I don't think I thought about the message of the book as deeply as you did when I read it. I wondered where Hannah's parents were in all of this and I thought that Clay was under-developed as a character. He seemed like more of a conduit for Hannah's story. I do think that the overall message of considering how your actions affect other people is a good one for high school kids. I remember being in high school and how the Columbine massacre opened up a dialog about bullying and loneliness.
However, I didn't really feel like Hannah had a "good enough" reason for suicide. I was reading the book and thinking, "Gee, I have more legitimate reasons to kill myself than this girl does." But I feel like that is realistic to high school suicides. I do feel terrible for people who commit suicide over high school traumas like bullying because high school ends. I understand, from my own high school experience and others, that at the time, you feel lonely and trapped. I don't think the author did a good enough job of showing that there is life after high school and Hannah could have recovered from her experiences.
I didn't necessarily think about how guilty the people on the tape would feel, but now that I think about it, it wasn't fair because some of the things they did weren't all that terrible. I do think that using suicide or threats of suicide for attention might not be all that uncommon. I had a friend at Hollins who talked about suicide all the time, who would tell me things like, "I won't kill myself this weekend when you go home." I think she was/is legitimately sick, but also very manipulative. There was one night when she was talking about it and I keep asking, "Are you serious?" I remember being in the shower in East, thinking, "What I am supposed to do? What if she kills herself tonight?" I went to the Student Services people and they told me there was nothing they could do if she didn't want help. I felt like they abandoned me with her, like they said, "We've leaving this in your capable nineteen-year-old hands." So perhaps inadequate responses from authority figures are also common, at least in my case. This friend isn't dead and also isn't my friend anymore.
In terms of showing life after high school, do you think someone in Hannah's shoes would've really been able to see that far? Sure, we know it's there, but when you're stuck in the middle of depression, you usually can't see any further than the nose on your face. It would've been good if OTHERS had stressed to her there's life after high school though. Then she had a choice to believe them or not.
However, I didn't really feel like Hannah had a "good enough" reason for suicide. I was reading the book and thinking, "Gee, I have more legitimate reasons to kill myself than this girl does." But I feel like that is realistic to high school suicides. I do feel terrible for people who commit suicide over high school traumas like bullying because high school ends. I understand, from my own high school experience and others, that at the time, you feel lonely and trapped. I don't think the author did a good enough job of showing that there is life after high school and Hannah could have recovered from her experiences.
I didn't necessarily think about how guilty the people on the tape would feel, but now that I think about it, it wasn't fair because some of the things they did weren't all that terrible. I do think that using suicide or threats of suicide for attention might not be all that uncommon. I had a friend at Hollins who talked about suicide all the time, who would tell me things like, "I won't kill myself this weekend when you go home." I think she was/is legitimately sick, but also very manipulative. There was one night when she was talking about it and I keep asking, "Are you serious?" I remember being in the shower in East, thinking, "What I am supposed to do? What if she kills herself tonight?" I went to the Student Services people and they told me there was nothing they could do if she didn't want help. I felt like they abandoned me with her, like they said, "We've leaving this in your capable nineteen-year-old hands." So perhaps inadequate responses from authority figures are also common, at least in my case. This friend isn't dead and also isn't my friend anymore.
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In terms of showing life after high school, do you think someone in Hannah's shoes would've really been able to see that far? Sure, we know it's there, but when you're stuck in the middle of depression, you usually can't see any further than the nose on your face. It would've been good if OTHERS had stressed to her there's life after high school though. Then she had a choice to believe them or not.
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