var parent = element.parentElement;
var x = document.getElementById("myLI").parentNode;
var parent = element.parentElement;
//OR
e.target.parentNode //target parent
<div>
<span onclick="this.parentElement.style.display = 'none';">x</span>
</div>
// If you want to target the parent by tagName you could use .closest(selector); like :
var x = document.getElementById("myLI").closest('section');
// NOTE : Take a look to the Browser compatibility section.
e.target.parentNode //target parent