Individual Text Feature: Thirteen Reasons Why

Individual Text Feature
TH1RTEEN R3ASONS WHY
 by Jay Asher

The book Thirteen Reasons Why deals with an issue that people of all ages deal with, suicide and the guilt people left behind have to cope with.  The book is laid out with easy to read chapter titles that help keep track of the timeline and what cassette we are on.  The book has pause and play icons throughout to signify the voice of Hannah on the cassette has been paused and Clay has begun his commentary.  This book runs a fine line between adolescent and young adult genres.  This book would be most appropriate at in a high school advanced level class.  There are numerous topics that are presented in the book that many high school students have dealt with before like bullying, peer pressure, and violence.  There are deeper and darker topics discussed such as rape and violence as well.  The narrative in the book is interesting and the storyline is well laid out.  The title is explained by the cassettes in the book and it is understandable how they contributed to the death of Hannah.

The idea this book posits is that every interaction contributes to the outcome of who we are and how we deal or refuse not to deal with our interactions with others.  Initially, I thought the book was about bullying and mental health, but after I read it I realized it was more about guilt and it’s consequences.  Hannah says “No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of others” (156).  How do we teach children to be more empathetic when dealing with struggles of their peers?  Should they be held responsible for contributing to the death of a peer by not improve their social structure to be more inclusive?  I would like to further research how we can effectively empower adolescents with tools of empathy to better understand the importance of action in times of crisis.  

    Many are involved in the decision for Hannah to take her own life, some figure more prominently than others.  The parts that I found interesting were not so much about what was done to her but how she reacts or doesn't react to situations.  It is very relatable in that when we see injustice or people being wronged, sometimes it is after the fact we see what we could have or should have done to help.  The guilt of inaction is present throughout and only in the end does Clay take action when he realizes Skye could be suicidal.

    In the prologue we meet Clay, is our unreliable narrator throughout the novel and Hannah, the voice on the tapes.  They were mailed out before her suicide with explicit notes on who to pass them to and what the penalty is for deterring from her instructions. The story begins with a scene at a package delivery store.  He is mailing off a package to a girl named Jenny.  He knows what is in the box and he obligated to send them, but will they have the intended impact on her as much as they did with him?  He’s a decent guy and finds out a lot more about Hannah that makes him regret listening to rumors and not telling her how he felt about her.  He is very self-aware and even admits his opinion of her was skewed when he says "She was new to the school so the rumors overshadowed everything else I knew about her"(30).  

One character in particular (Alex) seems to get the majority of the blame because of a list that was started.  Hannah even goes so far as to blame him for starting the snowball effect that ultimately led to her decision the kill herself. If he hadn’t put her on the list and left others of it, it might have been different. “Every single event documented here may have never happened had you, Alex had you not written my name on that list.  It’s that simple.” She wants him to realize there are consequences to actions. I can honestly say she puts an exorbitant amount of blame on him.  Even though he may have been the catalyst for the decision to take her own life, I believe it was an accumulation of different factors.

    Other classmates are to blame as well.  Hannah encounters aggressive advances for Marcus, ultimately leading her to physically remove hi from a booth they share.  Justin, (Hannah assumes) is the one who started the rumor that she was a slut ultimately ruining her reputation over a kiss.  Hannah dedicates two chapters to hi in an effort to give us all the necessary details to understand why he made such an impact on her.  In another instance, she faces public humiliation resulting in a physical scar a well as internal ones from Jessica.  Ironically enough, this is the same girl Hannah feels guilty not helping later on.  Tyler is considered a peeping Tom and even though there is no proof of this, he becomes victimized over this.  Hannah encountered betrayal when her “friend” Ryan, who she felt had a special connection with her, steals her work and publishes it without her consent.  She admits “Betrayal, it’s one of the worst feelings.”  Jenny is someone who didn’t personally do anything to Hannah, but her lack of action is the cause of someone’s death later in the book.  She and Hannah are both characters whose lack of action have grave consequences.  Bryce is a skeezy high school boy who tries to put the moves on Hannah but she rejects him at first.  Later she lets him have sex with her, and make it clear, she was the one using him.  Zach starts out as a character of action, trying to console Hannah when she is at her lowest point.  He betrays her by stealing notes of encouragement.  She even tells him “I needed those notes I needed any hope those notes might have offered.”  He denies his involvement and begins to ignore her.  Speaking of ignoring someone, Hannah doesn’t like the Courtney because she thinks she’s a fake.  In retaliation, Courtney spreads more rumors about Hannah, proving to others (in the end) she really is a phony. Mr. Porter is the only adult on the list.  He is the guidance counselor Hannah goes to for help.  He is not effective at his job, and the conversation he has with Hannah is an actual recording of their session together.  His dismissal of her claim is minimized and she is told to confront the people or get over it.  This proves to be bad advice.

    Many are involved in the decision for Hannah to take her own life, some figure more prominently than others.  The parts that I found interesting were not so much about what was done to her but how she and others react or don't react to situations.  It is very relatable that when we see injustice or people being wronged, sometimes it is after the fact we see what we could have or should have done to help.  The guilt of inaction is present throughout and only in the end does Clay take action when he realizes Skye could be suicidal.  

    Even though there are twelve people on the tapes, I did find it interesting that it is the same number of people on a jury.  Hannah, through her recollection of events, plays judge and jury.  Readers may not agree with her final judgment of guilt, but Hannah was affected by their actions (or lack of action).  She felt her inaction required a punishment severe enough to end her own life because she felt worthless. She makes an important statement by saying “No one insisted on knowing those topics. But for some reason, they refused to have a discussion on suicide without specifics.”  This needs to become part of student curriculum. This book only shows the consequences of suicide with the hope that Clay can save Skye after listening to the point of view of a victim of suicide.  The signs may not always be obvious and easily seen, but we need to find a way to reduce suicides by educating adolescents to be receptive, inclusive, and empathetic to their peers.