Why would people go for such a horrible decision as suicide?

The 21st century, a century of social and technical progress, does not come without its drawbacks. One of these drawbacks is stress caused by numerous factors similar to education, work, and relationships.

As a society, we try to minimize such factors, as they lead to highly negative outcomes in some circumstances, including chronic depression and possible suicidal attempts. However, this is not the case for the authors of books and related publishers.

For instance, the book that I have personally encountered, or was rather forced to read due to the IB (International Baccalaureate) program requirements, romanticized suicide to the extent, where it is shown as something positive, entertaining, and glamorous. This book is called The Bell Jar, written by popular American author, Sylvia Plath, and published by Faber and Faber company. In the book, one can get to the part where they would read more than twenty pages describing suicide. For instance, in chapter thirteen, the main character Esther Greenwood attempts suicide by drowning herself. She describes it as, “I brought my hands to my breast, ducked my head, and dived, using my hands to push the water aside. I fanned myself down, but before I knew where I was, the water had spat me up into the sun, and the world was sparkling all about me like blue and green and yellow semi-precious stones” (Plath, 154). Considering sensitive and emotional readers, such parts of the book provoke either strong negative feelings or desire to experience similar feelings. Another example in the story appears when Esther tries to commit suicide using a razor and the author states, “Then I felt a small deep thrill, and a bright seam of red welled up at the lip of the slash. The blood gathered darkly, like fruit, and rolled down my ankle into the cup of my black patent leather shoe” (Plath, 142).

Hence, the question is: How can publishers allow similar works to lie on the book shells of popular shops where any curious person would be able to buy the book in a matter of seconds? What if the buyer would be an emotional individual with their own difficulties and problems in life? What could be the circumstances of this?

The circumstances could have a greatly negative outcome, as similar books create a stronger feeling of fear than any type of horror movie. Especially, considering the idea that nowadays, teenagers experience a titanic amount of stress in their lives due to numerous reasons.

The solution needed to prevent possible problems resulting from reading similar books is simple. Put an age restriction, thus preventing unshaped young mindsets from thoughtless actions. Otherwise, put a warning sign, stating “sensitive content”. We have similar labels in social media (for example, Instagram sensitive videos), we have warning signs on cigarettes, we have age restrictions in movies, so why can’t we have something similar on books, knowing the potential dangers?