Suicide

Suicide


    The natural end of every human life is death. Some people, for reasons that

have never been fully understood, choose to end their own lives. This is called

suicide, which means literally "self-killing."  For all the uncertainty that has

surrounded the phenomenon of suicide, his assessment of the problem is probably

as accurate as any. The individual, in seemingly hopeless conflict with the

world, decides to end his or her existence in what amounts to a final assault

against a society that can no longer be tolerated. In so doing, the person tries

to obtain a final revenge on everything and everyone that have caused their

feelings of depression.

   Sometimes suicide has been used as a form of execution. Perhaps the most

famous such case is that of the philosopher Socrates, who was required to drink

hemlock to end his life in 399 BC, after being found guilty of corrupting the

youth of Athens. In the 20th century the German general Erwin Rommel took poison

rather than be executed for his role in a plot to oust Adolf Hitler from office.

   In some societies suicide has had social ties. In Japan, for example, the

customs and rules of one's class have demanded suicide under certain

circumstances. Called seppuku or popularly known as hara-kiri, which means

"self-disembowelment" it has long been viewed as an honorable method of taking

one's life. It was used by warriors after losing a battle to avoid the dishonor

of defeat. Seppuku was also used as a means of capital punishment to spare

warriors the disgrace of execution. In India, widows allowed themselves to be

burned to death on their husband's funeral pyre, a practice called suttee.

   At least since the 18th century, suicide has been thought of by some as a

romantic type of death. This notion led to the belief that some artistic

individuals writers, painters, and poets glamorize suicide, thinking that such a

death will add to their reputations. The German writer Johann Wolfgang von

Goethe's novel 'The Sorrows of Werther' (1774) reinforced this concept and was

credited with causing a large number of romantic suicides in Europe. Among wel

-known artists who killed themselves are Vincent van Gogh, Virginia Woolf, Anne

Sexton, Mark Rothko, Jerzy Kosinski, Ernest Hemingway, and Sylvia Plath.

   Most suicides in the 20th century occur when the bonds between an individual

and society are injured or broken. Some event, or combination of events, puts

the person "over the edge". Loss of a job or the death of a friend or relative

can start the thoughts of suicide. At the start of the Great Depression, for

example, many people who
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