Free Essays on Suicide

In Kate Chopin’s classic novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier was a woman who felt trapped and burdened by her life. She is unable to express herself or free herself from the prison that life had placed her in. She ultimately freed herself from her prison by committing suicide. Edna’s prison was not one made of walls and metal bars. It was one made of responsibilities and burdens. These burdens and responsibilities are similar to the ones that people who seek death share. When these responsibilities and burdens become too heavy to bear, people seek suicide as the only escape. There are many reasons why people feel suicide is the only option available. These reasons can range from an unhappy marriage to children or even stress and society. The list of reasons why people commit suicide is nearly endless and can be a combination of any of the reasons. Edna Pontellier could not bare the burden and responsibilities that her marriage, children, society had placed on her, whi ch would ultimately cause her to take her own life. In all forms of satire, marriage is considered to be one of the worst possible outcomes that can happen to anyone being second only to death itself. Spouses are commonly referred to as "the old ball and chain" and are thus treated accordingly as this superfluous weight that drags us all down into our own peril. Generally speaking, marriage is but the beginning of an extended trek through the game of life that ends happily, but few rarely see the game to its completion and instead find simple ways to deal with the troubles that come coupled with a marriage. Troubles such as money, living quarters, happiness, a job, and children are all common area that marriage usually is connected with and if any one of those guidelines is not satisfied, then all the other guidelines are ruined. Marriage is not just about the material possessions listed above. It is also about love and caring, but for some it's difficult t... Free Essays on Suicide Free Essays on Suicide Suicide â€Å"There’s nothing to live for. Nobody cares about me. What’s the point of living? Nobody understands me. Everybody hates me.† These are the some of the thoughts that go on in the mind of those who take part in suicidal behaviors. One of the top ten reasons for death in the U.S. is suicide. Ronald Comer, author of Fundamentals of Abnormal Psychology, describes suicide as a self-inflicted death in which one makes an intentional, direct and conscious effort to end one’s life. Without the help of parasuicides, or people who have attempted suicide but didn’t receive their expected result of death, researchers wouldn’t have any basis for their research. Why is this? For the obvious reason, that some are successful in their intent to end their life. Some researchers have found it quite helpful to study the life of the individual and form an education opinion on the reason of the death. From research done on parasuicidals, it can be said that su icidal behaviors come from: feelings of hopelessness, depression, lack of coping skills, history of attempts, attraction to death, emotional turmoil, and distorted views of life. There are several attempted explanations of suicide. They are the psychodynamic, sociocultural, and biological perspectives. The psychodynamic view says that it results from depression and from anger at other and it was redirected toward oneself (Comer, 1999). They also believe that suicide is an extreme expression of self-hatred. A significant loss or separation may cause individuals to mold loss into one’s identity and eventually become, act and treat themselves as that entity. Freud believes that suicidal individuals are caught in a web of self-anger (Comer 1999). Freud’s views may not be very valid, yet believable for the fact that even he didn’t was dissatisfied with his theory. The sociocultural view believes that societal factors play a major role in suicidal behavior. The sociocultural ... Free Essays on Suicide In Kate Chopin’s classic novel, The Awakening, Edna Pontellier was a woman who felt trapped and burdened by her life. She is unable to express herself or free herself from the prison that life had placed her in. She ultimately freed herself from her prison by committing suicide. Edna’s prison was not one made of walls and metal bars. It was one made of responsibilities and burdens. These burdens and responsibilities are similar to the ones that people who seek death share. When these responsibilities and burdens become too heavy to bear, people seek suicide as the only escape. There are many reasons why people feel suicide is the only option available. These reasons can range from an unhappy marriage to children or even stress and society. The list of reasons why people commit suicide is nearly endless and can be a combination of any of the reasons. Edna Pontellier could not bare the burden and responsibilities that her marriage, children, society had placed on her, whi ch would ultimately cause her to take her own life. In all forms of satire, marriage is considered to be one of the worst possible outcomes that can happen to anyone being second only to death itself. Spouses are commonly referred to as "the old ball and chain" and are thus treated accordingly as this superfluous weight that drags us all down into our own peril. Generally speaking, marriage is but the beginning of an extended trek through the game of life that ends happily, but few rarely see the game to its completion and instead find simple ways to deal with the troubles that come coupled with a marriage. Troubles such as money, living quarters, happiness, a job, and children are all common area that marriage usually is connected with and if any one of those guidelines is not satisfied, then all the other guidelines are ruined. Marriage is not just about the material possessions listed above. It is also about love and caring, but for some it's difficult t... Free Essays on Suicide Introduction: Webster’s dictionary defines suicide as â€Å"the act of killing oneself intentionally†. What this definition fails to identify are the causes that lead to such rash behavior. Suicide is one of the most common manifestations of a psychologically disturbed person’s thoughts. It is a way out for that person and one that the person has contemplated at length and believes to be the only viable course of action that is left open to him. The most common cause of suicide is Undiagnosed Depression, which means that the depressed individual not only feels alone but also feels unable to open his feelings and thoughts to anyone, and those around him fail to identify his grievances. This leads to a feeling of helplessness and loneliness and a sense of foreboding which directs the individual’s thoughts towards finding a quick and easy way out; leading to desperation and at an advanced level, to suicidal thoughts. My perspective: In my view suicide is a cowardly act and one which is wholly unnecessary and avoidable. It is brought upon by the individual himself because he feels that he is helpless and does not motivate himself to alleviate his own suffering by trying to find a suitable solution. Instead the individual deludes himself completely by convincing himself that suicide is the only viable course left open. Also I feel that the apathy of those near the suicidal and depressed person is to blame for the actual taking of the life. The fact that people are so engrossed in themselves, or are so careless of others, that they miss crucial signs that can help them prevent the catastrophe is also a cause of the suicide. Depression is a killer. It takes away all the enthusiasm and fun from people’s lives, and makes suicide seem a viable choice, even one that seems unavoidable and simple. However I feel that it is ones own duty to understand the value of living and of life and to act so that at least other s around us can help ... Free Essays on Suicide Imagine you're standing atop a high bridge, you take a deep breath, say one last silent goodbye to your friends and family, and you leap to your death. By doing this, you're making a permanent solution to a temporary problem. You may be solving your own personal problem, but imagine the pain, suffering, and anguish that your friends, family, and peers go through. The people around you are wondering what was going through your mind and why you did it. Maybe you even told some of your friends that you were going to do it, and they didn't believe you, thinking it were a joke. You may have told your friends about your plans, but apparently your parents had no clue as to why you would choose to take your life, but this is the case with most teenage suicides. A lot of the time the parents don't have any clue that there was anything wrong in their children's lives, and also the teen's friends might have had some kind of clue, but they didn't do anything about it. Overall, they are left grieving their dead child or friend who took their own life away without any explanation. Sadly, teen suicide occurs nearly 5,000 times each year. Even more amazing is that 400,000 to 2 million teens attempt to commit suicide each year. Psychologists and therapists, teachers and school couslers, leaders of youth groups, and researchers who study society and young people have come up with a list of reasons as to why the teen decided to kill themselves. The list of culprits is long: too much divorce, too little religion, too much television, and too little communication between parents and children have been blamed. Absent parents, too much sexual freedom, widespread use of drugs and alcohol, too many guns, not enough love, and a world that seems hostile has also been blamed for pushing young people to their deaths. All these reasons have probably contributed to the suicides of teens, but none of them provide t... Free Essays on Suicide Over the past ten to twenty years a big issue has been made over a person ¹s right to commit suicide or not. The American courts have had to deal with everything from assisted suicides to planned suicides, and whether the constitution gives the American people the right to take their own lives or whether it says they have the power to allow someone else to take their lives. They have had to determine in some cases whether or not homicide charges needed to be brought up and others times whether or not it was done for an underlying reason such as insurance fraud. There are several aspects to suicide and the law, but we are only going to discuss a few of them. First of all we will examine why anyone would want to take their own life and decipher the differences between a rational suicide and an irrational suicide. Secondly we will look at ways assistance has played in the area of suicide. Next, we'll look at what the constitution says and see if any of the states have allowed suicide. Finally, we'll study some of the cases that have been brought before the American courts. Suicide has become a big part of American society, year after year more people are taking their own lives for many different reasons. A lot of philosophers have broken down all the reasons of suicides into two different categories, rational suicide and irrational suicide. A rational suicide has been given five basic criteria that usually must be met for the person's act to be considered rational. The five criteria which a person must show for their suicide to be considered rational are, "the ability to reason, realistic world view, adequacy of information, avoidance of harm, and accordance with fundamental interests."(Battin 132) Another opinion of rationality of suicide is, "it is the best thing for him from the point of view of his own welfare-or whether it is the best thing for someone being advised, from the point of view of that person's welfare"(Brandt 118). Pe... Free Essays on Suicide I wrote this poem at what I would call my weakest and lowest point in life. At the point in my life where the end justified the means. I believed that everyone around me would be better off if I wasn’t around. Suicide during this time seemed so peaceful. No worries-no bills to pay, child to feed and most of all no disappointments. I had enough disappointment, more than the average person could stand. I watched as everything I loved had been stripped away from me, systematically. I had people whispering in my ear; they’re with GOD and pray. In the back of my mind, I was thinking pray for what. He is not listening, if he was I still have what I cared about most. Then there was the people who told me suicide was a cowardly and selfish. My response was it would take a lot of courage to leave all that I have and as far as me being selfish; now is the time to do something for me. Looking back I can’t imagine wanting to end my life but nonetheless suicide for me was and is a reality. The reality is that there are many women my age, ethnicity and social status who contemplate suicide. During the time this poem was written I was screaming and crying for help. Surprisingly nothing in my life was that bad. However, I was a single parent, working forty hours per week, attending school thirty hours a week and nursing a twisted romance. I am certain that some or one of these factors contributed to my suicidal behavior. Life for me was okay but I still felt very empty, unfulfilled and thirsty. Thirsty for the dream society had promised me and my family had prepared me for. The white picket fence, two kids, the dog, a satisfying career and a husband. As far as I was concerned I had done everything right and I deserved the Black American dream. That dream was not reality and because I was not able to live up to other people expectations of who or what I was suppose to be I was depressed. Depressed to the point of needing medical attention and me... Free Essays on Suicide Suicide and Assisted Suicide The ability to end life, or suicide as it is well known, is an issue most people refer to young teens. In all actuality there are two types of suicide which man kind may act apon: 1) The ability and free will of man to take his own life for any reason he feels fit, 2) The ability of a medical physician to assist medically to end ones life. Assisted suicide is given to death penalty cases in many states via Lethal Injection. In our world under god I believe along with many that it is wrong to end your life purposely for reasons of pressure. â€Å"Every human being is taught from childhood that suicidal people are shameful, sinful, weak, and selfish.†(The Stigma of Suicide Within Us, 28). In the early years of life on this planet suicide was viewed as a way of repenting sins towards Pharaohs and Rulers. As the world progressed, taking your life became seen as an â€Å"easy way out of daily troubles.†(Web) Today the death rate in suicide in the US is nearly 30,000 a year, and most victims are white males†¦79%. Ones decision to take his/her own life is unavoidable and unpreventable, the attack for this is helping the overall view of life and daily involvement with society. The government needs to focus on the number of people taking their own lives and help figure out a P.O.A. for raising the level of subconscious love of life through out the country. MacIntosh 2 As stated before, one of the only ways of assisted medical suicide was thru lethal injection given to criminal as punishment for there crimes. Does a society based on equal rights have the base structure to end a mans life? I believe that the death penalty by assisted suicide should be used, but for only severe cases. Medical doctors have been studying the field of â€Å"Medical Suicide† and have come up with the lethal dose of drugs which end a persons life. â€Å"Anesthetic - Sodium thiopental, Paralyzing agent - Pancuronium bromide, To... Free Essays on Suicide In the Internet based text entitled â€Å"If you are thinking about suicide, read this first† I aim to discover and analyse the techniques used to persuade the reader. The author, in the first paragraph of the text explains that she is not a professional, instead, a normal person who â€Å"knows what it is like to be in pain.† This colloquial, less removed approached may help the reader cope with what is happening to them and how they are feeling. The text on numerous occasions congratulates the reader for getting that far into the text, to build self-esteem and build confidence in the reader. â€Å"That is good.† â€Å"Well, it’s been a few minutes and you’re still with me. I’m really glad.† The author is clever in the way she attempts to persuade, rather than making suicide a taboo, she lets the reader know that, although suicide is not an acceptable option, she understands how the reader feels. The author does however, plead with the reader to finish reading the text before making the life ending decision, she does this by putting herself into the readers’ position, attempting to understand the misery that they are reading. The author has then bought herself enough time to attempt to dissuade the reader from suicide. The author attempts to use her writing as a place rather than a textual piece using phrases such as â€Å"I can assume that you are here because...ending your life.† During the text there is a quote in much larger letters, which reads: â€Å"Suicide is not chosen; it happens when pain exceeds resources for coping with pain.† This quote is emboldened and enlarged to attract attention to the fact that the reader is not at fault for feeling suicidal, and this is a very powerful and important quote. The author uses a friendly voice to get her message across she is sensitive to how the reader is feeling and says nothing that could possibly make the reader feel more hatred for themselves, â€Å"I would prefer to be t...