This is a literary analysis essay about two texts.   The texts I choose is the poem "Suicide Note" by Janice Mirikitani and the short story "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima. "Suicide Note" by Janice Mirikitani: https://tigerenglish.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/suicide-note-janice-mirikitani.pdf "Patriotism" by Yukio Mishima: http://www.csun.edu/~rdavids/150sp09/150readings/Mishima_Patriotism.pdf You have to develop a theory about both texts: You can compare the motivations or personalities of two characters, apply a shared theme or idea, explore gender roles or economic issues, or something else. The following are suggestions for approaches to take. You can follow one exactly, use one as a jumping off point (that is, you don't have to answer each part of the question if you don't want to), change one, combine two, or make up your own.  Question : Investigate ideas about suicide in two of the texts. In Western culture, suicide is often shameful, considered to be "giving up," "taking the easy way out," or a cruel act towards one's family and friends. Do the characters and authors seem to be supporting this view or treating suicide in a different way?    Guideline:  Apply a theme or idea of your choice to two texts by performing a close reading of them. In close reading, we focus very tightly on the language the author uses—what meaning we can extract from the language: word choice and placement, details included or not mentioned by the author, the structure of the text ,and any patterns that arise. In close reading, we want to stick as closely to the words on the page as possible, drawing whatever meaning we can from them alone. Form a theory about what the texts mean, compare how each text relates to the theme or idea, and support it using evidence from the text. Make sure you have a bold, clear, arguable thesis statement about the meaning of the texts. A reasonable reader should be able to disagree with your thesis or else you don't have enough to prove in your essay.