Hannah Baker 13 Reasons
Thirteen reasons. That is all it takes for Hannah Baker to take her own life. And upon taking her own life, she leaves behind her legacy; a box filled with seven double-sided cassette tapes carefully scrutinizing the events that caused her to commit suicide. A box that passes around to each of the thirteen reasons mentioned on the tapes. And when the tapes finally reach Clay Jenson, he is greatly shocked because somewhere on those tapes, he is mentioned…and for being on those tapes, he is an accessory to the death of Hannah Baker.
The reasons vary greatly, ranging from a girl being a shallow friend to an account of rape to a fatal car accident. They are not put in any specific order of importance, but it is obvious which tapes hold a more solid motive behind Hannah’s death. Evidently, being just feet away from a rape in progress holds more bulk than having a couple compliments stolen away in a Peer Communications class. Hannah even says herself, during Clay’s portion of the tapes, “Clay, honey, your name does not belong on this list” (200). However, Clay is still mentioned on the tapes as a cause of her death. Hannah admits on this tape that her reasons are not all equally weighted. Some people did deserve to be on those …show more content…
tapes more than others. Some people deserve more guilt for their appearances on the tapes.
Out of all of the thirteen reasons that are mentioned on the tapes, the one that is the most unexpected was the car crash.
It is mentioned throughout the story vaguely and very quickly, giving nothing more but an inkling of what really unfolded on that night. All that is know about the incident up until this reason is given is that it was a car crash that involved a teenager and an older man and took somebody else’s life away. I did not expect full elucidation on this subject; I did expect the predicament to be used as a firm backdrop for other events and reasons to become ensnared into the hysteria of Hannah’s death. However, the unexpected part is not the actual situation itself, but how it came about and how it contributed to Hannah’s
death.
Hannah is in the car with Jenny Kurtz, a school cheerleader, who is driving Hannah back from the party where she kissed Clay. Then, Jenny suddenly crashes and knocks a stop sign down onto the ground. Considering the night that Hannah just had, with the rape that she had been so close to, she was not in a good state of mind. Hannah does what she can to resolve the dilemma, but there is not much. Jenny gets back into her car after the accident and immediately tries to drive away from the scene of the incident, but Hannah stops her. “Then you put your key back in the ignition and…I stopped you. I couldn’t let you drive away” (243). However, Hannah is not the designated driver and has little power in what ultimately happens. Jenny leaves Hannah at the site of the accident and Hannah rushes to an area where she can call for help. But by then, it is already too late. The accident that she was a part of has caused a far more severe and fatal accident…and somebody is going to die.
Understandably, this incident is very traumatic, especially if you were indirectly involved in the procedure. However, Hannah does everything that she possibly can to prevent any further harm. Hannah tries to stop Jenny and she makes the call. Hannah should consider herself a hero of some kind for her kindly deeds in this moment of distress. However, she looks back on the moment and other “possibilities” of the situation. “There must have been something I could have said. At the very least, I could have taken your keys. Or at the very, very least, I could have reached in and stolen your phone to call the police” (246). Such pessimism is an ideal accomplice to Hannah killing herself. It was totally unexpected for Hannah to have included this being one of her reasons, because she did not cause it and she did everything in her power to remedy the quandary.
To truly determine who is responsible for Hannah’s death, it would not be just to look at that person’s tape and judge it purely off of that, because much would be left out. The person responsible for Hannah’s death is Justin Foley, Hannah’s first reason on the tapes. Thanks to Justin spreading rumors about Hannah after their kiss, she gained a reputation. It was a “snowball effect” as Hannah had claimed. His rumor spreading caused her placement on the “Who’s Hot/Who’s Not” list that Alex Standall published in school, the memory of her first kiss to be tarnished, the incident at Blue Spot Liquors, the assault by Jessica Davis, and possibly even more incidents. On top of that, he also allowed for Bryce Walker to rape Jessica Davis later on at the party the night of the accident. Everything can be linked directly back to Justin Foley. The first reason is the primary reason.
Hannah Baker committed suicide because she believed she had nothing left to live for. Her reputation was ruined. She had been stabbed in the back by almost all of her friends. Nobody ever offered their help, even after her poem and her note to Mrs. Bradley had gotten out. Her parents were always out of town because of their business. She had suffered through some of the most traumatic experiences possible. Hannah did not have the stability needed to live her life. Some can argue that it was her fault, because she was never completely direct about these issues and never cried for help. But had the rumors not run rampantly out of control…somebody offered to help, even if by an anonymous order…then Hannah could have been saved. Hannah Baker committed suicide because she didn’t have the companionship that is both desired and needed to survive.
The reasons vary greatly, ranging from a girl being a shallow friend to an account of rape to a fatal car accident. They are not put in any specific order of importance, but it is obvious which tapes hold a more solid motive behind Hannah’s death. Evidently, being just feet away from a rape in progress holds more bulk than having a couple compliments stolen away in a Peer Communications class. Hannah even says herself, during Clay’s portion of the tapes, “Clay, honey, your name does not belong on this list” (200). However, Clay is still mentioned on the tapes as a cause of her death. Hannah admits on this tape that her reasons are not all equally weighted. Some people did deserve to be on those …show more content…
tapes more than others. Some people deserve more guilt for their appearances on the tapes.
Out of all of the thirteen reasons that are mentioned on the tapes, the one that is the most unexpected was the car crash.
It is mentioned throughout the story vaguely and very quickly, giving nothing more but an inkling of what really unfolded on that night. All that is know about the incident up until this reason is given is that it was a car crash that involved a teenager and an older man and took somebody else’s life away. I did not expect full elucidation on this subject; I did expect the predicament to be used as a firm backdrop for other events and reasons to become ensnared into the hysteria of Hannah’s death. However, the unexpected part is not the actual situation itself, but how it came about and how it contributed to Hannah’s
death.
Hannah is in the car with Jenny Kurtz, a school cheerleader, who is driving Hannah back from the party where she kissed Clay. Then, Jenny suddenly crashes and knocks a stop sign down onto the ground. Considering the night that Hannah just had, with the rape that she had been so close to, she was not in a good state of mind. Hannah does what she can to resolve the dilemma, but there is not much. Jenny gets back into her car after the accident and immediately tries to drive away from the scene of the incident, but Hannah stops her. “Then you put your key back in the ignition and…I stopped you. I couldn’t let you drive away” (243). However, Hannah is not the designated driver and has little power in what ultimately happens. Jenny leaves Hannah at the site of the accident and Hannah rushes to an area where she can call for help. But by then, it is already too late. The accident that she was a part of has caused a far more severe and fatal accident…and somebody is going to die.
Understandably, this incident is very traumatic, especially if you were indirectly involved in the procedure. However, Hannah does everything that she possibly can to prevent any further harm. Hannah tries to stop Jenny and she makes the call. Hannah should consider herself a hero of some kind for her kindly deeds in this moment of distress. However, she looks back on the moment and other “possibilities” of the situation. “There must have been something I could have said. At the very least, I could have taken your keys. Or at the very, very least, I could have reached in and stolen your phone to call the police” (246). Such pessimism is an ideal accomplice to Hannah killing herself. It was totally unexpected for Hannah to have included this being one of her reasons, because she did not cause it and she did everything in her power to remedy the quandary.
To truly determine who is responsible for Hannah’s death, it would not be just to look at that person’s tape and judge it purely off of that, because much would be left out. The person responsible for Hannah’s death is Justin Foley, Hannah’s first reason on the tapes. Thanks to Justin spreading rumors about Hannah after their kiss, she gained a reputation. It was a “snowball effect” as Hannah had claimed. His rumor spreading caused her placement on the “Who’s Hot/Who’s Not” list that Alex Standall published in school, the memory of her first kiss to be tarnished, the incident at Blue Spot Liquors, the assault by Jessica Davis, and possibly even more incidents. On top of that, he also allowed for Bryce Walker to rape Jessica Davis later on at the party the night of the accident. Everything can be linked directly back to Justin Foley. The first reason is the primary reason.
Hannah Baker committed suicide because she believed she had nothing left to live for. Her reputation was ruined. She had been stabbed in the back by almost all of her friends. Nobody ever offered their help, even after her poem and her note to Mrs. Bradley had gotten out. Her parents were always out of town because of their business. She had suffered through some of the most traumatic experiences possible. Hannah did not have the stability needed to live her life. Some can argue that it was her fault, because she was never completely direct about these issues and never cried for help. But had the rumors not run rampantly out of control…somebody offered to help, even if by an anonymous order…then Hannah could have been saved. Hannah Baker committed suicide because she didn’t have the companionship that is both desired and needed to survive.