In 13 Reasons Why, by Jay Asher, the main character is one of 13 students blamed by their classmate, Hannah Baker for why she has committed suicide. The first person of the group is sent a box of 13 cassette tapes with each one centering around one person, and after listening to them all, they must mail them to the next person. I want to zero in on the idea of whether or not what Hannah did was unfair. This was originally brought to my attention by the character Marcus Cooley. He is one of the 13, and because of his guilt, he angrily says to our main character, Clay, that "Hannah just wanted an excuse to kill herself." This infuriates Clay, but rather than making me angry, it left me wondering if maybe he was right.
These people on her list all had something to do with why she committed suicide, but their sins range from being an insincere friend to practically raping her. I have to say, she brought some of the things that happened to her on herself. Once she is relatively depressed, she shares a private and close to her heart poem written by her with a classmate. Thinking it is very good, he anonymously publishes it in the school newspaper. He makes it onto her list of 13. He barely did anything wrong, and she knows it. She does admit it when speaking directly to him on his tape, but nonetheless, he will have to live with his guilt for a long time. I almost feel like she is intentionally ruining everyone else's life in return for the life she is losing.
Still, I feel like in a way, the tapes are her suicide note. She was never heard, and she has a right to some closure before her death. Clay is the only person on the tapes that she is not blaming, but more explaining things to. She knows that he will hear them, and she wants to give him an explanation. I think this is meant to make the reader who is relating to Clay blame Hannah less for all of the people she is hurting.Still, the reader has to try to put themselves in the other 12 people's shoes, and imagine what this would do to you if you received these tapes.
I also got to wondering if Hannah was just looking for some attention from the people that never knew the impact they had on her. I do not necessarily think that Hannah was seeking attention in the general sense, seeing as she asks them not to let the tapes be heard by anyone outside the 13. All the same, I do not think she wishes to be forgotten.
Please comment and tell what you think! :)
Hey Ellie!
ReplyDeleteThe book seems so good. I like that you portrayed your opinion on the book through your blog post. I agree with your opinion and how it was from a different perspective. If I was reading the book I would have looked at her death from Hannah point of view. I kind of disagree well maybe it was her friends faults and not just Hannah's. But with a situation in the book, you can't really pile the blame on a person solely that would be unjust.
great blog post :)
Nice post!
ReplyDeleteI also read this book, so I had these same ideas while I was reading. I thought Hannah was in a way cruel to put all this on the people who listened to her tapes, however it was necessary as they did something horrible to her, and if they hadn't done it, she wouldn't have had a reason to kill herself.
I'm glad someone agrees with me about how wrong it was of her. :)
DeleteGreat Post Ellie!
ReplyDeleteI just posted a response on this book, and although I understand your point of veiw, I don't fully agree. I don't think she is looking for attention. That is the last thing she wanted. She didn't want the tapes to get out, that was just her way of making sure everyone listened. I don't think that Hannah made the tapes solely to blame those 13 people, but to provide them all, not just Clay, with an explanation. It's great to read something with contrasting ideas!