers to relate better to his characters, mainly Willy, and his struggles to keep his family happy and well.
I also agree that Miller definitely made a wake up call to people who know people struggling with depression. Willy’s story is simply a story of a depressed man losing hope and eventually killing himself, when, if his family had chosen to confront the problem rather than ignore it, he could have gotten help and had a happier ending. Miller draws attention to fact that depression is not something that will just go away if you pretend it doesn’t exist. The ending of his play was shocking and moving, and hopefully resonated with many people.
The play is timeless, in a way. The problems presented in the story set in the late 1940s are still present today, and despite the old-fashioned lingo of the characters and the ideals found in the play, people can see the themes that Miller writes about in their lives and can relate to the characters with ease.
I also have read this book and agree with what you have stated in this post. In general Willy and his family was in poverty despite him constantly working. This is an issue that many face today, and they seek help from the government to try to give them the extra boost to escape the vicious cycle. However, I think that it is very hard to determine who is doing everything they can (legally) do, and those who are trying to just take advantage of the system. In this case, Willy worked extremely hard and still couldn't make ends meet. On the other hand, though, it never said that Linda had a job or any reason that she wouldn’t be able to work. It is very possible that if Linda had a job, even if it was part-time, it may have been enough where they wouldn’t be too much in debt, and take a little bit of stress off of Willy. You made a point about depression and how it came to consume Willy and consumes people nowadays, but I think for some it can be extended out to obsessions. Willy was obsessed with money and being rich that when he couldn’t do so he became depressed. In my opinion obsession and depression are together for Willy as well as many others. Lastly, I think it is really hard to decipher what is true vs. made up with chronic liars. This may have been why Willy’s family didn’t get him helped because they didn’t think it was really a thing because of his constant lies.
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