Th1rteen R3asons Why
- Drishti Nanwani
- Apr 6, 2017
- 6 min read
I never read the book. I want to, but I keep hearing that people preferred the series, and I usually need to read first and then watch, or I don't enjoy the book. I don't think anyone is actually meant to 'enjoy' Thirteen Reasons Why though.
I have heard a lot of negative comments about Hanna Baker online and I have to say, this makes me feel really sad for the human race. I saw comments like "She is a very unlikable character" "She's such a victim" "She is a drama queen." "She is just such a weak character." "Her 'reasons' don't make any sense! People deal with worse every day, it just isn't believable."
I think all of these people are completely missing the point that Jay Asher and the producers of the show were trying to make! Maybe I am coming at this from too much of a literature teacher's perspective but I think the main theme of this text is accountability. The most well-known quote is "everything affects everything" Asher has even said in interviews that that to him is the main idea.
This text deals with several big issues. I will highlight each of these below. But the point is that every single one of us can afford to be kinder to others. Things that we may deem as small can have a huge impact on someone else and none of us really know what anyone else is going through. Being unkind to others does not serve anyone, all it does is cause pain.
Bullying. There is no singular definition of bullying and it doesn't only exist between high school students. Sure, teenagers have a greater tendency to be unkind to each other. I will never truly know why, but I think adults are just as guilty of this. It has so many different faces. physical, emotional, cyber, rumours, exclusion. The thing is though, we tease our friends all the time. So where do we draw that line? What is considered friendly teasing and what is considered unkind? I do not think anyone is innocent here. Maybe adults are less upfront about it. No one shoves people into lockers or flushes clothes down the toilet as adults, but that doesn't mean that unkind things aren't said or done behind a person's back. "It's not a big deal." Who are we to decide that?!
Suicide. This one is obviously such a central part of the text. The people who said that they didn't like Hannah or thought she was a drama queen or victim or just weak. I have to ask.... what else did you expect from a novel/ TV show about youth suicide? Is there anyone in the world who actually believes that taking one's life comes from a moment of strength? Who gets to determine what is a "good enough reason" for this?! Personally, I think it is selfish and incredibly sad. I also think that if one of the most basic human instincts - survival does not kick in at some stage and a person actually is successful, then there must have been some imbalance of some sort. So if we take those things to be true, why is it so hard to believe that for a person who already feels alone and who doesn't have people to give them strength, that someone we consider "not a big deal" could be just the thread that breaks the camels back and makes them give up? That's what it is; giving up on life.
Assault. I can't really speak for the novel, I have heard some things are different, but the TV show deals with two different rape cases. I agree with the criticism against Hannah in relation to Jessica's rape. Why she didn't scream or do something I don't get. Why she didn't tell her afterwards or tell anyone for that matter, I also don't get, but that was clearly something she felt an immense amount of guilt over, which added to her reasons. Her own rape, people say she should have done more to stop it, she probably could have. That scene had me thinking back to all those self-defence talks they gave us back in school, but I think that TV show Hannah explained herself pretty well... She had already given up. Maybe she was looking for more reasons, maybe she was punishing herself for Jessica and Jeff and Clay. Even if she had managed to fight him off, it doesn't make Bryce any less of a rapist.
The duty of Care. "Poor Mr Porter"? Seriously? She did actually voice very clear signs of self-harm and of a young person who desperately needed help. The communications teacher, her parents, the principal... They all should have seen the signs. The fact that she went through all those 13 reasons and her parents had no clue anything was wrong is astonishing and a lesson to all parents I think. The school should have known too though. The note she anonymously in the comment box, the poem published in the school newspaper, all the rumours, they should have had her seeing a counsellor long before she sought out Mr Porter herself and he definitely should have gone after her and not suggested that she just "move on". Even if he couldn't promise her that Bryce would go to jail, he should have recommended further help for a girl who feels like a victim of sexual assault! He took time for granted, he let her go because he thought there would be a tomorrow. How could he have known? She said she wanted life to stop!
The show set themselves up pretty well for a second season. To me though, Skye didn't seem "at risk" but Alex and Tyler did. Justin too. That to me shows even more failure from the school. Being sued for negligence could mean the end of the school, I get it. But rather than wasting all resources defending something they really did do wrong, why not learn from it? Why not bring in more counsellors and ensure that every child in that class, anyone who knew her is being looked after? Why not get to know the students better?
People have also asked, Why was Clay on the tapes? That's so mean to send those tapes out and make everyone else depressed and blame everyone else for your choice. Again I go back to accountability. Clay was not completely innocent. He judged her too. He believed the rumours, at least in the start and he judged her for them too. Much smaller deal than what the others did, but I think he was in there to again prove that even the "smallest" things can have an impact. He had it in him too, he did send out that photo of Tyler! Even the good guy can be a bully. He knew that photos just like that, led to Hannah taking her own life and yet, he did it anyway! The tapes... People like Bryce moved on and didn't even think for a second that the had done anything wrong. Courtney denied it till the very end. I don't think it was meant as a blame game, I think it was meant to ensure that these people learnt that their actions have consequences. That the butterfly effect is real and they need to be kinder to one another so that no one else goes through what Hannah went through.
Throughout the episodes, we were also shown people who genuinely cared for Hannah. Clay was one of them. He may not have been completely innocent, but he cared for Hannah even though he 'disagreed' with her rumoured actions. Her parents may have been oblivious, but they loved her dearly. The poetry group guy - in the last episode, she ran into him on the street and he mentioned wanting her to come back to the poetry group. She did have people around her who could have helped if she had asked them. The issue is that her parents didn't notice that she was unhappy and she was scared to let Clay in. So she didn't reach out, but she should have! That is the message to people who are facing similar thoughts. There is help to be sought. It may not always seem that way, but sometimes people do take you for granted, that does not mean they don't still love you.
I'm not saying I condone what she did or that I love her character. I'm just saying that wasn't the point. The point was that this happens in real life and we can all do something about that!
I for one, really want to bring Thirteen Reasons Why into my own secondary school literature classrooms and try to make my teenage students take a good hard look in the mirror.
I have said it time and time again... A well-written novel, written for the right reasons has powerful, necessary messages to share and if done successfully, they have the power to change the way people see the world. They have the power to change the world. I think this is one of those texts!
It is not enjoyable to watch, or read I would imagine. It's not going to make you smile or laugh. It will haunt you, but that is the point!
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