Why Suicide?

Suicide has been a phenomenon ever since the world began; authors, artists, philosophers, and many other people throughout the history of time have tried to delve into the cracks concerning suicide and the reasons behind it. Ancient authors, like Homer and Sophocles, have explored the tragic idea of suicide in some of their famous works. Those familiar with these two authors have been able to compare the phenomenon between now and in the ancient world, not only to find differences, but similarities concerning the reasons as to why some people make the decision to take their own lives, revealing certain truths about the two different time eras and their societies.

The topic of suicide was not unfamiliar in the ancient world; multiple people have accounted for many instances where others have killed themselves. Although suicide itself is a common phenomenon compared to today’s age, there were some differences concerning the topic. In Homer’s The Odyssey, Odysseus goes to the Underworld and encounters Ajax; Odysseus and Ajax had fought for Achille’s armor, but Odysseus had beaten him, leaving Ajax without the armor that he so longed. It was described that Ajax was depressed that he did not win the armor because it was his way of winning honor, and since the Greeks valued Odysseus more than himself; he planned to kill Agamemnon Menelaus out of anger, but instead killed a Greek livestock and a herdsman due to Athena clouding his mind from what was real or not (ancientworldmagazine.com). According to Josho Brouwers, after all this happened, he felt that there was no reason to live. This type of suicide is somewhat different to how those today commit suicide due to different values; in the ancient world, since honor and pride was something worth so much to the people, if one were to lose that or simply not have it, one would not feel worthy enough to live.

Just like those individuals in the ancient world, people today have lost the will to live; however, the situations and circumstances on how people have lost the will to live are somewhat different to the ancient world. Pride and honor is not of major significance in the twentieth century; however, things such as being accepted, being loved, being happy, etc., are things that are valued in today’s day and age. Todd B. Kashdan has stated that some of the strongest risk factors that can lead to suicide include, feeling hopeless, depression, history of abuse, psychiatric hospitalization, low socioeconomic status and greatly stressful events. It has been seen in multiple cases that people who have committed suicide have had a history of dealing with mental trauma, such as different types of stresses (Harley).

In the ancient world, those that committed suicide will deal with one bad situation and then decide to kill themselves. In Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, when Jocasta realizes the truth about Oedipus, and that he was actually her son that she married who killed her husband, she decided to hang herself (Sophocles 55). Jocasta’s decision to kill herself was a very drastic and quick decision (Sophocles 49). Today, suicides are usually tediously thought through, and contain events that lead up to the actual suicidal act. In an article called “Exam stress among causes of teen suicide,” written by Nicola Harley, it states that “there are often family problems such as drug misuse or domestic violence and more recent stresses such as bullying or bereavement, leading to a ‘final straw’ factor.” There are a lot of reasons as to why people commit suicide now, but as the article says, it usually ends up being the “final straw factor” for many.

Despite all the differences between the two eras concerning suicide, there are some aspects that make the phenomenon similar during both times. It has been seen that the events leading to suicide in the ancient world are different from the events that lead to suicide in today’s age; however, the emotions felt during these times can definitely compare between the two. The feelings of despair, hopelessness, depression, etc., are feelings that people have experienced all throughout time, that essentially could have led to their ultimate “final straw.” Ajax, in Homer’s The Odyssey, was depressed and lost his will to live before he killed himself, and a teenager by the name of Nicholas Swint from Herriman, Utah, was also depressed before he committed suicide (Jacobson). It was described that Nicholas was seen sad by his peers at school, and that his depression eventually led to his own death (Jacobson). Suicides are different in their own way, depending on who’s involved and their situation; however, the majority of individuals are not going to decide to commit suicide who are not depressed or upset about something going on in their lives. Another similar aspect of the suicides that have happened throughout history have been how the actual suicidal act is executed; the biggest commonality has been the act of hanging yourselves. Those in the ancient world have hung themselves, and there are those today that use this specific act as their way of committing suicide.

A research on suicide has said that in the United States the average rate for teen suicide has increased by 23.5 percent throughout the years of 2011 to 2015, and in the state of Utah alone, there was a 136 percent raise (Mundell). An explanation for this immense increase in the state of Utah can possibly deal with the idea of not being able to live up to certain expectations; Utah is a predominantly Latter-day Saint location, where the majority of the people try to live their lives at a certain standard. According to Luke Ramseth, not being able to live up to those standards/expectations of the societal norm, can be detrimental to some people, and essentially, even fatal. Being “different” or not feeling “adequate” can cause mental stress upon certain individuals, making them feel somewhat helpless and can lead to other forms of harm from other people such as bullying (Ramseth). For the individuals that have committed suicide for these reasons, it just shows how much pressure certain societies can put on those people that live within them; it shows that some people may feel that they cannot be different from the majority, but instead that they must conform. This is somewhat similar to the ancient world because their societies did have norms that were meant to be kept by the people; however, suicide now usually is not a drastic and/or quick decision made by those contemplating it. Those in the ancient world have been seen to commit suicide rather quickly after specific events in their lives that they wanted to get away from, such as not receiving your honor like Ajax, or finding out a truth like Jocasta; their decisions to commit suicide can be seen as impulsive.

As seen throughout the history of the world, suicide is a real thing. Despite the differences and similarities between the ancient world and today, it truly is a tragic phenomenon. People are, and will continue to study the idea of suicide, with all the events leading up to it, the causes, etc., in order to have a better understanding of what might be the roots behind these tragedies. The events described by Homer and Sophocles concerning suicide gives people a better understanding of how it has evolved, transformed, changed and/or remained the same over the centuries, helping others understand how certain people have lived certain lives in different societies.

Works Cited

Brouwers, Josho. “The Suicide of Ajax.” Ancient World Magazine, 16 Apr. 2018, http://www.ancientworldmagazine.com/articles/suicide-ajax/.

Harley, Nicola. “Exam Stress among Causes of Teen Suicide.” The Telegraph, 26 May 2016, http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/05/26/exam-stress-among-causes-of-teen-suicide/.

Jacobson, Jen. “Seventh Teen Suicide Prompts Community Involvement in Herriman.” Good4Utah, 7 May 2018, http://www.good4utah.com/news/local-news/seventh-teen-suicide-prompts-community-involvement-in-herriman/1165932094.

Kashdan, Todd B. “Why Do People Kill Themselves? New Warning Signs.” Psychology Today, 15 May 2014, http://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/curious/201405/why-do-people-kill-themselves-new-warning-signs.

Mundell, E.J. “CDC Probes Troubling Rise in Suicide Among Utah Teens.” U.S. News, 22 Mar. 2018, health.usnews.com/health-care/articles/2018-03-22/cdc-probes-troubling-rise-in-suicide-among-utah-teens.

Ramseth, Luke. “Why Does Utah Have a High Suicide Rate? A Researcher Is Starting a Years-Long Search for Answers.” The Salt Lake Tribune, 9 Apr. 2018, http://www.sltrib.com/news/health/2018/04/07/utah-needs-a-better-strategy-to-prevent-suicide-a-researcher-is-about-to-spend-years-talking-with-grieving-families-to-design-it/.

Sophocles. Oedipus Rex. Unabridged With Glossary and Notes ed., Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Classic, 2007.