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Identity In Thirteen Reasons Why

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In Jay Asher’s Thirteen Reasons Why, the passage quoted above helps support the major theme of the story: identity. The narrator Hannah Baker expresses her anger and frustration that her identity is limited to stereotypes.Close friends gossip about her, leading others to harass and take advantage of Hannah or to spread more rumors from the lies they have heard about her.Hannah often copes with these incidents as they occur and attempts to make new friends and find new activities of comfort. Through this, she tries to show how her actual life is the exact inverse of the reputation perceived and accepted by others. However, as more and more incidents occur, the narrator expresses frustration and struggles to cope with them, revealing that no …show more content…

She is forced to face an emotional struggle against the evilness of the stereotypes used against her. The struggles become more damaging and devastating to her life triggering more emotions of repugnance. The problems are too frequent and very hurtful, deteriorating her value of life and eventually convincing her to consider suicide. This shows her realization of pointlessness to disprove the stereotypes about her and that her struggle is imperishable. In addition, Hannah Baker uses symbolism to show her frustration as she is forced to abandon her true identity. She tries to convey that she is “driving” her life along a path filled with many obstacles and hurdles that challenge her true self. Hannah wants to live a typical teenage life trying to assert that control through the “steering wheel.” However, the stereotypes are like an uncontrolled force that pushes her toward off the road, which is uneven and dangerous. She notes that she can only fight back temporarily by either seeking a new comfort or friend or revenge to console her to continue through her life. The actions by others from the stereotypes are too unbearable that she is forced in “letting

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