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
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
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,”