Weakness

*Author's Note- I'm about 3/4 ways through the novel Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. So I might have

gotten to everything yet. But this is my opinion on what's going on and why my title is Weakness.*

It drips, sending shock waves through the pond. Not only do the people not understand that they were only a link to the chain, but that they started the chain to begin with. Not only did the words sting through the girl, but they left scars. Just walking through the halls of her high school, Hannah Baker didn’t feel safe. The novel Thirteen Reasons Why, by Jay Asher follows the story of a girl who committed suicide and recorded her story for those who caused her the marks to know the truth and realize their mistakes. But, was Hannah Baker really alone, or was she so caught up in the pain of what others thought that she just ended it?

                

 Sexual harassment is not taken lightly anywhere in America. But hormonal boys will be hormonal boys. Not only are they just boys, they are high school boys. Yes, Hannah was a virgin and her innocence was the only thing left, but being slapped in the behind shouldn’t be such a large reason for ending your life early. Very little suicide cases of sexual harassment were reported in the last six years. The last case was about a man who was constantly attacked by two females. Although the whole student body was unknowingly deepening the gashes and scars Hannah could have asked for help.

               

 Being an outcast doesn’t leave you alone, because there are other outcasts out there. Also, when you’re an outcast it means you aren’t trying to make friends or find people to care about you. It’s not that one action doesn’t make the person hated with passion. Hannah Baker is not Melinda Sordino from the novel Speak. She is actually the complete opposite. Living her life somewhat to the fullest, where as Melinda was hiding from her problems and shutting the world out completely. Melinda lost interest in the world around her, while Hannah still worked hard in school and tried to find ways to save herself. Hannah even tried to hide the signs from the people who did pay attention (not that many people did though.)

              

  After turning into that outcast, Hannah really started believing that ending it would be her best option: not that she couldn’t have talked to her distant parents for help. Just believing that your parents don’t want you isn’t true. No parent would deliberately ignore their child. But Hannah was encouraging it, if she would have demanded more attention from them or even just went out and saying: “My life sucks, I need help!” It would’ve caught and grab the most ignorant and distant parent from the herd and send her to the help she needs. Hannah describes her family working hard just to get by, therefore leaving her last on their priorities. Why didn’t Hannah ask? Repeatedly through the novel Hannah complains how no one noticed or that no one figured it out. How can she blame them if didn’t give and signs? Messages? Or even giving Clay, the boy she connected with, a clue. Maybe telling was more terrifying than death.

                 

Hannah Baker was weak. Saying “I need help,” takes more courage than popping a bottle of pills. She was strong for the first part, but when the wheels began to turn faster and harder Hannah was nothing. She was a speck on one of the wheels that couldn’t do nothing but smudge the appearance. Hannah Baker’s life was horrible. No person wants to be touched inappropriately, have incredible rumors spread about them or even being left in a room all alone after a make out session, but she wasn’t alone and she was weak for giving into the challenges and stopped climbing the rotten, broken up staircase of life.