Teen Suicide
by Megan Tuttle
Introduction
Kathryn Murphy reports (as cited by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) that “suicide is the third leading cause of death for fifteen to twenty-four-year-olds” (p. 44). My high school students fall into the age group of this statistic, which is certainly a harsh reality. To assume my students are content, not bothered by depression or suicidal thoughts, is ignorant. I take back much information on books, authors, and lesson ideas from this class, but the research on suicide has opened my eyes like nothing else. My quest was to find books suitable for my learning disabled juniors and seniors on the topic of teenage suicide, and there were many brilliant novels to be discovered.
The Novels and Classroom Activities
I was fortunate enough to have been introduced to Chinese Handcuffs prior, but had not read any other young adult literature on suicide. Chinese Handcuffs is too difficult for the majority of my students to read independently so I must read it aloud with them. It is not often that high-schoolers get excited for a novel, let alone those with reading difficulties. You know a book is superior when special education students whine because we are not reading it that day! Boys and girls equally enjoy this novel because there is a presence of both in the book. In his novel, author Chris Crutcher writes about many heavy topics like teenage suicide, drug abuse, sexual molestation, and abandonment. The story is told in third person, but Crutcher offers an interesting twist. Dillon, the main character, journals letters to his brother who has committed suicide recently. Dillon’s brother Preston was drug-addicted, wheelchair-bound, and depressed; he forced Dillon to watch him take his own life with a Luger. Dillon is trying to deal with his brother’s decision and all its ramifications, fall in love, get through high school, and train to be an Ironman. The other subplots also offer jaw dropping moments that leaves teenagers begging for more, disappointed with the bell ringing to switch classes. Do not get me wrong: Chinese Handcuffs is completely far-fetched! Dillon is almost superhuman- what teen could watch his brother do that and not need counseling? I find it pretty impossible to believe the kid is “normal” and ready to tackle his girlfriend’s sexual molestation issue. Nevertheless it offers much dialogue about different issues with which every student has had some sort of personal experience, so I take it for what it is worth.
Chinese Handcuffs lends itself to a myriad of journal prompts about its issues. Students can write a letter to Preston (like Dillon does) telling him what they think of his choices. The chapters are lengthy, offering a superior opportunity at practicing outlining. Due to poor memory and comprehension of important facts in my classes, I have them write summaries about certain chapters, too. Another idea is to have them do research in the library about the various issues presented in the novel and then make an informational pamphlet about their topic. I have had students that find it troublesome to keep the many characters and their issues separate, so I think in the future doing a character study would work nicely. This could include a story map (map their assigned character’s steps throughout novel), a character analysis/life-size drawing of character, or Between the Ears. As with any novel, Crutcher’s prompts interesting discussions about current teen issues. I have had students feel comfortable enough after reading this in class to talk about being physically or sexually abused, using drugs or alcohol, or losing a loved one. Teachers must be prepared for what Chinese Handcuffs will free in the classroom!
Damage by A.M. Jenkins tells the story of a depressed senior that goes through the daily motions. Austin Reid is on the football team, dates the beautiful, popular Heather, and hangs out with his best friends Dobie and Curtis. She pretty much throws herself at him one night after football practice, and she seems to be the only thing keeping Austin going through much of the book. Heather does not usually date high school boys; Austin’s buddies are scared of her, including her attitude and physical beauty. Heather has had an interesting past: she found her father after he committed suicide in his chair. She seems a bit manic and is a tough character to like, as she can be hateful to Austin. The reader has to decide what has brought Austin’s depression on, though the assumed is it stems from his father’s death from cancer. Jenkins tells the story in second person, which makes it riveting simply because it is something unusual and definitely puts you in Austin’s head. What amazed me was how perfectly she nailed Austin’s depressed thoughts, even from the first page. “When you open your eyes, the joyless feeling has already crawled onto your chest. The ceiling of your room presses you down into the mattress. The air settles in your lungs so heavy that it’s almost too much trouble to breathe” (Jenkins, 2001, p.1). He regularly contemplates using his father’s razor blade, and is descriptive in his suicidal intentions. He has the designated tool in hand after he makes a huge mistake on the field and has a humiliating, sexually-charged fight with Heather. She breaks it off with him after he tells her he understands her dad’s depression, leaving Austin a shell of a man. Austin makes his way to Curtis’s house and comes clean with his recent suicidal thoughts. Jenkins leaves it to the reader to finish the story, which is honestly pretty disappointing (in a good way because you want Austin to live and fight his depression).
The more I think about it, the more I think after reading Chinese Handcuffs together, Damage would be great for students to read independently. This novel is certainly appropriate for some struggling readers and could be used independently, though there is sexual content so it needs to be for the more mature student. Teenage boys and girls will like this story, boys because it deals with the thoughts of a football-playing boy, and girls because there is the love interest between Austin and Heather. I like the idea of having students make a collage for Austin’s thoughts out of magazine pictures. I also can see them mimicking Jenkins’s style of second person writing, by writing a day in their life/thoughts in second person. Damage offers an opportunity for readers to write or act out the next chapter in the book because it is left so open.
K. L. Going’s Fat Kid Rules the World tells the story of a six-foot-one, three hundred pound seventeen-year-old who utterly despises himself. Not only does he have normal teenager thoughts in that he is convinced everyone is looking at him, Troy Billings deals with people gawking in disgust, giving hateful looks, and shaking their heads because of his size. He has no friends. His mother died of cancer when he was young. He lives with his hot-bodied freshman brother who is extremely cruel to him and his ex-Marine father who shows no emotion and feels like he must fix everything. Troy loathes himself and eats to kill the pain. He contemplates suicide from the first page of the book, constantly mentioning how he should end his life. By page two Going has jumped into the story, where Troy meets his first friend in years, Curt. They meet as Troy is imagining his gruesome death by jumping in front of the train, where Curt distracts Troy and then demands he buy him lunch for saving his life. Troy knows Curt’s name because he is a guitar legend from his high school; all the cool kids listen to Curt’s music. Curt is homeless, emaciated, addicted to pills, filthy, skittish, and tremendously musically gifted. Most importantly he is kind to Troy, which gives the senior a reason to keep living. Curt convinces Troy to start a band, but Troy has not played the drums since junior high. Troy trains with one of Curt’s former band mates, but on the night of their first gig Troy is sick with anxiety. When he joins Curt he makes it behind the drums, but then retches the day’s menu all over them and the stage. Curt handles it well by chalking it up to awesome punk rock, but Troy bolts in humiliation. The next time they meet Troy takes Curt to the hospital because he has passed out beneath his feet on the street. Troy confronts Curt on his drug addiction and gets his father to agree Curt can live with them and get help. Naturally this does not please Curt, but “the deal” is contingent upon Troy surviving their second gig. The story leaves off with Troy picking up his drumsticks ready to rock.
This book has much to interest teens: music, swearing, honesty, weirdness, and humor. I was certainly captivated by Troy and his strange buddy; I probably would not read it with a class, but would recommend it as a personal read (though it depends on the class). It would go well with many writing activities, such as reflecting on what makes students different, a time they have felt totally isolated, or thoughts/feelings on what is happening throughout the book.
Suicide as a Unit: Use in the Classroom
Because the suicide rate is so high for adolescents, it should go without saying we need be talking to our students about this national epidemic. Anna Mulrine shocked me by saying (2001), “Across the country, teenagers rank suicide as their fifth-biggest worry, after such concerns as pregnancy and drunk driving. But when adults are asked what they believe to be their children’s biggest concerns, they place suicide 17th on the list” (p. 43). Before reading any of these books it would be useful to use a KWL chart to find out what teens already know about suicide, which then gives teachers the opportunity to share statistics and information. Wikipedia has a huge list of songs about suicide on their website, which would be great to incorporate into this unit. Besides playing some of them daily, students could choose one to interpret and present to the class, or could share a different song not on the list. Wikipedia also lists movies on the same topic that could be viewed in part or whole. As a writing exercise students could compose a eulogy for one of the characters (as if they went through with the suicide) and present it to the class. For all fiction books I like to use a technique by Mark Forget called “Fiction Prediction”, one that completely engages my students into the story and improves comprehension tremendously. I choose a dicey chapter and stop periodically, asking them to make a prediction. When we find out what happens next, we talk about our predictions and compare what we now know. This method could be used with any or all of the aforementioned books.
Suicide is impossible to discuss without bringing up depression, which is usually the cause. Mulrine (2001) estimates the condition “affects an estimated 80 percent of teenagers who commit suicide” (p. 44), so there are bound to be students in our classrooms battling this disease. Communication with our students and their families is important, but the key to truly saving lives is to be attentive. Educators must be in tune with the kids seen daily; it is our job to monitor them! Victoria Lytle interviewed Dr. Michael Sorter (1994), a psychiatrist, who stated “the biggest problem with childhood and adolescent depression is recognizing the problem and getting the child into treatment” (p. 15). Teachers obviously need to know the warning signs and there are ample websites or books to explain them. If warning signs are exhibited teachers need to be speaking with parents, counselors, friends, or whoever the child will trust to talk to and will take action.
Conclusion
Depression is certainly complicated to deal with, but the ends justify the means. In conclusion, students need to know their teachers are watching because they care. Open dialogue needs to happen when reading books on suicide. Students need to feel comfortable in classrooms all the time, but even more so when the topic is of this nature. Mulrine (2001) tells us “seven of ten kids who kill themselves tell their friends about it first” (p. 44). The more we communicate with those sleepy, quirky youngsters who walk through our doors day after day, the better off we will all be.
References
Jenkins, A.M. (2001). Damage. New York, NY: Harper Tempest.
Lytle, V. (1994, December). The dark clouds of depression. NEA Today, 13(5), 15.
Mulrine, Anna (2001).Where do hopes go? U.S. News & World Report. 130, 40-45.
Murphy, Kathryn (2005).What can you do to prevent teen suicide? Nursing. 35, 43-45.