What’s a bully? When most people think of bullies, they imagine physical altercations and the acquisition of someone else’s lunch money. They imagine kids coming home with black eyes and bruised egos and picture the bully as someone with a physically threatening presence. That’s not always true, is it?
What about the bully who hides behind the screen of a computer, verbally accosting someone until they break? What about the group of girls at the lunch table gossiping about what someone else did last weekend? Do we forget those small, hurtful comments that we make to other people sometimes jokingly, and sometimes to make ourselves feel better? Those on the receiving end may not have that luxury.
Jay Asher approaches the subject of bullying indirectly. Instead of lecturing people on why you shouldn’t bully, she shows the world what happens to one girl after a series of unfortunate events. These events cause a snowball effect and eventually lead the girl to commit suicide. Clay Jensen receives a box full of tapes that he soon finds out contain Hannah Baker’s last words. She uses these tapes to explain the 13 reasons why she chose to end her life, and Clay is one of them. The story is a dual narrative that allows the reader to encounter both Hannah’s descent into depression, as well as Clay’s reaction to it.
The novel is a rollercoaster of emotion that I almost always devour in one sitting. It leaves you thinking about how your own actions and words could have shaped someone else’s life. Isn’t that what all of the high school bullying seminars are trying to do? Instead of forcing an auditorium full of kids to listen to someone lecture about why bullying is wrong, why not introduce a powerful and compelling piece of literature that will leave them with a more lasting impact? I can attest to how completely the book has impacted me.
Stopping bullies doesn’t start and end with a heroic interjection into a parking lot scuffle. It is speaking up when someone is saying hurtful things to someone else. It’s not being afraid to stand up and say, “You know, I don’t think we should be spreading gossip about this person.” You don’t know everyone’s story, and you certainly don’t have the right to rewrite it for them. And even if you don’t confront the bully, just going up to someone who seems more reserved and isolated could make a larger impact than you could ever imagine.
Words are powerful. They have the ability to praise and comfort, as well as belittle and destroy. Some can take away your sense of self-worth, and others can change the world. Some of you may argue that this novel would have no impact on today’s millennials. If one person, just one person, is better because they read this book, I argue it could save a life.
