Analysis of Suicide Note by Janice Mirikitani - Essay Example

Suicide by Janice Mirikitani OUTLINE: Young people are like budding flowers--- They require free breeze and open area to blossom, reveal their tenderness and scatter their fragrance----- If they are kept under severe supervision and tense atmosphere, their abilities may wither before time, and they will be unable to add their share in the beauties of the world------. The same can be seen in the poem under analysis---- Too much pressure and restrictions put the skill and proficiency in grave jeopardy----- Free and relaxed environment turns them strong, valuable and dextrous. The Essay: The beautiful poem under the title Suicide Note by an Asian American poetess Janice Mirikitani is a superb expression of the affection of a female college student for her parents on the one hand, and her fears regarding the dreadful consequences on not being able to comply with the prevailing cultural traits in her social environment on the other. The poem simply gives the message that if parents, teachers and community members do not inflict unnecessary pressure on the young people, it would become very encouraging for them to show their talent and abilities in studies, sports and other activities. On the contrary, unjustified demands from the elders turn the young generation go astray, and even take their life in a state of intense despair and dejection. In addition, the poem also expresses the characteristics of Asian families settled in the USA for the last many decades, yet their Asian cultural values are in dominance in their everyday life. The poem under study, throws light on the deep concerns of the protagonist character on not being perfect according to the expectations of her parents. She also reveals her limitations and problems in a vivid and an eloquent way, where she appears to be ‘a small bird with feeble wings’, which cannot fly more than its strength particularly in a state where ice has covered the river on which the bird is going to fly. The main theme of the poem is this that since social norms and cultural values lay stress upon the individuals to be perfect at any cost, the imperfect has no option to survive, but to surrender his life in order to display his unabated emotions to someone very special and important to him; the same was performed by the protagonist girl, just to show her love to her parents and to inform them that life is not as simple and comfortable as they view. Rather, proving oneself as perfect and flawless altogether means looking for flowers in the desert, because the hurdles and obstacles he faces during the course of life does not let him win the game every time. Thus, gratuitous expectations and unnecessary demands may snatch the life of the person with whom family, friends and community members have emotionally involved high hopes and extraordinary expectations. The poems points out towards the bitter realities of life in a simple but modest way. Mirikitani is of the view that in the ups and downs of life, such moments come when man feels himself completely helpless, vulnerable and indecisive regarding his future prospects because of the failures he has undergone in recent past. Such profound feelings of utter disappointment and dejection tell upon his brain and delicate nerves in such a way that he even looks mentally prepared to bring a tragic end to his own life in order to escape the worries and difficulties haunting his mind constantly. Thus, he becomes blind to look at the brighter aspects of life, and negates the achievements he has made in past. Under the feelings of utter depression and sheer turmoil, he blames himself of not fulfilling his obligations to the individuals who love him and maintain high anticipations from him. He seeks relief in leaving the world for good instead of making more struggles and waiting for the happy days to come. Consequently, he closes the book of his life at a very early stage, without giving it one more chance to make sure headway in the face of hardships; the same could be found by going through the girl’s suicide note she wrote for her parents few moments before committing suicide by throwing herself from the balcony of her hostel dormitory, because she disappointed her parents even working very hard, but not being able to prove herself ‘good enough’. (Lines 4-9) The girl, in a humble but an eloquent way submits to state that since countless notes on several topics have already been produced, which had smeared the pages, as ‘bird-prints smeared the white snow’(Line 2), yet she would add her share by writing suicide note, an apology to her parents on not showing outstanding performance in education. Since the girl knew it very well that her cultural traits did not allow imperfections in life, her parents would not forgive her on not being perfect in her studies. Hence, she preferred a dignified death to the life of disgrace and humiliation, which could not make the dreams of her parents come true. This entire effort deprived the world of a highly talented college student, who had been showing very good performance in her studies, but was unable to please her parents and satisfy their demands. Mirikitani, through the mouth of her character, has also revealed that the sons are given importance and priority in Asian communities in comparison with the western culture and civilization. It is not only the case with Japan, but also the same attitude exists in India, Bangladesh, Nepal and other Asian states. The level of expectations from boys is also low among the parents; while the same is in vogue from the daughters. It is therefore she laments on being the daughter of parents, and says that if she were the son, she would have the light of her mother’ s eyes as well as pride of her father’s dream. (Lines 11-14) Being the girl, she has to obey every command of her parents, which becomes very hard sometimes, and even beyond the reach of the individuals. It is therefore, unnecessary load of instructions and orders ruins the life of the innocent girls. The poem also indicates towards the tradition of suicide that had been prevalent in the Japanese societies for the last many centuries. The Japanese always prefer a respectable death to the disgraceful life. Looking into the history of Japan, it looks evident that the Japanese had been more ambitious for a painful death than leading a comfortable life. (Quoted in fortunecity.com/duchamp) They maintain the very belief that the dead person is going towards a very comfortable place soon after death where his life would be very peaceful and luxurious one. The Japanese consider suicide as the symbol of greatest sacrifice made by anyone for the cause of religion, nation or community. The poem also reveals the nature and psychology of the Asian and American people. It is the psyche of the Americans that they consider themselves as superior to other races, and look down upon other racial and ethnic groups. Geiger (2006) also affirms the existence of racial discrimination in the US society, where the White Anglo Saxon Population (WASP) is not ready to give equal status to the people of Asia and Africa. Particularly the African Americans have been undergoing the hatred and antipathy of the white majority since the colonial era of nineteenth century, which has eclipsed the overall health statistics of the US population. It is therefore the Asians argue that if they are provided with the opportunities, they may also compete with the advanced nations and can leave them far behind them. They are of the opinion that the western societies have made rapid progresses because of the availability of riches and resources. It is therefore, they force their children to beat other races in the fields of education and studies, as well as in professional life. Thus due to the prevailing racial hatred against the yellow, black and brown races, the Asian parents always keep their children under the pressure of their commands and expectations to become exceptional and great in life; complying with such demands made by the parents becomes really hard nut to crack for the children, and they sometimes look lagging far behind the white people because of the extra pressure imposed upon them. They want to escape from the burden of such uneven pressures in life, and consequently meet a dreadful end while running amuck to make outstanding accomplishments in life. To conclude, it appears quite appreciating that the author has pointed out towards a very important area of discussion, which invites further thoughtfulness of the readers regarding the adequate and proper coaching of the children. The poem also condemns prejudice in the name of class, community, race, ethnicity, religion and gender. Mirikitani appears to be condemning the untoward harshness towards the daughters on the one hand, and towards the racial and ethnic biased attitude on the other. The poem submits to state that socialization is a complex phenomenon, which requires long, continuous and very efforts to make the individual from a biological man to a social person. Undue pressures squeeze the minds of the young people and ruin their decision power, talent and other gifted abilities at large. REFERENCES: Geiger, H. Jack. Health Disparities. Quoted in Schulz, Amy J. & Mullings, Leith. Gender, Race, Class and Health Jossey-Bass. A Wiley Imprint Inc. 2006 Mirikitani, Janice Suicide Note (Retrieved from http://www.apiuu.org/SuicideNote.htm) Seppuku--- Ritual Suicide (Retrieved from http://victorian.fortunecity.com/duchamp/410/seppuku.html) Read More