Jules Verne in his book, Mysterious Island, quoted: “It is a great misfortune to be alone, my friends; and it must be believed that solitude can quickly destroy reason”. This quote can easily be associated with Hannah Baker, the protagonist of the book Thirteen Reasons why, written by Jay Asher. She likes candy, hot chocolate, blue nail polish, filling out surveys, and reading and writing poetry. Deeply romantic, she wants to find love, and is exploring relationships naturally, at her own pace. She's also smart, attractive, and friendly. Hannah had just arrived in a new town, new school, new people and was ready to start her life again, but what followed were the next three most miserable years of her life. She had entered her school with great expectations and a fresh look upon the world, but had found herself faced with great challenges and obstacles; she had to deal with being alone, fitting in, and not knowing who to trust. To overcome these problems Hannah had to go through immense hardships which developed her character largely; struggling with them developed her character in three instances: Her relationship with Justin Foley, the accident with Jenny Kurtz, and her very last interaction with Mr. Porter. He was the first one. The …show more content…
first culprit to lead to Hannah’s suicide: Justin Foley. He was a year older than her and had a class across the hall from her. They had been playfully flirting, and pretty soon they had exchanged phone numbers and decided to meet at a park, near her house. She had always dreamed of how perfect her first kiss would be; as Hannah quoted, “I was just cautious. New Town. New School. And this time I was going to be in control of how people saw me. After all, how often do we get a second chance? (Asher 19)” She did not get a second chance. After their not-so-perfect kiss, Hannah started hearing rumours about her and Justin, that distorted her image and made her look a little less-than-respectful. She felt betrayed and was really devastated, he was the first person she had trusted after coming to her new home. “And everyone knows you can’t disapprove a rumour … A rumor based on a kiss ruined a memory that I hoped would be special. A rumour based on a kiss started a reputation that other people believed in and reacted to. And sometimes, a rumour based on a kiss has a snowball effect. A rumour, based on a kiss, is just the beginning (30-31).” Hannah’s words unfortunately proved to be true; the “snowball effect” did occur and every event that proved to be a distressing situation for Hannah was a domino effect of the rumour that Justin started. “I can still see Justin huddled among his friends at school. I remember Hannah walking by. and the whole group stopped talking. They averted their eyes. And when she passed, they started laughing (30).” Clay Jensen narrated these lines while listening to the tapes and feeling a complete and utter outburst of hate and frustration, that even though, to Justin, it must have been just a joke, but to Hannah, it was so much more; it was the pivotal point in her life, where she could see herself falling down, but had no way of stopping it. It developed her character a lot, as it really put things in perspective for her, but meanwhile made her hostile towards every positive thing in her life and turned it ugly and negative. It revealed her character as a deeply romantic person, at first, and it showed us that she is an easily impressional person. Another one of the instances that deeply impacted Hannah, was her relationship with Jenny Kurtz.
Jenny was a really affable cheerleader at school; she had talked to Hannah before and was seen as a good person through her eyes, up until the “accident”. She had been to a party which affected her a lot and left her feeling completely helpless and she did not have the will to move; “I wanted to leave, but where would I go? I couldn’t go home. Not yet … Then a hand touched my shoulder. A gentle squeeze. It was Jenny Kurtz (240).” She was like an angel, rescuing her from a situation of distress; “Was it so obvious? Did I look that terrible? I looped my arm in hers and she helped me up. Which felt good, letting someone help me
(240).” She had volunteered to take Hannah home after the party as she had a car. “... in your car, I felt secure. The air inside was warm and comforting. The wiper blades, on a slow speed, gently pulled me out of my thoughts and into the car. Into reality (241).” She wanted to get as far away from the party as possible. “ And then … it hit. There’s nothing like an accident to bring the world crashing back (242).” They had hit a stop sign at an intersection, and Hannah was truly able to grasp the whole situation, that Jenny was a little intoxicated and that she was not in driving conditions any more; Hannah was afraid that she might hit more than a stop sign the next time around, and refused to let her drive the car again. “ I stopped you, I couldn’t let you drive away (243).” Jenny was not going to abandon her car and insisted on driving. Both Hannah and Jenny argued, finally Jenny couldn’t take it anymore, “Hannah! Get … out! (244)” Jenny abandoned Hannah and drove on. Hannah was guilt-ridden, she felt culpable for her actions and that she allowed Jenny to drive on. But something more happened that night, two cars collided at the same intersection because there was no stop sign and a senior from their school, who was delivering pizza, had died in the accident. “ Someone had knocked it over. And someone else … yours truly … could’ve stopped it (248).” She blamed herself for the boy’s death. At the weakest point in her life, she had to accept the fact that she had no control over anything and that every negative event was occurring because of her; she felt that if she disappeared, no one would even notice. Hannah’s character developed a lot through her struggles, she felt that people were just using her, and had lost all respect for her; she found herself digging a cave that had no end with the constant fear of it collapsing over her. She tried to stand up for the right thing, as she still had a sense of morality left in her. Finally, The thirteenth person on Hannah’s list, Mr. Porter. He was the last person that Hannah went to, as she quoted, “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it? I’m turning to you (145).” She was turning to Mr. Porter, “You don’t know how hard it was to set up this meeting… Hard to get myself here (145).” Hannah was desperate to get help at this point, but was utterly disappointed to hear Mr. Porter’s response, “You have two options… One, you can confront him. Or two, and I’m not trying to be blunt here, Hannah, but you can move on.” “You mean, do nothing?” “It is an option, and that’s all we’re talking about.” He told her to ignore it. He failed to use his maturity and his professional skills to understand that there was truly a problem. More than anybody else, Mr. Porter had the direct power to stop Hannah from killing herself, but he didn’t. Hannah decided to give him one final test, to see if he really wanted to help her, “I’m walking down the hall. His door [is] closed behind me. It’s staying closed. He’s not coming. He’s letting me go. I think I’ve made myself very clear, but no one’s stepping forward to stop me. A lot of you cared, just not enough. And that…that is what I needed to find out. (150-151)” For the last time, Hannah struggled to try to solve her problem, to live with herself and to be accepted and respected by the people around her, but it had no avail, she was disappointed everywhere she turned to. She had now finally decided what she had to do, after all that she had gone through, after everything, it was presented to her on a silver platter; she explored all her options and the only solution, the only final solution to her problem was to give up, to end her life. From the beginning of the book to the end, her character had gone through immense hardships and had to struggle around them, and they completely changed her as a person. The hopeful, romantic girl that used to be excited about her life, was now a hopeless woman, who was unsure about every step she took. She was betrayed, belittled, and dismissed, but was it all worth it? It makes her character more appealing and helps us sympathize and connect with her; it gives us an insight of how people are and helps us understand more about human nature. There have been situations in everyone’s lives where they go through something a little similar to Hannah’s, especially young adults, and it makes this novel more relatable and understandable to those who read it. It is a very effective way to get a very important message across: Do not ignore those who need help, and always be with them.
“Isolation is the sum total of wretchedness to man.” (Thomas Carlyle). In the story Catcher in the Rye by J.D Salinger, this coming of age book tells of the teen troubles experienced by the main character Holden Caulfield. After Holden gets expelled from his school Pencey Prep, Holden leaves school a couple days early to explore New York City. In his travels he experiences isolation from friends at school, feeling disconnected from his family, as he tries understand these periods angst he finds some peace.
In the first place, she was developed to be secretive because of her loneliness, but befriending Jacob, Norman, and Paul makes her more social, which showed that life is better with sociability. This portion of the novel helped state that, "She looked surprised as though she couldn't believe she had talked so much " ( from page 131). Hannah is generally secretive and lonely, for she lost her family and was made as an example for her lost ears, but when she found out that Jacob was caring and friendly, she decided to trust him and answer his questions. Afterward, she was surprised and stopped, as if waking up from a dream but did not regret it totally. What we should discern from that, Finding a caring friend could change the reality. Moreover, their friendship then developed, and they got to be a family. In the second place, Hannah was unpredictable but did not point to it directly, yet exposed it for her friends, she did all she could. That was stated indirectly in the section on page 161, " She looked at the faces around her – Jacob, Oteka, Paul – and it was as though she began to draw strength from their courage emanating from them and enveloping her. " What Hannah only needed to reveal her real personality and impulsiveness was some courage from her friends, that she loved and cared for, which she read in their eyes. So, McKay delivered " friendship is strong " by making Hannah impulsive. If she was designed to be calm or shy, Norman would not have made it, or even Jacob, sacrificing it to save his friend. Hannah was described in that figure to enhance the idea of friendship's power in
Catherine Hardwicke’s illuminating Thirteen is a sobering film of uncommon emotional potency. The picture focuses on Tracy (the wondrous Evan Rachel Wood), a sensitive, impressionable, profoundly confused teen, who out of desperation and uncertainty, turns to nihilism. Some have deemed the picture lurid and exploitative, but for the more liberal-minded, its message is significant and has value. Thirteen does not condone or glorify reckless, self-destructive behavior; rather it warns adolescents of the dangers and temptations they will surely be confronted with, while concurrently stressing the need for parental guidance and insight.
She is walking through life as there is nothing wrong with anything ever, life is one big funny moment as she tells Pearl, “Quote”. Jenny never seemed to really deal with the fact that her second husband Sam left, she started taking it out on Becky, her daughter. Which is a lot like how Pearl abused Jenny as a child after Beck left. Jenny only knew how to take out her anger the way Pearl showed her. After though, she started going to the extreme of being oblivious to pain and suffering so she doesn’t have to deal with the feeling of sadness again. For Jenny, its one extreme to the next, as before her family it was with her looks. She was hardly eating thanks to Pearl’s comments about her weight and appearance. Just like Pearl, Jenny is also blind to family issues, choosing to believe she has a perfect American family instead of seeing how many problems they have. She is even blind to Slevin’s separation issues with his mother, he’s stealing random things that remind him of his her. Pearl and Jenny are the most similar in the family, with the way they have chosen to live their lives, which is why Jenny may be the most damaged and oblivious out of the Tull
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
Can you imagine a society in which firemen burn houses down, rather than save people from fires? Now imagine that the houses are fire proof and that it is the job of the firemen to burn books. In the science fiction novel Fahrenheit 451, Ray Bradbury describes Montag’s struggle to find himself in an oppressive and hostile society. Books are burned by firemen in this society, because they are outlawed since they cause disagreements among people, and heaven forbid, cause them to think. Montag is at peace with himself, burning books and homes, until a young girl plants the seeds of self-doubt in his mind. The protagonist is in conflict with himself about the morality of what he does for a living and must dig deep within himself to find the right
Adolescence is the stage in life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There are many things that still need to be explored, learned and conquered. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to conquer Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we have learned in class can be applied to this character from identity development, to depression, to adolescent sexuality and more. In this film Tracy is a prime example of an adolescent and much of what I have learned this year can be applied to her character.
She has an emotional disorder that makes her choose the wrong people. She chooses to be with someone who doesn’t love her, and who will abuse her. She was abused as a child, and the audience can see that this created a downward spiral throughout her life. There are multiple times where she wishes to commit suicide, and allows herself to be brutalized by boyfriends. While there is no diagnosis I believe that she suffers from depression. While Forrest is choosing the right path, Jenny is choosing the wrong one.
People in similar circumstances can make reckless decisions. As children start to get older, they become more observant and curious, trying new things and making mistakes. But one consequence that some people struggle with is loneliness. Once people begin to feel lonely they will start comparing themselves to others, and changing who they are by taking risks, making reckless decisions, all for the sake of being popular. This type of behaviour is explored as a very common theme in many stories. In the short stories, “Celia Behind Me” by Isabel Huggan and “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson, both authors explore this theme through two similar characters who have fixed mindsets and believe that their actions will not impact the people
In the book Flight #116 is Down Caroline B. Cooney, Heidi saw a plane crash in her yard. She was shocked to see what happen. Heidi knew she had to help all the people in the plane so She ran inside to call 911. First, Heidi helped by Letting all the hurt passengers to stay in her house and keep warm. Heidi was brave enough to lend her house to save them. Next, Heidi Was giving coats to all the hurt people that the hero's Couldn't help. Heidi gave coats to the people with not so severe injuries because they needed to stay warm because they were gonna be down there the longest. Lastly, Heidi helped a toddler that was in the cold and could die but Heidi had helped the toddler get in the house and stay alive. Finally, Heidi had helped people
Jenny stated that she works at a zoo in the gift shop department. She stated that when her shop gets overcrowded that is when she feels an attack coming. She stated that she starts feeling
Disillusionment does not merely occur in only novels; every single individual to walk the Earth will experience mental displeasure at some point within their lives. Nevertheless, many choose to let unfortunate events circle within their souls and become encrypted into their memory. Once this happens, the role of aimlessness takes its course, adverse fate reigns, and the feeling of disenchantment dwells in the mind. Hemingway’s novel, The Sun Also Rises, grasps this very subject in a subliminal way; one must accurately analyze Hemingway’s somber tone and sparse writing style in order to find the hidden symbolism and themes captured within this literary work. His protagonist, Jake Barnes, has certainly experienced prodigious pain, but according to Hemingway, he must heal himself fully in order for the pain he endured to be worth it whatsoever. Through its contrasting concepts and facade of leading a fulfilled life, The Sun Also Rises suggests that indeed, life is a rigorous battle, and in order to understand the world in a much more reflective way, one must deceive themselves and trust their transcendent illusions; nonetheless, as Hemingway presents in his novel, one must also be subject to a despondent realization of their misapprehensions; one must learn from this pain, and heal in order to survive.
Thirteen is an age of confusion, stuck between wanting to be an adult but not yet old enough to be an independent. Angela was about this age, born in 1464 in Russia. She was conniving and a liar; the latter of the two lesser known. The girl was also power hungry and had an unsettling obsession with the ability to control others. She belonged to only her mother and owned a small house cat.
The story about Jenny is heartfelt, and there is no one right answer to deal with the problem of protecting her sanity. Jenny has little to no choice to deal with the abusive situation that she is currently experiencing with her mother, Mandy. Little Jenny can take the route of denial. She can put in her mind that the abuse of her mother is real for the sake of sanity.
The narrator has explained that the "hole" where he lives is "full of light," because he manages to use energy from Monopolated Light and Power without paying the company for it. He says that this is important because without light he becomes "formless," a state of existence that is like being dead; he then confesses that he only became alive once he "discovered" his invisibility. At first glance, this passage seems to contain two paradoxical ideas: firstly, that the narrator needs light because being formless and invisible is a kind of death, and secondly, that he was not alive until he realized he was invisible.