Suicide Note Poem Analysis

Throughout this semester I’ve read a lot of poems and short stories. Some were very graphic in a sense that while reading them I felt like I was within the poem or short stories and some even helped me to understand different point of views including my own life. For example, “Suicide Note” written by Janice Mirikitani helped me to understand more of another’s personal life and what they’re going through. As for my own life, “Dusting” written by Julia Alvarez helped me to better understand what I’m going through. I learned through poems that they can help you to understand what another person may be going through. “Suicide Note” by Mirikitani is about a college student who took her life because she received an imperfect four point average on her grades. I had a friend whose parents were very strict with her on her grades. Although I never really understood what she was going through this poem it helped me to grasp an understanding of her situation. The poem keeps repeating “not good enough not strong enough not good enough” (3). A child whom feels so pressured by their parents to be perfect strive to be and when they are even a little less
“Dusting” written by Alvarez is about how a young child chooses not to end up like her mother. This particular young girl does everything to avoid being anything like her mother. Although, I adore my mother for all she does I choose not to be like her. Alvarez writes “But I refused with every mark/ To be like her, anonymous” (17-18). In this poem the mother is a maid and tries to get her daughter to be the same. However, no matter how frustrating she gets with her situation she doesn’t give up on perusing her own wishes. As opposed to my situation, I just don’t want to drop out of my education like my mother. At times school gets hard to manage with my stressful life, however just like this young girl I refuse to give