Reach Out and Make a Difference

Bullying has been a ubiquitous issue over the years, and it might be afflicting some of the people around us. When the signs of bullying gradually manifest, victims tend to shrug it off, thinking that it might stop eventually. But when they realize that things are slowly getting out of hand, they might not be able to solve the problem on their own. Some choose to seek help in hopes of finding someone to guide them out of the darkness, whereas some choose to give up by ending their lives, just as the protagonist in the book, Hannah, did.

The book centers around a set of tapes that Clay, a high school student, found in front of his house. The tapes turned out to be from Hannah, one of his classmates who had committed suicide. In the tapes, Hannah recalled everything that had led to her ending her life, whether it was detailed descriptions of what had happened, or her feelings after the incidents. While I was halfway through the book, something stroke me as odd. Why hadn’t Hannah turned to someone she trusted, and asked for help earlier? Why did she choose to express her feelings by recording them on tapes and mailing them before she died, instead of confronting the people that were involved in person? My guess was that Hannah didn’t think of the incidents as serious at first.

Later on, at the party where she talked to Clay for the first time, Hannah really wanted to confide in him. But the truth was, Hannah didn’t even know how or where to start, for some details were too terrifying or too baffling. At this point, it seemed to me that the chain of events that had happened previously had somehow evolved into a rolling snowball, getting bigger and bigger.

Although being bullied might be the culprit of pushing her over the edge, I think that Hannah herself also had something to do with her tragic death. When the first signs of being bullied began to show, she didn’t tell anyone what she was going through, nor did she stop the people from bullying her. But when she realized that she really needed to tell someone, it was too late. The malicious rumors and others’ actions had already spun a web that trapped her completely, making her feel helpless, unable to escape and open up to others. Eventually, the only choice she had was to escape the cruel reality by ending her life, with a set of tapes left behind to haunt some people for the horrendous events leading up to her death.

A quote from the book was seared into my memory: “Everything affects everything.” Things we do to others, no matter how insignificant they may seem, have the possibility of changing someone’s life for better or for worse. Take the book for example. Alex voted Hannah as “Best Ass in the Freshman Class”. This might not seem as a big deal, after all, the list was just for fun. But it gave people the excuse to physically harass Hannah. Another example was that Clay regretted not telling Hannah how he really felt towards her at the party. Afterwards, he found himself thinking that had he told her his feelings, she might have spoken up about what was going on with her, instead of bottling up her negative emotions and, sadly, committing suicide.

Of course, not everyone will be willing to share what is going on in their lives. But we as fellow classmates or friends can play an indispensable role in bringing a gleam of hope to those in need, and I guess that this is the message the author wants to convey with this thought-provoking book. Even though someone seems to be fine on the outside, there might be more to what’s going on than meets the eye. Reach out to others, instead of waiting for someone in need to open up. Just an insignificant gesture, such as asking them how they are doing, can make a huge difference in their lives.