Suicide as a complex issue is equally illustrated in the novel Gairah Untuk Hidup dan Untuk Mati by Indonesian author Nasjah Djamin (1994) and Rahasia Hati by Japanese author Natsume Soseki (2016).
This study will analyze and compare psychological and social aspect of suicide issues in the novel Gairah Untuk Hidup dan Untuk Mati and Rahasia Hati. The method used in this study is a qualitative descriptive analysis with a comparative literature as its approach. The findings of this study are the form of comparison contained in the two novels is affinity because of the existence of several interrelationships in terms of storytelling style, themes and atmosphere that appear in the story. The similarities and differences in the two novels are illustrated through (1) the psychological condition of the characters, (2) the use of letters as suicide notes, and (3) the implementation of giri in Japanese society. The two novels also show that suicide is not caused by a single cause, but rather a combination of accumulated negative experiences, lack of support from surrounding people, cultural values, and social situations."