Death of a Salesman, Seeger

The nickname for the state of Alaska is the “last frontier,” and for good reason. It is by far the least densely populated state in the country, and is home to countless national parks and wildlife reserves. This wild place is often viewed as mythical; the primitive state of this still largely unknown and unexplored region is full of opportunity for many idealistic adventurers. In the play Death of a Salesman, author Arthur Miller frequently includes Alaska in the dialogue, which serves to represent possibility and success, two things that Willy Loman is desperately seeking in his life. The utilization of Alaska in the play Death of a Salesman is crucial to the character development of Willy Loman. It also establishes in the play the idea that Alaska is pristine and pure and full of possibility.

“Opportunity is tremendous in Alaska”(Miller 45). Spoken by Willy’s idolized brother Ben, this was true when the play was written. It also applies to current Alaska. From fishing to forestry to the oil industry, the state of Alaska is abundant in natural resources that drive its economy. However, according to labor.alaska.gov, Alaska is just as susceptible to economic hardships as any other state, perhaps even more so, due to Alaska’s dependence of federal spending and vulnerability regarding global oil prices. The utopia that Willy envisioned Alaska to be would only be feasible under unlikely circumstances. Even if he had been successful in his ventures in Alaska, his economic stability would likely have been unstable due to Alaska’s characteristically “boom-bust” economy. As stated in labor.alaska.gov, during the twentieth century, Alaska experienced fluctuation in its economic prosperity. The state was prosperous during times of immense military spending, such as during the Cold War. The state was economically struggling during periods of recessions or global oil crises. However, when the play was written in 1949 and several years prior to it, the economy of Alaska was flourishing because of military spending, and the population of the state was greatly increasing. Willy Loman believed that if he had “gone with him [Ben] to Alaska that time, everything would’ve been totally different”(Miller 45), referring to Willy’s belief that Alaska would have made him more successful than his job in New England and his regret at his missed opportunity.

The issue of Alaska’s economy with regards to preserving the Alaskan environment and the reality of its sustainability has long been debated. The economy of Alaska is largely driven by the energy sector. The state contains nearly half of the nation's coal reserves, and almost 85% of the state budget is generated by oil revenues(labor.alaska.gov). Both of these energy sources are nonrenewable; once the oil and coal reserves have been depleted, Alaska will lose a valuable and necessary source of revenue and jobs. There is evidence to suggest that this is already happening. According to the New York Times article “Alaska Oil Prices Fall” written by Kirk Johnson, oil fields that were producing two million barrels of oil a day thirty years ago now pump only 500,000 barrels a day, and the Prudhoe Bay Oil field,

once the largest in North America, is rapidly becoming depleted. Because of this, the state is receiving less income from oil companies and thus is financially struggling. Some Alaskan politicians are considering taking drastic measures in reducing the resulting budget deficit.

As stated in the article “Alaska budget deficit could end oil cheques paid to residents” published by CTV news written by Mark Thiessen, for the past thirty years, all Alaskan residents have been granted a check from the state, paid for from the Alaska Permanent Fund. This fund was established to allow the citizens in the state to benefit from the large taxes that oil corporations are obligated to pay to the state. However, due to a multi billion dollar budget deficit, Alaskan Governor Bill Walker has proposed to implement a $1,000 cap on all checks, and has even suggested that the annual checks should be phased out in the coming years. Additionally, Walker has suggested that the state implement an income tax for the first time in decades in order to relieve some financial burden(www.ctvnews). Many of these proposals have been met with criticism from the Alaskan legislature and public. These upcoming economic challenges facing Alaska expose an uncertain future for the state, and is a sharp departure from Miller’s idealistic opinion of possibilities and opportunity in the state sixty years ago.