Have you ever read a book and think how this book could have even existed? That question runs through a Th1rteen R3asons Why reader. The book is about Clay Jensen, a teenage boy who one day, finds this package on his front door step with no return address on it, to find seven cassette tapes, labeled with small numbers with what is described by Clay as blue nail polish. When he starts to play the first tape, he realizes that the voice is Hannah Baker, a girl who recently committed suicide. The tapes, as described by Hannah, contain the thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Some of these reasons include invasions of privacy, including sexual advances, betrayal and backstabbing, experiences. She describes this in one of her tapes: “A lot of you cared, just not enough. And that . . . that is what I needed to find out (p. 280).” One of the most surprising reasons, but most importantly, the one that pushed Hannah over the edge was the fact that her guidance counselor let her leave his …show more content…
office, even after explaining how she would commit suicide, did not follow protocol in reporting the possible suicide. The plot is very deep considering this is a young adult fiction book, but it is also appropriate in the sense that the themes are appropriate. Of all the themes shown there are three main ones: death and loss, bullying and misinterpretation, and that the little things do matter. Death and loss is obvious because Hannah dies, and the town is grieving over her, especially the thirteen people who receive the tapes. Bullying and misinterpretation occurs too often with Hannah. She is misinterpreted by many people as a slut because of rumors that people spread about her. As she says in one of her tapes, “It may seem that every time someone offers you a hand up, they just let go and watch you slip further down (p.145).” In real life, she was a great person, but it was people’s rumors and bullying that ultimately dragged her into the hole. The little things do matter. All of Hannah’s reasons for dying were all relatively small, but all of them added up to a large amount of pressure on her, which ultimately took her life. Along with hidden themes, there are hidden devices as well. Multiple times, Hannah uses foreshadowing by mentioning several people’s names before they were even introduced with their own story in the tape. A little less subtle was a piece of symbolism. A blinking stop sign occurs as Clay is walking around town. The blinking hand is like Hannah’s voice in the tapes. They will eventually stop blinking and stop as Hannah eventually ends her life. No book can have a good plot without characters to exhibit the plot to the reader.
There are two main characters, Clay and Hannah. Clay Jensen is the main narrator, as he is the one who is listening to Hannah in the tapes. He is a high school freshman who is very curious, but shy about it. He has a very spotless reputation until Hannah comes along. Hannah Baker is a secondary narrator as she is the voice in the tapes, which sounds like she is longing for companionship. For example, she says the following during her tapes: “For the longest time, from almost day one at school, it seemed that I was the only one who cared about me (p. 144).” She commits suicide by overdosing on pills, but leaves maps and reasons to why she committed suicide to the people who led her there. When she was alive, she was misunderstood as people called her many names. Some would say she is a bit manipulative because of the way that Clay at times undermines her side of some
stories. This book was definitely enjoyable in the sense that it was somewhat relatable. It was written in a way that made a teenage reader feel like they were in this book. It also had good themes that made the reader reflect on our current society and how sickle it is. With that said, this book should be read by just about every teenager so that they see what bullying and rumors do to a person. This is how powerful Hannah’s thirteen reasons why were. Work Cited Asher, Jay. Th1rteen R3asons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.
2) Hannah tells stories of her “other” life in which she attends school and looks forward to the weekends. As Chaya, her new friends are again shocked by the fact that she-a girl-attends school. Hannah explains that he...
Charley Goddard when into the war when he was fifteen years old he when into the war only to be a man. He was not thinking of what he would have to live on, the conditions he had to live under. He was not thinking that he would have to see the things that he had seen, doing the things that he had to do to stay alive. When Charley entered the war he wasn’t scared mostly because the didn’t do much. When the war really started to “kick up” or become more intense he started to get scared, he almost threw up half of the time. He didn’t think he would have to walk and take cover from dead men- dead friends. When Charley was out of the war he was twenty one. He was walking with a cane and is complaining that he was too old. When Charley said he was too old he wasn't talking about his age he was talking about the things he had seen.
A Ticket out of the Past By (Teresa) Yung-Ching Chuang. Life is like an ascent, the more you climb, the higher you will get. J. C. Burke skilfully undertakes this philosophy as a source of inspiration for ‘The Story of Tom Brennan’. It is not another crazy adventurous tale with a heroic storyline that seems unrealistic; the novel is about individual representation as Burke insightfully illustrates the long and slow journey of Tom Brennan, navigating through his road of self-discovery that eventually leads to his destination and achieves his “ticket out of the past” (Burke, pg 182). The catalyst of the novel is a traumatic car accident causing two instant deaths and one paralysis.
In the short story The Devil and Tom Walker, written by Washington Irving, the protagonist Tom Walker, is characterized as being a negative man. This is demonstrated through Tom Walker being characterized as being meager, outspoken, fearless, greedy, stubborn, and unloving.
In The Sun Also Rises by Ernest Hemingway, Lady Brett Ashley is a representative of the New Woman, changing the American landscape. This is shown when she changes from a female to male role, as she pleases. For example, when she takes the place of a male role she demands that people please her such as, when she ordered Jake to “kiss” (Hemingway, 15) her “once more before [they] get there.” (Hemingway, 15) Although changed back to her female role when “she gave [Jake] her hand as she stepped down” (Hemingway, 15) For a man to help a woman out of a car is known as a chivalrous and an expected action, especially in the past, in addition, the man is suppose to initiate the kiss. Brett is a woman who wants to display a secure, stable, satisfied and independent life to the point where readers are not able to
One of the characters in To Kill a Mockingbird is Bob Ewell. Bob Ewell is a selfish drunk who doesn't know how to control himself. He beats his children and he can’t hold a steady job for long. He is obsessed with revenge for Atticus for making him look like a fool at the trial of Tom Robinson, whom Ewell’s daughter is accusing of rape. Because of his false testimony, he can never be trusted again in front of the whole courtroom. He will do anything to get back at Atticus, and is willing to go as far as going after his children. He also has a grudge against the judge in the trial, and against the wife of the accused. Bob is crazy and delusional and is trying to gain back his reputation by taking down all the people that went against him in
Christopher abnormally obsesses over everything in his life. This is due to his severe OCD, which he struggles with throughout the novel. Likewise, Christopher’s OCD is depicted as a reaction to the lack of control over his environment. He copes with situations he cannot control by looking for various details within his life that bring him peace-of-mind him. For instance, before the policemen arrive at the crime scene of the murder of the Poodle, he felt tense and anxious caused by Mrs. Shears’s neurotic behavior in reaction to viewing Christopher peer over her dead dog. Later, when the police arrive to investigate the crime scene, Christopher feels a surge of comfort because the policeman is a representation (in Christopher’s mind) of order. When the police arrived Christopher thought: “Then the police arrived. I like the police. They have uniforms and
Christopher’s father, Ed Boone and his mother, Judy Boone both have one important trait or aspect that they share together which is their way of showing their love and protection towards their child. In this case, that would be Christopher. A quote that Christopher’s father said in the book that supports this answer is “”And Father said,”Christopher, do you understand that I love you.” This shows how he desperately wants his son to love him despite all of his efforts in trying to prevent Christopher from knowing about the truth that he is hiding. A quote that Christopher’s mother saying in the book is, “Christopher, I never meant to hurt you. I thought that what I was doing was the best for all of us. I hope it is. And I want you to know that this is not your fault.” This demonstrates that she really cares about Christopher in what is right which is leaving the house just like what his father believes that it was the best decision in preventing Christopher to know the truth about his mother.
At first, Hannah was a pesty, teenage girl who didn’t care about her family or religion. After undergoing a harsh journey, Hannah soon began to change her attitude. She now understands her family and her heritage better. As Hannah’s mind shifts, the theme is developed. Hannah understands how the events in a person’s life can impact the person they are today. In addition, she learned that it is important to remember our history. Those who do not remember the past are destined to repeat
The first aspect of Willy's character that affected his failure was his pride. Willy's pride caused him to in many situations make very poor and unethical decisions, that affected both himself and his family. An example of this is through the conversation between Willy and Charley “CHARLEY: ‘You want a job?’ WILLY: ‘I got a job, I told you that. [After a slight pause] What the hell are you offering me a job for?’ CHARLEY: ‘Don’t get insulted.’ WILLY: Don’t insult me.”(DOAS: pg x) Willy does not take the offer which is an obvious example of a poor decision. He makes this decision because he sees this generous whole hearted gesture as a kind of pitiful handout that his pride restricts him from taking. By not taking this handout willy puts his self pride infront of
After a week, she committed suicide. I couldn’t help but feel that she did it out of guilt. The way she looked apologetically at the photo and the books, it made her appear demoralized. Seeing the picture of the young boy reminds me of you. Just like Hannah who felt that she never redeemed herself or could never be forgiven even by the one person who she loves; I feel hopeless
Suicide is when someone takes their own life because they feel like there is no other way out or that they do not matter. In addition to the novel, a Netflix original TV series has come out based on the book. The executive producer Tom McCarthy explains, “...When you get a piece of material like this that’s actually about something? You take that seriously and you really hope the discussion begins and will continue.” Sheff echoed that sentiment in his Vanity Fair piece: “I’m proud to be a part of a television series that is forcing us to have these conversations, because silence really does equal death.” The TV show and book are forcing people to have conversations about suicide, which is helping society because as Sheff put it, silence equals death. With this in mind, making students talk about it at school could break down imaginary walls that divide students and mold schools into a more encouraging place for kids to go to. Also, Based off of the article ‘13 Reasons Why Controversial Depiction of Teen Suicide Has School Counselors Picking Up the Pieces’, The book Thirteen Reasons Why “has also been lauded for starting a conversation about suicide, which is the second leading cause of death among teens.” The quote clearly states that suicide is the second leading cause of death among teens, so this topic is very relevant to the school and the students inside of it. This
“It matters not what someone is born but what they grow to be”- Albus Dumbledore. When you are born you can’t immediately go and start living your life like an adult. You can’t start driving a car, get a job, or take care of yourself. You will need guidance from your parents to help you grow to be a responsible person. Your parents will try and mold you into the best thing possible or not even care about your future. This quote shows the responsibilities that lie on the parents shoulders. They are in charge of the path leading to your adult life. School teachers will only help with education. The main teachers in your life are your parents. The most influential teachers in To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are the parents in Maycomb.
In literature, many may argue that the obvious prosecution or defense of a character is specifically stated within the course of the novel. However, I am inclined to believe that the attributes of a character lie deep within the novel and are not always explicitly stated. As in the case of Carson McCullers's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, many may believe that Mick Kelly was a rebellious young girl for her obscene profanity that she overtly showcased to her younger siblings and later graffitied inside of a vacant house or because she was portrayed as a poor role model to her younger siblings by pawning them off and cursing them out, but I believe that Mick was deemed worthy and heroic due to her strong and independent nature, her acceptance
The students from the Freedom Writers Diary and Hannah have similarities and differences in their survivor story. They were both strong, brave, and willing to change their life around. Hannah had to stop going to school because of the cancer destroying her brain. She stayed strong even through hard times such as chemotherapy. The student in the diary was brave by changing his old habits and start doing new things the right way. He knows the young ones are looking up to him as a role model. Hannah and the student are both strong and brave during hard times. They could of both gave up but they didn't .Conversely, the student in the diary didn't have any support or anyone to tell him he shouldn't be in a gang and be in the streets. He didn't