The Importance Of Thirteen Choices In Thirteen Reasons Why

The one question everyone asks without exception, that they ache to have answered more than any other, is simply; why? Why did their friend, child, parent, or sibling take their own life? There can be several reasons. People do not know what happens behind closed doors. Their perception of another person’s life is only superficial. The way in which a person makes decisions can be among the main factors that determine whether that person is protected from or vulnerable to suicide. The novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is about reasons that led to Hannah Baker’s death and reveals that several small choices can affect a major decision.
For instance, Hannah creates thirteen cassette tapes explaining why she is making the decision to take her life. Thirteen different ways people are hurting her. Each reason affects her differently, but all thirteen reasons affect her emotionally,
physically, spiritually, and mentally. Mr. Porter, the school counselor, hurts Hannah emotionally by not giving her the support she needs when she is giving life one last try. Bryce Walker harms Hannah physically by basically raping her at a party. Ryan Shaver connects with Hannah on a spiritual level through poetry; however, he betrays her when she needs him most. Zach Dempsey steals Hannah’s notes of encouragement from her Peer Communications class. It may seem insignificant, but for Hannah it means everything and she is destroyed mentally. Hannah is slowly giving up as she mentions in the book, “Giving up? Yes. As a matter of fact, I am. And that, more than anything else, is what this all comes down to. Me… giving up… on me” (253). Hannah explains that the actual decision of life or death is entirely her own. In addition, even though Hannah admits that the decision to take her life is entirely her own, it is also important to be aware of how others treat her. Hannah becomes desperate, and she does not know what to do so she seeks help. She explains why she needs help, “And this time, I’m getting help. I’m asking for help because I cannot do this alone. I’ve tried that” (269). The choices that the people on Hannah's list make are definitely central to the story, but it turns out Hannah's choices are pretty important too. Even when they are good choices; signing up for a poetry class and seeking help seem like smart ideas to us, they always seem to turn out badly. But as her state of mind deteriorates toward the end of the novel, Hannah starts making choices that she knows aren't good for her. Part of the reason she kills herself might even be that she is unable to live with some choices she makes in the final weeks of her life. Taking all of this into consideration, Hannah is not using the tapes for self-reflection. Instead, she is trying to put her listeners in her shoes. To show them how it feels to be on a list, and how it feels to be accused of things and have rumors spread about them. Hannah confesses, “After everything I’ve talked about on these tapes, everything that occurred, I thought about suicide. Usually, it was just a passing thought. I wish I would die” (254). Hannah is finally giving up on herself. This is an exercise in spite, and it only confirms her belief that her problems are unsolvable.
To say the least, there are several themes in this book; death, choices, love, betrayal, but the overall theme is guilt and blame.
The tapes in Thirteen Reasons Why are a huge guilt trip, and she admits this freely. She wants her listeners to feel bad about the way they treated her and to treat people better in the future. As much as she makes other people feel guilty, she also feels plenty of it herself. She does not trust herself to do the right thing any more than she trusts the people on the tapes. Her guilt over her role in these crimes seems to drive Hannah over the edge. These tapes are definitely a plan made in desperation and it can be heard both through the anger and the confusion in Hannah's words.
In conclusion, the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher is about the reasons that led Hannah to her suicide and reveals that several small choices can influence a major life decision. All of Hannah’s choices are significant in the book, even the small ones. It is unfortunate that the choices of other people affect one person tremendously; to the point of Hannah taking her
life