Thirteen Reasons Why

Themes of the importance of small actions, the power of rumors and reputation, death, and the harmful effects of sexual objectification of women expand in this section, informed by the motif of Stealing as each of the three teens featured on the tapes take something from Hannah. Hannah’s suicidal ideations increase as she struggles to cope with more blows to her reputation. Her emotional loneliness and sense of hopelessness reveal her growing mental health crisis. Adult characters continue to be absent or ineffectual.

Like Justin earlier in the novel, Courtney hides the truth about the real Hannah by starting a rumor that further adds to Hannah’s false reputation for promiscuity. Because of this rumor, the boy at the party believes that Hannah is “fun to hang out with” (113); this euphemism for sexual activity obscures the sexual objectification inherent in the comment. To Hannah, Courtney epitomizes the false nature of outward appearances. Courtney carefully manages her optics: She keeps her reputation flawless while staining Hannah’s. Hannah feels that school is all about observing and maintaining an image, saying that “in high school, people are always watching so there’s always a reason to pose” (94). Asher develops a motif of posing throughout this section of the novel. The photograph that Hannah takes with Courtney also shows how posturing and appearances are deceiving: It falsely suggests that Hannah and Courtney are friends. False understanding is a contributing factor to Hannah’s sense of isolation and loneliness. She wants people to know who she is inside, “[n]ot the stuff they thought they thought they knew about me. No, the real me” (135). The repetition of “they thought” makes the sentence deliberately confusing in order to mimic the tangled web of rumor and truth. The following sentence—“[n]o, the real me”—is contrastingly sparse and therefore lucid.

Marcus steals Hannah’s last vestiges of trust in others and drives her further into isolation. Marcus sexually assaults Hannah because he sees her as rumors have painted her: a “sexual object.” Consequently, Marcus believes he did nothing wrong. Marcus then victim-blames her for being a “tease.” While Marcus uses the word “tease” to mean that Hannah provokes him sexually, “tease” also means to pull something into separate strands, emphasizing the fact that this label for Hannah is separating her from others and contributing to her isolation. Hannah begins to doubt her ability to connect with others. She withdraws further: Her heart and trust “collapse” (159). Hannah feels she cannot control her life, and she now seriously contemplates ending it.

Zach’s theft is both literal and figurative: He steals Hannah’s notes of encouragement from Peer Communications class and takes away her source of hope and a connection to others, contributing to her isolation. Although this is seemingly a small infraction, Hannah reminds readers that every action matters, saying: “No one knows for certain how much impact they have on the lives of other people” (156). More seriously, Hannah blames Zach for not intervening and reaching out to help her when she asserts that he must know she submitted the suicide topic suggestion. This presents another example of Hannah inferring the truth of a situation which further destabilizes her reliability as a narrator. This is reinforced through the multiple examples of her false assumptions about people: the apparent bond between her and Courtney (which Courtney does not feel), or Bryce’s character.

Through her tapes, Hannah attempts to control her listeners’—and the reader’s—perceptions. Other than Clay, the people on Hannah’s list are flat characters described primarily in the context of how Hannah feels that they wounded her. They cannot counter Hannah’s charges. Any good qualities they may possess, like Courtney’s “sweetness,” Marcus’s goofy humor, and Zach’s initial kindness in the diner, are minimized and cast into question. Clay now also sees them in Hannah’s context, although this troubles him, and he “hate[s] not knowing what to believe anymore” (134). While his narration initially gives readers a secondary perspective and additional insight, Clay’s narrative assurance deteriorates in line with Hannah’s mental state as the novel progresses.

In these sections, Hannah does not communicate with those who do try to reach out to her: She rebuffs Tyler in her car, refusing to speak or forgive him; will not speak to Zach who tries to help her in Rosie’s; and brushes off Clay’s attempt to talk to warn her about Bryce. Asher’s technique of having Hannah posthumously narrate her own story allows her to remain diegetically uncommunicative while still communicating her feelings to the listener/reader. Clay realizes that he is “listening to someone give up” (146). By the end of Cassette 4: Side A, Hannah is not only able to say the word “suicide” but admits that she is considering it.

Clay is so absorbed in Hannah’s story that he does not notice that Skye exhibits similar characteristics that may indicate she is thinking of suicide. This is another example of Asher using irony to relay a message about self-awareness to the reader. Instead, Clay avoids talking to Skye and criticizes her choice to be an “outcast,” blaming Skye for her own isolation, and showing that Clay is not yet cured of his inaction or insensitivity to mental illness. Hannah’s tapes make Clay suffer as well. His surprise and discomfort about the secrets he learns about his peers drive his character development: His understanding of the world change throughout the novel. Clay suffers from guilt often felt by those impacted by suicide. He believes that he hears Hannah blaming him for failing her.

Finally, Asher expands the novel’s thread that the teen characters, especially Clay and Hannah, find adults to be either absent or ineffectual. Hannah’s parents are only infrequently mentioned and never appear as actual characters—flat or otherwise. In keeping with the themes of the book, their characterization is therefore purely based on the opinions of others. There are no adults present at the party. Clay’s mother, though loving, does not talk with him about his emotional distress, even though Clay knows she worries about him. Mrs. Bradley is one of the more positive adult figures: She does attempt a discussion of suicide in the classroom, offers statistics, and provides a list of warning signs, though Hannah thinks it does not go far enough.