Thirteen Reasons Why: Theme and Real Life Issues Reflected in the Text

As I mentioned in my previous post, the book I am currently reading is Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. The entirety of the novel is spent with a girl who is explaining the causes of her suicide with 13 tapes. As I'm working through the book, I am noticing a variety of different themes. One of the most prevalent, though, is that small actions can lead to large, unexpected consequences.

At the beginning of the novel, when Hannah began explaining how the first few people in her tapes contributed to her suicide, as a reader, I began to feel that the reasons she had weren't so terrible that they would make her commit suicide. But as I got deeper into the book, I slowly started to realize that there is a 'snowball effect' going on with her story. The actions of the people keep building upon one another, and the 'snowball' begins to get more and more preponderant. That was when, as a reader, I began to realize that Hannah really was bullied, used, and ridiculed by others. The reasons may seem small, but the overall cause of her suicide has many contributing factors that all help build up one destructive, fatal cause.

A real life issue reflected in the text is bullying. Hannah Baker was bullied and tricked by others and that was what dramatically decreased her self-confidence, ultimately resulting in suicide. Bullying is very much a current issue today, and this book helps one understand that bullying can lead to unimaginable consequences. Even seemingly small actions can bring someone down, so one has to be aware of how he or she may be treating others.