Theme Of Transcendentalism In 13 Reasons Why

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In the novel 13 Reasons Why, Jay Asher illustrates similarities to the Transcendentalist belief that one can have free thoughts without judgement from a higher power. More specifically, the main character, Hannah Baker, commits suicide without being concerned with what others would think of her actions.
The novel starts with Clay Jensen returning home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker, his classmate and crush, who committed suicide two weeks earlier. The characters mentioned on the tapes all have a playing role in her final decision. The thirteen people she mentions in the tapes symbolize the thirteen different experiences that each person

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