13 Reasons Why Critical Essay

It is every teenager's dream to become a worthy member of the society and make their parents proud. However, according to Chuck's report to NBC, this was short-lived for Sadie Riggs - a 15-year-old from Bedford, Pennsylvania, who ended up taking her life due to bullying and stereotyping. Chuck argues that Sadie was powerful and could face her challenges before her biological mother abandoned her and she had to live with her aunt, Sarah Smith.

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Talking to Chuck, Sadie's aunt explained that Sadie was experienced all form of mockery as her schoolmates made fun of her hair and braces, some even claimed that only devils wore red hair. This was only manifested in the Sadie's school's hallway, but with time it rose to social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook and kick. She made an effort and tried to contact the police, but all was in vain. The only option for her was to smash her for, but this was futile as it was too late, the bullying had already taken its toll. Chuck explains that a week after Sadie's aunt broke her phone, Sadie decided to hang herself.

This brought a lot of pain and argon to her aunt who was the only family she had after her mom left. According to Chuck, there has been a drastic increase in the number of cases in teen suicide, and self-harm especially is among adolescent girls Sadie Riggs' age. She also adds that studies indicate that social media has played a significant role in this case as it increases anxiety, bullying, and stereotypic thoughts among teenagers.

This paper will focus on and analyze the mini-series - "13 Reasons Why" create by Brian Yorkey. "13 Reasons why" is Netflix TV show that revolves around the teen character, high school life and struggles of young adults. The show is centered around Hannah Baker, a shy-teen who decides to take her own life by slitting her wrist in their home bathtub. An event that took place after she had recorded thirteen tapes explain the reason behind her death and the thirteen individuals responsible for her decision. This show is based on the young adult novel - "13 Reasons Why" by Jay Asher.

The series picks after Hannah Baker - Katherine Langford, commits suicide leaving her parents and fellow schoolmates with the mission of trying to figure out the reasons behind her death. Mysteriously, one of her dear friend, Clay, gets a delivery of a package full of tapes. These are the same tapes that Hannah recorded before committing suicide; they provided complete details of the "thirteen reasons" behind her death, especially the thirteen individuals who are to blame for that decision she took.

In Each tape, Hannah Baker singles out everyone who did not stick by her as she moves along her suicidal journey. She addresses the girlfriend who slapped her, the boy who listed her in the "Best Ass" list; the boy published her poetry without her consent, the boy who let his friend rape his girlfriend in the same room Hannah was hiding in. In a way, Hannah's character changes from a hopeful teen to a helpless victim of bullying, sexual assault, and slut shaming. The eleventh tape was addressed to Clay, one of the leading character, who Hannah confided in. He ends up as an exception since Hannah outlined that he had nothing to do with her death. However, the twelfth tape was addressed to the ''rapist'', Bryce Walker, who also sexually assaulted Hannah. Lastly, the thirteenth tape goes Hannah's school counselor, Mr. Porter, as he failed to figure out her plan when she visited his office for counseling on the same day she committed suicide.

Today, Teen suicide - especially among adolescent girls, bullying in both schools and social media, sexual harassment, peer pressure and stereotyping has become some of the significant social issues that affect the society today. This paper is going to explain the relationship between this social issue in such a manner that one issue is as a result of the other. Currently, the number one cause of teen suicide is social media bullying where these teens can meet and connect with a bunch of strangers with different mindsets and intentions.

Therefore, this paper will show an outline how bullying, peer pressure and sexual harassment can change a person's life drastically. That one's actions or attitude toward another can affect that person's life. Also, it intends to argue out the point that we should always keen on our actions, word and how we interact with others or our peers. As reflected in the show "13 Reasons why" where Hannah Baker decided to end her life just cause those who she had imagined being her friends betrayed her and were harsh to her or unavailable when she needed them the most. This is also seen in Chuck's story aba out Sadie Riggs, whose world turned for the worse after her mom left her alone leaving her vulnerable and with no parental support.

This paper is aimed at helping the teenagers understand that the challenges they are facing are real and hard, but suicide or self-harm is not the answer. The society should put in place measures to curb teen suicide and other issues that escalate it such as sexual harassment and bullying. Besides, there is a need for kindness, connection, and awareness to deal with this issues raised in the television series - "13 Reasons Why". Also, that those that experience bullying of any kind - be it social media bullying or bullying at home or school should report about it and seek help before it is too late. And there is a need for the application of the Golden Rule that state we should do unto others what we would like to be done unto us. Your actions should be a direct reflection of how you want others to act towards.

Work Cited

Chuck, Elizabeth. "Is Social Media Contributing to Rising Teen Suicide Rate?". NBC News, 22 October 2017.