The Role Of Suicide In Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why

There are critics of this novel that believe that it was more the things that Hannah did herself that inevitably led to her suicide opposed to the things that the other 13 people were “blamed” or “accused of” doing (Ewing 458-460) and in many ways it is clear that that could very possibly be the

Hannah has experiences in the story that change her. In chapter three, Hannah drank watered down wine for the first time. Hannah also got drunk. “ Uncle Sam poured another quarter glass of wine into her glass, then filled it the way with water for the next blessing.” this was on page 16. This experience is a huge role in the story because it causes her to fall asleep and have to crazy dream. Another quote is when Hannah says “I'm not Chaya.” On page 34, “I'm from New Rochelle. And I'm not Chaya, I'm Hannah’ When Shmuel’s eyebrows rose up and lines furrowed his brow, he looked so fierce Hannah moved back a step” Rivka explains to Hannah that she was sick and probably forgot. Hannah has many experiences in the story that change her.

This generation is mainly known for our desire to find uniqueness, passing off our immaturity as Y.O.L.O (You Only Live Once) and acting childish. Miley Cyrus, also known as Hanna Montana, is someone that symbolizes this era. She is labeled as a rebel and rejected by society for making immature decisions, yet many teens are following in her footsteps. Miley’s use of drugs, uniqueness in style and dancing influences teens to be like her.

These are simple, short lines but, one can perceive the tone of resignation fueled by complete belief in her thoughts as the truth; thoughts that ultimately led to her self-destruction. There is this one funny thing about humans and the world. There are many truths- too many. And no one is capable of discerning whether they are lies or not. Each one has their own beliefs and nobody is given the advantage of having seen the “ultimate truth” because what we think our truths are, are truths merely because we believe them to be so. Hannah’s “truth” was her belief that she could not be saved and that suicide was her only way. So, we are only given the right to believe that what we think is

For example, when The “Heathers” publically humiliate Martha they target her because she is what the movie identifies her as the stereotypical “fat girl” causing her to be seen as below them in social hierarchy. By sending her a fake letter written by Kurt, a popular football player, the Heathers utilize their power to not only hold on to both their and the football players social status, but also to take away the little dignity and power Martha had.

As the reader is more introduced to her they can see her manipulation become more evident. “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word, about the other things, and I will come to you in the black of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you” (23) she tells this to the other girls. This adds a fear element as well as eludes how she can manipulate people into doing what she tells them. This helps to not only prove to the reader the truth of this theme but develop the plot and her role in the

Hannah remains a wonderful role model to her peers in all of her work ethic, kindheartedness, and her spiritual life. No one would be able to find one cruel bone in her body. Passionate about everything she does, she never gives up on anything. She is not swayed by the majority; she finds joy in being her own person. The following quote perfectly sums up Hannah’s outlook on life. “Do not compare yourself with others. It is our uniqueness that makes us who we are.” - Tina J.

The first topic we discussed was her family life. When i interviewed Hannah she had shared that she is sixteen years of age, born on April,26th 1999 in Grand Junction,Colorado. Next, she shared in the interview that she moved to Greensburg.Pennsylvania three years ago ,before that she lived in Rangely, Colorado. She had also shared with me,that she has a brother named Evan,who is a freshman at Hempfield, who is autistic as well. Hannah has two pets in her family, they are two dogs named Bella and Ella, one of the dogs is a pitbull and boxer

Hannah’s First reason is because of a boy, named Justin. Justin became her boyfriend when she first moved to the town. They met up at a park and had their first kiss together and hung out for a while. Later though, Justin lied and said that she had let him. Since Justin spread this

The new girl at school is naturally shy and alone, but Hannah Baker seemed to have it easier acquiring friends and such, she is pretty popular for being the new girl but that didn't last long, people started many rumors going around but of course these rumors are not true and yet they just keep bundling up until she's reached her breaking point. No one saw it coming, no one expected it, no one noticed she was about to committed suicide. But before she committed such an event, Hannah left behind a total of seven cassette tapes and thirteen stories leading to her death, the reasons to why she was driven over the edge. Each tape was directed towards one specific person in which they caused one horrifying reason to her death. The tapes was put

The traumatic consequences of these events stunt Sula’s emotional maturation and understanding at the raw age of twelve. From this moment on, her emotional wellbeing is solely restricted to what she has learned from her family and immediate surroundings, with no chance of growth: "Eva’s arrogance and Hannah’s self-indulgence merged in her and, with a twist that was all her own imagination, she lived out her days exploring her own thoughts and emotions, giving them full reign, feeling no obligation to please anybody unless their pleasure pleased her"(118). This excess in behavior is undeniably childlike in nature, which is due to the retardation of Sula’s emotional and social growth at such a young age.

Because of the sexual confidence Hannah Peace has, Sula must disguise her difference, just like her grandmother Eva had too. Eva’s drastic measures were repeated by Sula an act of survival and denial of powerlessness and vulnerability. Nel and Sula are regularly picked on by the same group of boys, causing Sula to take matter into her own hands. At one point, Sula takes out a knife and cuts off part of her finger saying, “ ‘If I can do that to myself, what you suppose I’ll do to you?’ ” (54-55). This severe act if Sula’s moment of self-recognition of her connection to her grandmother Eva. Here, Sula realizes that she has to fight against her own vulnerability, and establish her identity, hereby following her grandmother Eva’s example. Though this moment shows Sula’s inner strength, it can never disguise her enough of being different from the rest of her community. Just as Eva and Hannah, Sula continues the unpreventable, mature line of breaking past the typical gender roles of the time. Eva’s overly independent attitude and removal from caring and mothering a daughter correctly, leaves her daughters with unlearned, societal caretaking skills. This results in Sula’s highly inappropriate and unnecessary act of clumsy caretaking within her relationship with Nel. Yet, it is understandable because Sula has never been taught normal and conventional means for problem solving. The denial of motherly love from

Teen suicide is something that is endless, it will never stop but if everyone was educated on it, it could help prevent deaths. I think with people provided with statistics and further information can help avoid adolescent suicide attempts. I think most teen suicide cases could be prevent if we knew the signs to look for and the ways to stop it. I believe parents would feel safer if they knew knowledge on the issue and how to handle it. The intended audiences for this essay is parents or friends of suicidal teens. This essay is important because, as mentioned earlier, we need to be educated on suicide to end tons of tragedies. It is also important to be aware of the warning signs to help prevent. This essay is relevant because teen suicide is a war that happens daily, and will continue to happen, until we take control of the situation and do something to stop it. If family members were informed of the cause and symptoms leading up to the attempt of suicide, then there is less likely that teenagers would try and commit

Alex’s actions caused a series of events that would cause Hannah’s suicide. Social issues and their causes can be brought to light with fictional stories that can help us find a common pattern as to how these issues start. To emphasize, issues such as suicide are relevant to discuss with fiction because of the issues impact on many on a global scale.

Actually, how we see ourselves does not come from who we really are, but rather from how we believe others see us.” This was true in Hannah’s case. Hannah’s low self-esteem was caused by her peers’ increasingly low opinion of her. She believed that her classmates saw her in a poor light, so she did as well. In the novel, Hannah said, “I have no excuse. I could have stopped it-end of story. But to stop it, I felt like I’d have to stop the entire world from spinning. Like things had been out of control for so long that whatever I did hardly mattered anymore”. She felt that her actions did not matter anymore because no one would see her differently at that point in time. Her reputation had been built up as someone who was “easy” and untrustworthy. Others’ perception of Hannah caused her to doubt and hate herself in the end. This caused severe changes in her self-identity.