Senior 2 – What’s the Meaning

What symbols does the author use?  What do these symbols represent?  How do you know?

In the book Clay Jensen is trying to figure out why he’s on Hannah Baker’s list, the list of reasons why she committed suicide. As he’s listening to the stories he begins to understand why she want this. Then there’s a thing that the readers begin to notice to notice throughout the story is missing opportunities. There were a few moments in the story when someone could’ve done something to help another but didn’t do anything, just let it happen. Essentially that’s what the whole list is about, people choosing either not to do something to help or hindering the issue. It was when Hannah was at the party with Clay. After Clay left another couple walk into the room. Later after the guy leaves because the girl is passed out another guy comes into the room at this point Hannah is hiding and the guy takes advantage of the passed out girl. Hannah said, “I’m blaming you entirely. We’re in this one together. We both could have stopped it. Either one of us. We could have saved her. And I’m admitting this to you. To all of you. That girl had two chances. And both of us let her down.” (229). Hannah herself is talking about missing the opportunity to make a change to help someone in need. Even later in the book she compares missing the chance to save her is a lot like how the people on the list had the chance to save her. However there one really important part when Hannah is talking to Clay in the audio tape.  

“You could have told me anything, Hannah. That night, nothing was off limits. I would’ve stayed till you opened up and let everything out, but you didn’t.

I wanted to tell you everything. And that hurt because some things were too scary. Some things even I didn’t understand. How could I tell someone—someone I was really talking to for the first time—everything I was thinking? I couldn’t. It was too soon.

But it wasn’t.

Or maybe it was too late.

But you’re telling me now. Why did you wait till now? Her words, they’re not warm anymore. She might want me to hear them that way, but they’re burning me up instead. In my mind. In my heart.

Clay, you kept saying that you knew things would flow easily between us. You felt that way for a long time, you said. You knew we’d get along. That we would connect.

But how? You never explained that. How could you know? Because I knew what people said about me. I heard all the rumors and lies that will always be a part of me.

I knew they weren’t true, Hannah. I mean, I hoped they weren’t true. But I was too afraid to find out.

I was breaking. If only I’d talked to you sooner. We could have been…we could’ve…I don’t know. But things had gone too far by then. My mind was set. Not on ending my life. Not yet. It was set on floating through school. On never being close to anyone. That was my plan. I’d graduate, then I’d leave.” (210-211).

When she talks about how maybe if they had talked sooner things could’ve been different. Later on Clay brings up how he should’ve just talked to her. They both bring up that there was a chance to save her, to make a difference in her life and he missed that opportunity. This is about not missing that one chance you have, to take it and be that difference because you don’t know if you could be the one thing that was needed, like how Clay was that one thing Hannah needed.   

Asher, Jay. Th1rteen R3asons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.

Senior 2 – The Impact

Developing Characters: Choose a character who is not the protagonist.  How does he/she help or hinder the protagonist’s growth?

Hannah has a major impact on the growth of the Clay. Obviously knowing that you’re apart of a list of reasons why someone committed suicide that will have an impact on you and how you feel but that’s not what impacted him. There are two reasons her stories and why he was on the list or I this case why he doesn’t belong on the list. As shown in a previous blog Clay seemed like a funny character who just didn’t seem to care much about some parts of Hannah’s stories (E.g. the dream she had about Justin). However as he keeps listening to the stories he grows to understand why she did it. He really does care about Hannah and he starts to show empathy but what really hits him hard is the part when Hannah starts talking to Clay through the tapes. When she starts to talk to him he begins to reply to what she is saying and it’s almost like they’re having a conversation.

“Everything I could have hoped for was happening. The questions were personal, as if catching up for the time we let pass. Yet the questions never felt intrusive.

Her voice, if physically possible, comes through the headphones feeling warm. I place cupped hands over my ears to keep her words from escaping.

And they weren’t intrusive. Because I wanted you to know me. It was wonderful.

I couldn’t believe Hannah and I were finally talking. Really talking. And I did not want it to stop. I loved talking with you, Hannah.

It seemed like you could know me. Like you could understand anything I told you. And the more we spoke, I knew why. The same things excited us. The same things concerned us. You could have told me anything, Hannah. That night, nothing was off limits. I would’ve stayed till you opened up and let everything out, but you didn’t.

I wanted to tell you everything. And that hurt because some things were too scary. Some things even I didn’t understand. How could I tell someone—someone I was really talking to for the first time—everything I was thinking? I couldn’t. It was too soon.

But it wasn’t.

Or maybe it was too late.

But you’re telling me now. Why did you wait till now? Her words, they’re not warm anymore. She might want me to hear them that way, but they’re burning me up instead. In my mind. In my heart.” (210-211).

In this passage they both truly understood one another and it was like they were talking to each other. Clay was really listening to the things Hannah was saying and showed that he cared, he showed how much it meant to him by describing his feelings. Throughout this part of the story Clay was crying while listening to Hannah, the things she said really got to him. This was the way that really had an impact on Clay. It was at this moment where Clay start to really change in the book. Then the next day he’s still feeling the way he felt when he had listened to the last few tapes saying, “I fight every muscle in my body, begging me to collapse. Begging me not to go to school. To go anywhere else and hide out till tomorrow. But no matter when I go back, the fact remains, eventually I need to face the other people on the tapes.” (283). Having to go to the place and seeing the people who drove Hannah to suicide was almost too much for Clay but he still went. The impact her story had on was almost so much that he didn’t want to go to school.  

Asher, Jay. Th1rteen R3asons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.

Senior 2 – The Clay Way

Direct vs. Indirect Characterization: What is direct characterization?  What is indirect characterization?  Choose one character in the novel.  Give examples of how the author uses both direct and indirect characterization in order to describe the character.  What do those examples show you about the character?

Direct characterization is word and phrases that describe the character whereas indirect characterization are the thoughts and actions of the character that gives the reader an understanding of that character. Throughout the novel we follow Clay as he tries to figure out why he’s on Hannah’s list of reasons why she committed suicide. In the beginning Clay seems like an average teenager with a kind heart who makes a funny comment every now and then. As Clay is listening to the first tape, the tape Hannah talked about her first kiss with a guy named Justin Foley, he makes some remarks that are funny and the way he’s thinking about over things make it seem like he doesn’t care at all.

“The dream starts with me at the top of the rocket, holding on to the steering wheel. It’s still a playground rocket, not a real one, but every time I turn the wheel to the left, the trees in the park lift up their roots and sidestep it to the left. When I turn the wheel to the right, they sidestep it to the right.

Then I hear your voice calling up from the ground. ‘Hannah! Hannah! Stop playing with the trees and come see me.’

So I leave the steering wheel and climb through the hole in the top platform. But when I reach the next platform, my feet have grown so huge they won’t fit through the next hole.

Big feet? Seriously? I’m not into dream analysis, but maybe she was wondering if Justin had a big one.

I poke my head through the bars and shout, ‘My feet are too big. Do you still want me to come down?’

‘I love big feet,’ you shout back. ‘Come down the slide and see me. I’ll catch you.’

So I sit on the slide and push off. But the wind resistance on my feet makes me go so slow. In the time it takes me to reach the bottom of the slide, I’ve noticed that your feet are extremely small. Almost nonexistent.

I knew it!” (25-26).

This is where the indirect characterization comes in. In this passage Hannah is talking about her dream of how her and Justin’s first kiss will go and as she’s talking about it Clay is just making the funniest comments. Later on in the novel when Hannah is talking about Clay and how he such a perfect person and she had nothing bad to say about him and she wanted to get to know him.

“Normally, when a person has a stellar image, another person’s waiting in the wings to tear them apart. They’re waiting for that one fatal flaw to expose itself.

But not with Clay.

Again, I look over at Tony. This time, he’s smirking.

I hope this tape doesn’t make you run out and dig for that deep, dark, and dirty secret of his…which I’m sure is there. At least one or two of them, right?

I’ve got a few.

But wait, isn’t that what you’re doing, Hannah? You’re setting him up as Mr. Perfect only to tear him down. You, Hannah Baker, were the one waiting in the wings. Waiting for a flaw. And you found it. And now you can’t wait to tell everyone what it is and ruin his image.

To which I say…no.

My chest relaxes, freeing a breath of air I didn’t even know I was holding.

And I hope you’re not disappointed. I hope you aren’t just listening—salivating—for gossip. I hope these tapes mean more to you than that.

Clay, honey, your name does not belong on this list.” (199-200).

It’s in this passage where we get some of the direct characterization. In this passage Hannah is describing him in a positive way and saying he doesn’t belong on the list. This shows one how Clay is a good guy and that he hasn’t done anything bad, not to Hannah at least.

Asher, Jay. Th1rteen R3asons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.

Senior 2 – Looking for an Answer

Denouement: What is a “conflict” in literature?  What is the main conflict in your book?  How does the ending resolve (or not resolve) the main conflict?  (Is the ending happy, unhappy, or indeterminate?)  Was the ending an appropriate ending for the book?  Explain.

Conflict in literature is the issues that the character of story have to deal with, it’s the problem that gives their story purpose. The problem that the main character, Clay Jensen, has to deal with is figuring out why he’s on this list. The list, created by Hannah Baker, is comprised of 13 different reasons why she committed suicide. The reasons were all recorded onto audio tapes by Hannah, each tape has 2 side meaning there are 7 tapes, since there are 13 reasons the last reason is on a tape by itself. As Clay listens to the audio tapes he’s beginning to realize why she had actually took her own life. Each reason has is based around someone, someone who had done harm to her or ruined her reputation. This means that Clay is not the first person who has heard these tapes. There are rules to the game, if you’re on the tapes you’re one of the reason and you have to listen to the tapes or a copy of the tapes will be released. Once you have listened to the tapes you have to mail the tapes to the person after you. The whole problem Clay has is trying to figure out why he’s on the list towards the beginning Clay says, “The stories must be bad. Really bad. That’s the only reason the tapes are passing on from one person to the next. Out of fear. Why would you want to mail out a bunch of tapes blaming you in a suicide? You wouldn’t. But Hannah wants us, those of us on the list, to hear what she has to say. And we’ll do what she says, passing the tapes on, if only to keep them away from people not on the list. ‘The list.’ It sounds like a secret club. An exclusive club. And for some reason, I’m in it.” (14) At the end “And for some reason, I’m in it.” This is what shows that he’s wondering why he’s on the list, what did he do to end up on the list. When he does find out why he’s on the list it’s not for a negative reason, she wanted him to know why she took her own life. She knew that he would’ve wondered why she did it. She liked him and he liked her, she understood that he needed to know why she was gone. Knowing this and the fact that he will never see her again makes the ending a sad one and an appropriate one, it was a suiting end for this book.   

Asher, Jay. Th1rteen R3asons Why: A Novel. New York: Razorbill, 2007. Print.

Senior 1 – A Time and Place

The setting is both familiar and unfamiliar to me. The book takes place around the 1940, during World War 2, I know a lot about WWII so that part is familiar to. However the place it takes place is France, a place I am unfamiliar with. Throughout the book we hear about the Germans invading and hauling people off to camps. The narrator actually escaped from two camps, a German camp and a French work camp. After the narrator escaped from the French work camp with a few others they go their separate ways. On his way to Marseille he stays at someone’s house and later on when the Germans come to the house and he talks about how terrified he was because if they found out who he was then they would take him back to the camp. Later when he makes it to Marseille he comes across many refugees trying to escape from the war. However getting out of the country takes a lot of effort and persistence because in order to leave you need a visa, transit visa, and exit visa. Getting each visa takes time and they expire so in most case one visa will expire before you get the other then as soon as you get that other one the ones you had before have expired, so there’s the dilemma. Staying there was equally as difficult because in order to stay you need to prove that you have work there or that you have the intention to leave. Because leaving was so difficult there were so many refugees, “you know of course what unoccupied France was like in the fall of 1940.The cities’ train stations, their shelters, and even the public squares and churches were full of refugees.” (P. 30) As you can tell due to the war many refugees were stuck in France not able to escape. The war made everything on everyone much more difficult. World War II was troubling for everyone around the world, including France.  

Senior 1 – There is No Life Without the Boy

In the book Transit the narrator tells us his story in during the War. Throughout the story we see how rude and cynical the narrator is. Our narrator, otherwise known as Seidler or Weidel, goes throughout the story only really caring about himself. In the story the Seidler is mainly concerned with his own amusement. However he shows some kind of feeling. Seidler has friends in Marseille, Claudine, her husband George Binnet, and their son known as the Binnet boy. The Binnet boy is Claudine’s son however George is his stepfather. The Binnet boy idolized the narrator or any other man who isn’t George. Seidler was friend with the Binnet boy and he really likes him. The boy has health problems so the doctor has to come in a treat him. Because of this the boy takes a liking to the doctor. This does not sit with Seidler. He thinks that the boy deserves someone better implying that he himself is better than the doctor. The boy likes both the doctor and Seidler, but when it was time for the doctor to leave the boy became very upset. When Seidler came confronted the boy when he was upset he lashed out at Seidler. Seidler didn’t get mad at the child because he cares about him so much. Then later in the book when the doctor, Marie, and Seidler are planning to leave, the boy becomes  devastated and in tears. Seidler goes to the Binnet house, “When he hears my voice he turned around and stared at me wide-eyed. Suddenly he came over and threw himself on me. He was crying, unable to stop. I stroke his head. I was touched, didn’t know what to make of his tears. Claudine said, ‘He thought you’d left.’ The boy finally freed himself and said a little sheepishly but smiling, ‘I thought you were all leaving.’ ‘How can you think such a thing? Didn’t I promise you I’d stay?’ To reassure him I asked if he’d like to go for a walk with me.” (P. 248) It was because of the boy that Seidler stayed, which is touching. He let Marie and the doctor leave together and stayed with the boy for both of their sakes. Without the Binnet boy the book would’ve ended a whole lot differently because Seidler would’ve been on the boat with the Marie and the doctor and suffered the same fate as then. The couple boarded the Montreal and in the beginning of the book the narrator mentions that the Montreal went down in the ocean. Without the Binnet boy Seilder would have died.  

Senior 1 – The Process

A conflict within literature is the main issue or problem that the character have to deal with. The book Transit has a narrator who is telling us about his time during World War II. It begins with him in a French work camp. Eventually him and a few other escape from this camp and each go their separate ways. The narrator makes his way to Marseille. On his way he obtains an refugee identity under the name Seidler. It would seem as though we have encountered some conflicts already, escaping camps, picking up new identities to avoid being caught. Once he made it to Marseille he comes across a bigger issue, getting out. It may not seem all that bad, but for refugees in these times getting out and away from the Germans was extremely difficult. Eventually our narrator wants to escape to Mexico, however he doesn’t have the right paperwork and gives up for awhile and stays there, but again it’s not that easy. In order to stay in Marseille you have to prove that you have the intention to leave and this again requires paperwork. This is just a mess of processes and procedures that get you literally nowhere. In his time in Marseille the narrator hear many stories from people. At one point he talks about the process of one man’s journey, saying that, “He had already had a work contract before and because of the contract, a visa, and because of the visa, a transit visa, but it took so long for the exit visa to be issued that the transit visa expired in the meantime, and after that visa and after that the contract.” (P. 38-39) This shows how much stalling there was and how long and tedious the process just to leave was. The the book is based around the issues that refugees had just trying to leave and as you can tell it took a lot of work and persistence to leave.

Senior 1 – The Character, The Narrator, and The Bad Guy

Direct characterization is the use of adjectives to describe a fictional character’s personality. Indirect characterization is when a character’s personality is shown through their actions or speech. The character can be described with words or through their actions. In the book Transit we listen to the narrator tell his story. It takes place in 1937. It begins with the narrator in a French work camp and eventually he makes his way to Marseille. Through his travels he picks up a few identities, a refugee named Seidler and a dead writer named Weidel. Already he seems like a shady person but he’s on the run so it’s justified a little. Then later on Seidler is reunited with his friend from the work camp, Heinz. After speaking with Heinz, Seidler says, “Heinz wasn’t much concerned about me. He liked the sort of qualities in people that I lacked, that weren’t important to me. I’m referring to unconditional loyalty which, in those days, I considered senseless and boring, dependability, which seemed to me impossible to maintain, and unswerving faith, which seemed to me as childish and useless as dragging old banners across endless battlefields.“ (P. 68). Now we know how to define this character a little now. He’s unloyal, undependable, and unfaithful. These aren’t very good traits to have, he seems like a bad guy at the moment, then later he meets the doctor and Marie. Marie is the wife of the deceased Weidel and her and the doctor have some kind of relationship but so does Seidler with Marie and then Marie is still looking for Weidel because she doesn’t know that he’s dead. Marie, as you may be able to tell, isn’t a very good character either, however there’s another thing to note about Seidler, he never tell Marie that her husband is dead. Again he’s cruel for this because she goes on looking for someone she’ll never find and he does nothing about it. Later on the doctor wants to leave Marseille along with Marie all they need are the transit visa from Seidler. Seidler says that he’ll take care of it but he has something else planned because he himself likes Marie. Seidler stalls up until it’s too late and the doctor has to leave. Once the doctor leaves this really hurts Marie and the Seidler says, “There she was, squatting in one corner of the room. I had won. It was as if she were my trophy -the spoils of war. I think at the time I even felt ashamed that I’d won her so easily- Her head was down on her knees, her hands covered her face.” (P. 160).This man is cruel and cynical, he’s just greedy and selfish. This shows that this character, even though is the main character/narrator, is not a favorable one.

The Suffering Of Many

Does the theme reinforce or go against what most people think?
The theme of this book is a memoir, a true story about a girl named Sadako Sasaki. The book starts off during WW2, August 6, 1945. At this time Sadako was two years old. She lived at home with her grandmother, father, mother and brother. They were at all at home except for Mr. Sasaki, the father who was at work. They doing their usual routine when America launched Little Boy, the first atomic bomb in used in combat. When the bomb went off it destroyed most things within a one mile radius. The Sasaki’s lived right outside of that area. They didn’t feel the full brunt of the blast but it was enough to destroy their house. Most of the Sasaki family was fine, however the grandmother had passed away. Years later Sadako was diagnosed with leukemia. The family was in pain, the thought that you can’t do anything to help your child. It’s a horrendous thought that raced through their minds. This story of Sadako and her life made me think very differently. When most people think of war they don’t tend to dwell on the fact that at some point someone died and they had someone who really cared about them. There’s always that child who didn’t deserve to die but because of war it was inevitable. This story really focuses on the effect that war has on individuals. What the cost of war in, what people lose. In the book it says “The horror of radiation spread cancer throughout the city.” Sadako wasn’t the only person,  wasn’t the only child who died due to cancer. The book really makes you think about the life they weren’t able to live.

Depth Of War

 

Does the theme give you a new insight or deepen what you already know? I knew that WW2 dealt a lot of damage to Japan. However the story of Sadako Sasaki made me realize the effect it had on individuals. During World War 2 Japan had attacked America bombing Pearl Harbor. This was when America decided to engage in the war. Their first move was to launch an atomic bomb at Japan on August 6, 1945. This moment changed the lives of thousands of people. When that bomb detonated it killed thousands of people and destroyed everything around it. This affected the lives of many including Sadako. The Sasaki family lived in Hiroshima and witnessed the power of the bomb. “At the time of the bombing, it was estimated that Hiroshima’s population was approximately 370,000. It was reported that the death total was 118,661.” The Sasaki’s were lucky to get out alive. However later that day Sadako’s grandmother decided to head back to retrieve money and this cost her life. Everyone in Hiroshima lost something that day. However this was not the end of the bombs heinous rampage. The radiation slowly grew inside of people and then deteriorate them. Sadako was one of the unlucky ones. Sadako at the age of 12 was diagnosed with leukemia caused by the radiation. This tragedy struck the family hard. This ruined their lives forever. Less than a year later Sadako died. I never knew the impact was some large on the people who lived in Japan at the time. It was no one’s fault that just the cost of war. People may think that this was just another battle in war, however this was the very first attack with the use of an atomic bomb and it devastated the lives of thousands.