Suicide And Cultural Influences
Ayla Sebben
Josh Fleming
Eng 102
7 May 2012
Suicide and Cultural Influences “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” (Donahue). It is a quandary in every country of the world, no matter how low the rate is. The huge conflict is determining the root factor of the suicides, but it is hard to pin-point one cause because it differs in each person. Everybody ends up running into a significant dilemma at one point or another in their life, but not everybody will react to the stresses the same as the next person. Not all difficulties in life will be the same for everyone, and neither will the approach to fix those problems. Although suicide happens around the globe, still it occurs for different reasons because of all of the …show more content…
influences that differ from culture to culture. There are a few poems that help accentuate this idea: Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson; Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy; and Suicide Note by Janice Mirikitani. These poems reflect three cultural influences that have before been blamed as causes for suicide: socioeconomic class, body image, and familial pressures or expectations. Sadly, socioeconomic class, also known as social class, can play a negative role on one’s mind and emotions. The poem Richard Cory is a poem about a wealthy man who decides to end his life one summer night. “Today, it [suicide] has become more common among well-paid upper-class groups,” (Journal of the American Medical Association) even though on would think the opposite. The well-off- people do not seem to show or share their troubles; it is just a part of their culture. They are not perceived by others to be the kind of people who have issues, even though the types of issues they have are not financial; they are mentally and emotionally associated most of the time. As seen through Richard Cory, “. . . he was rich-yes, richer than a king-” (Robinson 1193) so, therefore, he had a lot of money to buy whatever it was that would have made himself happy. The only problem with that was that whatever would have pleased him, he could not buy. For the wealthy, it must be a difficult concept to grasp. But then again, one thinking they are too fat or too skinny can be hard to grasp as well. Weight, or at least the perceived weight of a person, mainly females, can play a huge role in the contemplation or attempt of suicide. This is not just true in teens and pre-teens, but all women in general suffer from this as well. As stated in a report on suicide ideation and suicide attempts, “ Regardless of body mass index, extreme perceptions of weight appear to be significant risk factors for suicidal behavior,” (American Medical Association). A lot of this has to do with peer-pressure and the way one reacts to it. Peer-pressure can happen to anyone, even though it is more prevalent among school-age kids and teenagers. In the poem Barbie Doll, a girl, at school, gets taunted by other classmates, “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” (Piercy 687). For anyone, to hear those kinds of rude comments can be devastating, devastating enough to get obsessed with thinking those things and feeling down and degraded about oneself. But sadly, Asian women tend to be victims of this from their own families. In prejudice, Asian cultures tend to favor their sons over their daughters; there is no sense of equality among the sexes.
Parents have different expectations for both of them which is why it is easier to be a male rather than a female in an Asian family. The poem Suicide Note is about an Asian college student who cannot handle the burden of being unable to please her parents the way she knew she could have, had she been born as their son. As a result of the constant disappointment, she decides to jump to her death from her dorm-room window. She explains her pain, “I’ve worked very hard . . . harder, perhaps to please you/ If only I were a son . . . I would see the light in my mother’s eyes, or the golden pride reflected in my father’s dreams,” (Mirikitani 1209). This pain ate her up inside so much that she was never able to feel any sense of self-worth or gratification in life. Psychologist Dr. Dung Ngo from Baylor University in Texas explains, “And in Asian cultures . . . you don’t question parents . . . if you can’t express your anger . . . it turns inward into depression for girls,” (CNN). Typically, women of Asian families tend to all feel the same disapproval from their parents, but not all of them try to conform to expectation; some decide to rebel and make their own path in …show more content…
life. To reiterate, even though suicide happens all over the world, it is still unique to each person because there are different influences involved for each individual case.
There is not one person in this world that was able to choose the life or circumstances that they were born into. The decision to end one’s life is a huge one, and yet, out of all of the options for help in today’s society, it is the only one seen as an easy way out. Suicide is about the eighth leading cause of death in younger adults just in the United States, so it is crucial to get help, and to get it quick. It has been said, “The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over,” (Hemingway). Just because one thinks about suicide, it does not make him or her crazy; it just means that he or she needs help and someone unbiased and understanding to talk to. Whether the cause be family expectations, the way one perceives themselves to be too fat or too skinny, or even if it is one’s socioeconomic standing, no matter the reason, it will never justify any suicide. Life is a precious and sacred thing and it is sad to see people in the world who just do not see it the same way. Remember: “The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering,”
(Okri).
Works Cited
Cohen, Elizabeth. “Push To Achieve Tied To Suicide in Asian-American Women.” CNN Health. 16 March 2007. Web. 8 April 2012.
Donahue, Phil. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Eaton, Danice K., PhD. “Associations of Body Mass Index and Perceived Weight With Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among US High School Students.” Arch Pediatrics. Vol. 159, American Medical Association. June 2005. Web. 9 April 2012.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Mirikitani, Janice. “Suicide Note.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
Okri, Ben. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
Robinson, Edwin Arlington. “Richard Cory.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
“Suicide Is Moving Up From Low-Income Class To Better Paid, Statistics Show.” Journal of the American Medical Association. 1962:24. Web. 10 April 2012.
Josh Fleming
Eng 102
7 May 2012
Suicide and Cultural Influences “Suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem,” (Donahue). It is a quandary in every country of the world, no matter how low the rate is. The huge conflict is determining the root factor of the suicides, but it is hard to pin-point one cause because it differs in each person. Everybody ends up running into a significant dilemma at one point or another in their life, but not everybody will react to the stresses the same as the next person. Not all difficulties in life will be the same for everyone, and neither will the approach to fix those problems. Although suicide happens around the globe, still it occurs for different reasons because of all of the …show more content…
influences that differ from culture to culture. There are a few poems that help accentuate this idea: Richard Cory by Edwin Arlington Robinson; Barbie Doll by Marge Piercy; and Suicide Note by Janice Mirikitani. These poems reflect three cultural influences that have before been blamed as causes for suicide: socioeconomic class, body image, and familial pressures or expectations. Sadly, socioeconomic class, also known as social class, can play a negative role on one’s mind and emotions. The poem Richard Cory is a poem about a wealthy man who decides to end his life one summer night. “Today, it [suicide] has become more common among well-paid upper-class groups,” (Journal of the American Medical Association) even though on would think the opposite. The well-off- people do not seem to show or share their troubles; it is just a part of their culture. They are not perceived by others to be the kind of people who have issues, even though the types of issues they have are not financial; they are mentally and emotionally associated most of the time. As seen through Richard Cory, “. . . he was rich-yes, richer than a king-” (Robinson 1193) so, therefore, he had a lot of money to buy whatever it was that would have made himself happy. The only problem with that was that whatever would have pleased him, he could not buy. For the wealthy, it must be a difficult concept to grasp. But then again, one thinking they are too fat or too skinny can be hard to grasp as well. Weight, or at least the perceived weight of a person, mainly females, can play a huge role in the contemplation or attempt of suicide. This is not just true in teens and pre-teens, but all women in general suffer from this as well. As stated in a report on suicide ideation and suicide attempts, “ Regardless of body mass index, extreme perceptions of weight appear to be significant risk factors for suicidal behavior,” (American Medical Association). A lot of this has to do with peer-pressure and the way one reacts to it. Peer-pressure can happen to anyone, even though it is more prevalent among school-age kids and teenagers. In the poem Barbie Doll, a girl, at school, gets taunted by other classmates, “You have a great big nose and fat legs,” (Piercy 687). For anyone, to hear those kinds of rude comments can be devastating, devastating enough to get obsessed with thinking those things and feeling down and degraded about oneself. But sadly, Asian women tend to be victims of this from their own families. In prejudice, Asian cultures tend to favor their sons over their daughters; there is no sense of equality among the sexes.
Parents have different expectations for both of them which is why it is easier to be a male rather than a female in an Asian family. The poem Suicide Note is about an Asian college student who cannot handle the burden of being unable to please her parents the way she knew she could have, had she been born as their son. As a result of the constant disappointment, she decides to jump to her death from her dorm-room window. She explains her pain, “I’ve worked very hard . . . harder, perhaps to please you/ If only I were a son . . . I would see the light in my mother’s eyes, or the golden pride reflected in my father’s dreams,” (Mirikitani 1209). This pain ate her up inside so much that she was never able to feel any sense of self-worth or gratification in life. Psychologist Dr. Dung Ngo from Baylor University in Texas explains, “And in Asian cultures . . . you don’t question parents . . . if you can’t express your anger . . . it turns inward into depression for girls,” (CNN). Typically, women of Asian families tend to all feel the same disapproval from their parents, but not all of them try to conform to expectation; some decide to rebel and make their own path in …show more content…
life. To reiterate, even though suicide happens all over the world, it is still unique to each person because there are different influences involved for each individual case.
There is not one person in this world that was able to choose the life or circumstances that they were born into. The decision to end one’s life is a huge one, and yet, out of all of the options for help in today’s society, it is the only one seen as an easy way out. Suicide is about the eighth leading cause of death in younger adults just in the United States, so it is crucial to get help, and to get it quick. It has been said, “The real reason for not committing suicide is because you always know how swell life gets again after the hell is over,” (Hemingway). Just because one thinks about suicide, it does not make him or her crazy; it just means that he or she needs help and someone unbiased and understanding to talk to. Whether the cause be family expectations, the way one perceives themselves to be too fat or too skinny, or even if it is one’s socioeconomic standing, no matter the reason, it will never justify any suicide. Life is a precious and sacred thing and it is sad to see people in the world who just do not see it the same way. Remember: “The most authentic thing about us is our capacity to create, to overcome, to endure, to transform, to love and to be greater than our suffering,”
(Okri).
Works Cited
Cohen, Elizabeth. “Push To Achieve Tied To Suicide in Asian-American Women.” CNN Health. 16 March 2007. Web. 8 April 2012.
Donahue, Phil. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Eaton, Danice K., PhD. “Associations of Body Mass Index and Perceived Weight With Suicide Ideation and Suicide Attempts Among US High School Students.” Arch Pediatrics. Vol. 159, American Medical Association. June 2005. Web. 9 April 2012.
Hemingway, Ernest. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Mirikitani, Janice. “Suicide Note.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
Okri, Ben. “Suicide Quotes.” Think Exist, 1999. Web. 12 April 2012.
Piercy, Marge. “Barbie Doll.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
Robinson, Edwin Arlington. “Richard Cory.” Literature: The Human Experience. Ed. Karen S. Henry. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2010. Print.
“Suicide Is Moving Up From Low-Income Class To Better Paid, Statistics Show.” Journal of the American Medical Association. 1962:24. Web. 10 April 2012.