Citation

Messner BA, Buckrop JJ. Comm. Q. 2000; 48(1): 1-18.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2000, Eastern Communication Association)

DOI

10.1080/01463370009385575

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This Burkean analysis of suicide notes argues that suicide is motivated by an innate human desire for "Order." The notes analyzed in this study were composed by individuals who portrayed their lives as filled with much chaos and pain. In Burke's words, they viewed their lives as highly disordered. Their final communiques indicate that they saw suicide as a way to overcome the tremendous feelings of guilt and/or shame associated with that disorder. In a smaller number of cases, the deceased suggested that suicide allowed them to transcend their painful circumstances, thereby allowing them to avoid the assignment of guilt or shame. As the rhetoric of suicide notes reveals, suicide functions as an agency by which their authors believe a sense of "control" can be reestablished and, ultimately, "Order" restored to their worlds. © 2000, Taylor and Francis Inc. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Burke; Order; Purification; Restoration; Suicide