Death of a Salesman - Wescott

    The fictional play Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller follows a dysfunctional family during the late 1940’s in New York.  Although the play does not take place in the present, many of the political and societal issues discussed can be related to similar problems faced by current American families.  Some of these topics include cheating, depression, and financial struggles.

    One issue implemented by Miller in Death of a Salesman is cheating between a married couple.  He expresses this by having Willy sleep with an unnamed character called “The Woman” while on a business trip.  While numbers today fluctuate greatly, the Huffington post article “Why People Cheat: ‘The Normal Bar’ Reveals Infidelity Causes” states that about 33% of men and 19% of women have admitted to cheating in some time in their lives (other sources have these numbers over 50%).  After over 60 years since the creation of the play, the issue of cheating is still a problem within American households.  This is expanded upon when Willy’s son Biff discovers the affair, exclaiming “You fake! You phony little fake! You fake!” (Miller, pg 89) while Willy tries to defend himself by saying “She’s nothing to me, Biff. I was lonely, I was terrible lonely.”  This confrontation between the father and son ultimately destroyed their relationship and caused Biff to abandon his promising future.  This is an example of how cheating can ruin relationships and destroy families.  With a current divorce rate of over 50% in America currently, affairs are to blame for a large portion of them.  Miller’s goal was to express the damages cheating can cause in a family and with relationships.  These can branch out to more than just between the couple and can have serious implications.  Miller’s display of cheating can be related today as a grim reality that are ruining relationships.

    Another topic that Miller goes in depth with is that of depression and suicide.  The main character Willy is the unfortunate victim with years of depression and multiple attempts to end his life result in him driving off a cliff and taking his life.  The causes for this include poor relationships with his family (mainly his two sons), a struggle to make ends meet with his job as a salesman, the failure of his son Biff to succeed which Willy regarded as his “legacy”, and the loss of his job which was ultimately his breaking point.  Other factors, such as the immense success of his peers Charley and Ben can also be credited, but for the most part Willy’s difficult situation financially and problems with his family caused his death.  Today, suicide is the 10th leading cause for death in the United States and account for over 42,000 deaths yearly. (afsp.org)  The highest percent of these deaths are from middle aged white males, which Willy fits into.  Depression is also a significant issue in today’s society with just under 7% of America’s population dealing with this mental disorder.  Both depression and suicide have continued to consume lives over the past century.  The causes for Willy’s depression are in fact similar to those in today’s society.  Relationship and financial problems are two of the leading causes for both depression and suicide today.  Miller accurately displays just how catastrophic depression can be in one’s life.  Willy sets the example that anyone with an unlucky turn of events can become victim to suicide, no matter what time period.

    Although Death of a Salesman does not cover many major political issues of the time, it does an accurate job at pinpointing common issues faced in the average American household.  However, the money issues that Willy’s family faces show similarities to the current wage gap, a political issue in today’s society.  It is safe to assume Willy a middle-lower class citizen because of his low wages and struggle to make monthly payments.  The majority of Americans today fall in this category as over 50% of Americans fall in the middle class of below criteria. (investopedia.com)  The problem that comes into play is the gap between this middle class and the very wealthy.  In today’s society, this “wealth gap” is increasing at an alarming rate, with Pew Research Center stating “In 2013, the median wealth of the nation’s upper-income families ($639,400) was nearly seven times the median wealth of middle-income families ($96,500), the widest wealth gap seen in 30 years.”  While this large of a wealth gap was nonexistent during the 1940’s, Willy’s interactions with his boss Howard for a promotion can represent this gap between the rich and the poor.  While Willy symbolizes the middle class and Howard the upper class, the act of Howard firing Willy can be related to the increase of the gap between the two classes.  The interaction between them reflects the harder times the majority of Americans have faced compared to the success of the wealthy.

    Throughout the generations, the American household have faced common struggles.  Those in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman can still be reflected upon today.  Whether it be depression, affairs, of financial struggles, people will have to faces challenges that will test their sanity and well being.  The story of Willy Loman show just how devastating these problems can be and teaches one how to avoid an unfortunate fate such as his.  We as Americans can reflect on works such as these in order to understand issues that still plague us in society today.