13 PEOPLE To Teach 1 Lesson

On Cassette 6: Side B, Hannah is finally able to say SUICIDE. She had thought of EVERY WAY to do it but lastly, she decided to take pills. Hannah remembered that on her last weekend there had been a party at Courtney Crimson's house. She decided not to go but she walked by. After the party was over, Bryce called Hannah, he and Courtney convinced her to go to the Jacuzzi outside the house. After Courtney left, Bryce was hitting on Hannah and at that point she was done with life and let her reputation become true.

Cassette 7: Side A. This was the last tape and it was about Mr. Porter. He was the guidance counselor at school. Hannah said that she had decided to give life a chance and talk. She had recorded her meeting with the guidance counselor and he had basically told her that she could either talk to them and sort it out or she could move on. Finally, Hannah stormed off and Mr. Porter said that Hannah was no longer welcome. She was stunned. And the tapes had ended.

As the tapes ended, Clay cried thinking how he could've loved Hannah. The next day, Clay mailed the shoebox with the tapes to the next person on the list. When he got to school he bumped into Skye. A girl who now Clay realized was just like Hannah. But he wouldn't let this happen ever again. He turned and began talking to her.

As Hannah left Mr. Porter's office, she said that she was going to do it. She was going to swallow all those pills.

"A lot of you cared, just not enough. And that…that is what I needed to find out." (pg. 151)

This part of the book was so stressful in the sense that Hannah made this incredible, mature, and clever decision to talk to someone and this person was so unhelpful and he was guilty of making her think that no one would care if she was gone. This shows how little she thought of her life that just because people didn't go to her rescue meant that she had to commit suicide. I found this section confusing because on Clay's tapes she had written down 13 people she blamed for her life to change. But on this tape she said that she was talking to someone and telling us that it wasn’t a part of her plan. WHO WAS THE 13TH PERSON ON THE LIST? I think that maybe it was herself. She was guilty of not getting help until it was too late. 

Clay realized how unfair it was for people to go through life feeling in the worst way possible. He wanted to change that. Help someone else.

"A flood of emotion rushes into me. Pain and anger. Sadness and pity. But most surprising of all, hope. I keep walking. Skye’s footsteps are growing louder now. And the closer I get to her, the faster I walk, and the lighter I feel. My throat begins to relax. Two steps behind her, I say her name. “Skye.”" (pg. 155)

This was such a profound moment because Hannah had given 13 people a new perspective on life. Clay took advantage of it and thinking of Hannah's story, went to help someone else be happy. To me it seemed like throughout the whole story Jay Asher had been portraying Clay as the hero. He was someone who wasn't a bad person in any way. And even more, he was going to stop a girl from following Hannah's path. I think the author wanted to leave his character pure, innocent so the readers could have a role model while the person making all the mistakes was Hannah Baker. There are a few characters portrayed as innocent heroes such as; Jonas from the giver, Esther from The Fault In Our Stars, Quentin from Paper Towns, Bella from Twilight, etc. And all of these characters aren’t really innocent; they only seem like "good" heroes because the people who surround them make mistakes and are doing things that are wrong. In a way, they contrast them.

This book was so strong and hard to process at times. It gave me a new outlook on life that I am sure will change the way I treat others. It made me realize that even the smallest rude comment can make someone feel like "less" than what they truly are. THE SNOWBALL EFFECT, which I have talked so much about, is a perfect example of how little actions can lead to bigger things. It is SO IMPORTANT for people to always know how difficult and sad they can make someone's life. I feel empathy towards all bullying victims and also bullies because bullies don't realise that they make people's life a disaster. If they do know, it means that there must be something even more awful going on in their lives. What I definitely learned from THIRTEEN REASONS WHY is that if something is making you sad in life SOLVE IT! It is really good for people to talk about their problems. It doesn't matter how small you think they are.

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