A smile has the incredible ability to hide anything. “The funny thing is, no one ever really knows how much other people are suffering. We could be standing next to someone who is completely broken and we wouldn't even know it” (Anonymous). Many people in our world suffer internally. Some might say that "[t]he most difficult years of life are those between ten and seventy" (Anonymous). During these years of life, people face countless numbers of struggles and are exposed to the true disfigurement of the world. When people are faced with extreme or stressful situations that they cannot handle and face painful tragedies in the world, such as death, they normally fall into a black hole called depression. Depression resides everywhere and has existed for centuries. Over the years, however, the situation has progressively worsened. In the 1970s, depression was less of a problem than in today's society. In the 1970s, depression began to gain more attention as such a large problem, and as the years passed, it began to affect humanity at a younger age. The number of people suffering from depression today has almost doubled compared to the 1970s. However, depression is as much of a concern today as it has been in the past. In The Optimist's Daughter, Eudora Welty portrays depression through the juxtaposition of characters, her use of symbolism, and the verbal irony depicted throughout the novel. The juxtaposition of the characters Laurel, Fay, and Judge McKelva contains the differences of how depression affects each individual. Early in the novel, the author states, "[for] a long time Judge McKelva was seen as a reassuring figure by many who knew and liked him" (Welty 170). However, this d...... middle of paper ...... then you know it's not” (Anonymous). Perhaps this explains why depression remains such a major problem in today's world. When you act as if you are happy and hide your feelings of distress in good faith, there are no warning signs that something is wrong. Others do not notice the real suffering that occurs in that person. Without awareness and awareness of this suffering, unrecognized depression could potentially lead to an even more immense problem. In fact, major depression usually leads to suicide attempts. Statistics state that, on average, someone attempts suicide every forty seconds in the United States. Suicide is the eleventh leading cause of death among Americans (Caruso). Not being able to admit something only makes the situation worse and the consequences could be fatal. Bottling up feelings of depression will only result in deeper depression.