Analytical Essay Sample on Suicide in “Thirteen Reasons Why”: Book Vs. Film

Analytics implies the ability to reason and search for logical truth, proving theories and assumptions with the help of valid and relevant arguments. As a rule, the object of an analytical essay is an in-depth analysis of a certain problem of opinion, which is based on a specific fact. This type of paper is often used to consider a literary work or film where it is necessary to evaluate the arguments of the author or the main idea of the text, giving worthy evidence. It is necessary to draw up a work plan and break it into interrelated paragraphs, which will create a complete understanding and appreciation of a literary work or another fact. An analytical essay is a laborious and deep work that requires the utmost care and knowledge of the topic or question.

‘The Thirteen Reasons Why’ Essay Sample

The topic of suicide is becoming an acute problem in the modern world, and its victims are teenagers who cannot live with moral trauma and constant pressure from the outside world. The book “The Thirteen Reasons Why” written by Jay Asher reveals the topic of suicide and shows its consequences. The victim in this story is a girl named Hannah, who took her life by recording 13 tapes on which she told the story of her life and the people who are guilty of her death. The book describes the cruel events in the life of Hannah, which can often cause a significant amount of negative emotions among the readers. The main idea of the author of the book is to show that suicide is not a way out of difficult situations, and such selfish action destroys the lives of other people, bringing them serious moral trauma. In 2017, Netflix filmed a series on this book, which quickly became one of the most popular among teenagers. Moreover, the organizers have created a website to support people with injuries who can share their stories and reduce the level of despair, which can save them from rash decisions. However, “The Thirteen Reasons Why” is a tragic story that can be considered romantic by the audience, which can harm the primary goal of the author and contribute to the continuation of the theme of suicide.

The romantic line in the book is its central part, and the readers or the viewers can forget the main idea of the story, focusing on the development of relations between the characters. Adolescence is characterized by heightened sensitivity and the search for real love, and this theme is the main one for them, and suicide intensifies the manifestation of love feelings and sufferings of the main character, whose name is Clay. He is forced to listen to all the stories of Hannah, which he madly loved but could not confess these feelings. Every day he heard her voice on the recordings and represented her standing next to him, which certainly is romantic and gentle to the public. Moreover, the love line is also seen in other heroes who were Hannah’s friends and influenced her decision to commit suicide. The series reveals more details and describes the life of each story participant, making “The Thirteen Reasons Why” more vital and aimed at a younger audience.

The book also describes love, but not to the same extent as the series does, dipping the public not only into the consequences of suicide but also into a close relationship between the characters. The directors sought to create a film that would be acceptable to most of the population, and romance has a significant role in the perception of the entire plot and the search for morality. Each chapter and tape was accompanied not only by the story of Hannah but also by her relationship with Clay, who worked with her at the same place. Their relationship was not fully disclosed, which is a frequent topic of discussion and fantasy of adolescents. Her suicide broke Clay’s heart, but the tapes created the illusion of her presence, which allows readers to understand Hannah’s thoughts and not take death as something real and severe.

The characters are romanticized, and their behavior does not correspond to reality, which also contributes to a wrong perception of the story. An example of this fact is Clay, who is a closed, modest, and kind-hearted person who always defends justice. His actions are contradictory because he loves Hannah, but he continually ignores her requests for help and attempts to have a closer relationship. However, after her death, Clay suffers constant suffering and drives aimlessly through the night streets of the city, listening to her tapes and seeing her silhouette. In addition to Clay, such characters as Alex and Jessica, who appear to be Hanna’s friends, set her up in different situations, but after her suicide, they change their behavior and experience a deep depression, which leads to Alex’s death. It is necessary to understand that the real world is crueler, and people do not regret their actions for a long time. However, Hannah accused them of her death, which is sufficient punishment and proves that death can restore a certain justice, contrary to the motives of the author. The story ends with the realization of all the mistakes of people who were guilty of the death of a girl, which also cannot be carried out in the real world, giving readers and viewers hope for justice.

The musical accompaniment in the series contributes to deeper penetration into the plot and atmosphere, which creates additional interest among the viewers. Each cruel or tragic scene is filled with sad songs that can influence the mood of the public, causing people to be depressed and have negative thoughts. Despite the fact that such events are revealed in the book and the series is serious enough and do not intend to cause a positive reaction, teens get some pleasure from them and want to watch the next series and read other chapters. Such a tragic story delays as it is vividly described and well taken down and every impressionable person unwittingly thinks about life, death, justice, trust, and friendship. The real world is much more positive, but after realizing this story, people may not notice all the benefits and opportunities, which is also the negative side of “The Thirteen Reasons Why.”

One of the main factors that contradict the author’s good intentions is the end of the book and the film. The story is based on the desire of its heroes to restore justice, and suicide is one of the ways to achieve the goal. Cassette recording is Hannah’s revenge for a broken life, and this action leads to a positive result, where the characters begin to understand their mistakes and start to change their lifestyle for the better, becoming more conscious people. This result automatically leads the public to the idea that Hannah’s death was decent, and the girl was able to reach the hearts of many people, showing them the other side of life. Moreover, Hannah’s decision to kill herself has many explanations, and this fact may justify its action, which contradicts the book’s main morality. The author wants Hannah to be an example of the fact that suicide is not the solution to all problems. However, in her case, all her schemes and thoughts led only to this thought, and her plan was successful. The cassettes helped all participants understand their mistakes and behavior, which always has consequences.

Both the book and the series show the problem of misunderstanding of parents and their children as well as the indifference of teachers, the cruelty of students. Such an atmosphere can lead to the fact that the young public will begin to delve more deeply into the problems of the heroes. Every reader and viewer can find issues that are especially close to him or her, increasing the risk of being prone to depression. An important aspect is the fact that the scene of a suicide in the series is also romanticized, and it does not disgust the audience despite the beliefs of the creators of the series. It can be seen that Hannah was able to open the veins the first time, and many people might think that this action is simple and fast. This aspect is not obvious, but it can affect people’s minds, creating stereotypes about suicide and its consequences.

Thus, analyzing all the factors, it is possible to say that the book “The Thirteen Reasons Why” written by Jay Asher as a TV series can negatively influence the young public, instilling people with a false idea of suicide. Despite all the attempts of the author to create a tragic story that will carry a deep morality to readers, his work has gained popularity, where teens romanticize a significant number of events and do not consider suicide as an immoral and selfish act. On the one hand, Hannah’s suicide led to the suffering of a significant number of people, the main victims of which were her parents and people who did not want to harm her. Her death and tapes led to the suffering of many heroes who did not think about their actions. The book shows that every action has its price and consequences, and each person has a different reaction to jokes and insults. However, from the reverse aspect, it is possible to notice that each character in the book and the series is romanticized, and their behavior often does not correspond to reality, misleading the younger generation. Moreover, the suicide of the main character was part of her revenge, and her actions helped to restore justice, which proves to the public that death can be the solution to the problems. Therefore, “The Thirteen Reasons Why” has a significant amount of hidden aspects that contradict the author’s motives and may be misunderstood by a young audience.

Post-writing Tips

We hope that this example of an analytical essay will help you write the quality paper that will display a clear idea of how an analytical essay sample looks like. With this analytical essay example, you’ll see that such work should analyze an unobvious fact using a significant number of arguments. The topic of this paper may be provocative, but it displays a detailed analysis of the thesis, where each paragraph proves the main idea. Thus, an analytical essay is the type of research where you should analyze and consider every element of a book, film, or other work.