Suicide In Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why

The main character of the novel Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah Baker, committed suicide because of thirteen “reasons” that she divulged in a set of audiotapes. These reasons were people who either bullied her in some cruel way, or just ignored the fact that Hannah needed help. Whatever their crime against Hannah, each of these people affected her identity. Most of them negatively, but not all.

In 2007, Jay Asher released the young adult novel 13 Reasons Why. It steadily gained popularity; it made the New York Times Bestseller List in 2011. In early 2017, Netflix took off with it and produced a 13-episode series. The story follows the suicide note (or rather, audio cassette tapes) left behind by high schooler Hannah Baker after she killed herself. Respected social figures and celebrities quoted the show and opened discussion about topics like depression, rape culture, bullying, and most obviously, suicide. On the thirteen tapes, Hannah walks the audience through the events and actions that led to her taking her own life, with each tape specifically about one of the thirteen people that she

The idea of a teenager ending her life because of the people surrounding her is not uncommon today. I, myself, have had friends that have almost ended their own lives because of how a boy treated them or gossip surrounding them. Jay Asher illustrates the brutality and ugliness of these situations in such an honest way that I felt like Clay hearing these words that change his life. The book didn’t have a happy ending either—Hannah didn’t come back and Clay was left to deal with the mess that lay in her path. Sometimes stories find a way for there to be a happy resolution, but for Thirteen Reasons Why to be an authentic story it couldn’t have ended happily. Suicide, and specifically suicide in teenagers, is a real problem that needs to be acknowledged and prevented. Every story has many sides and you can never know what a person is truly going

In the book Thirteen Reasons Why, Hannah Baker committed suicide. Before she died, she sent out 7 tapes and on each side of the tapes there were recordings about the thirteen reasons why she committed suicide. Each side of the tape had a person as a reason why and the recording was of Hannah explaining why they were on the tapes. The tapes were numbered so after a person listened to the tapes, they would have to send them to the next person or another set of the same tapes would be released to the public for everyone to hear.

Over the years teen suicide has increased tremendously. According to Michael Jellinek, “the adolescent may feel they have no choice but to end their intense internal suffering or to solve a hopeless dilemma by ending it all”(Preventing Teen Suicide). According to the Center of Disease Prevention, “suicide is the third-leading cause of death for high school students after car accidents and homicides”(Bratsis). Everyday teens are faced with internal struggles and challenges that are difficult to cope with and sometimes seem unbearable to live with. Many teens do not fully understand how their words, actions and behaviors affect certain individuals. Various subtypes classify the cause behind an individual’s decision to commit suicide. There are many causes for teen suicide such as emotional neglect, mental disorders, psychical and emotional abuse, and drug and alcohol abuse; however, the leading cause of teen suicide is individuals struggling with bullying, depression, and the overwhelming aspects of life. Addressing these three leading causes and encouraging teens to discuss how they are feeling could help decrease teen suicide rates. The following articles touch on teen suicide and the ongoing problems leading to this phenomenon.

Even though teen suicide is one of the leading causes of deaths in teenagers, there are many ways it can be prevented.

Neil Gaiman once said, “The current total of countries in the world with First Amendments is one. You have guaranteed the freedom of speech. Other countries don’t have that.” At the time of the amendments’ creation, a vast majority of operating countries had not yet granted their people such freedoms. Granting every citizen of the United States this right seemed to have been an important landmark in this nation’s history. Along with others, this right is declared to the people in the first amendment of the constitution. The first amendment is the most important because it grants people freedom of speech, prohibits prior restraint, and declares the right to peaceable assembly.

The First Amendment allows people to voice their opinions without repercussions. “Congress will make no law abridging the freedom of speech,” (First Amendment Rights). It allows people to talk freely among themselves, with a group of friends, or for the world to hear. One great example is Martin Luther King

The First Amendment of the United States Constitution protects the right to freedom of expression from government interference. Freedom of expression consists of the rights to freedom of speech, press, assembly, the right to make a

The First Amendment states that “everybody has freedom of speech, press, and religion.” The First Amendment allows us, as U.S. citizens to speak freely about our feelings throughout the government. The First Amendment could possibly be the most important in the whole Bill of Rights. This amendment affects us in our daily life, whether we're teenagers or adults

One reason teens should read 13 reasons why is because it teaches people that words someone says can actually hurt people. Words truly do hurt, and at this moment Hannah Baker is standing in a store named Blue Spot. Hannah is about to experience that very situation of how words can hurt. While Hannah is standing at the cash register a guy walks in, Hannah doesn't like him because he has put her on the list of best butt in high school class. This guy walk around the store and then walks up behind Hannah and stood there waiting,

The First Amendment promises that the government cannot take away our freedoms including speech, press, assembly, and religion. One tremendous part of this amendment is free expression. Free expression is important because of how necessary it is for our representative government, it encourages individual growth, helps advance knowledge, and it is key to bringing about social change, thus protecting individual rights.

Hannah Baker was a high school student who committed suicide; No one really expected it, no one noticed the thoughts of Hannah killing herself. The novel Thirteen Reasons Why begins as Clay Jensen sends a mysterious box to one of his classmates named Jenny. We learn that the box has an audiotape of Hannah Baker and the reasons why she committed suicide.

The United States Constitution to the First Amendment protects the right to freedom of religion, expression, assembly, and the right to petition. The First Amendment guarantees the freedom of expression which prohibits the congress to restrict the press to speak what they like or dislike to public. Freedom of speech allows the individual to express themselves as they please without the government getting involved. The only clause as to the government can get involved is if they provide substantial justification for interfering in the right of freedom of speech if peace or causes

For Thirteen Reasons Why, I am going to explain the literary terms. Thirteen Reason is about a girl named, Hannah Baker who killed herself. Before Hannah killed herself she made 13 videos of why this person made her make that decision.