Thirteen Reasons Why

Content Warning: The following analysis contains discussions of suicide, rape, and sexual assault.

In William Shakespeare’s Othello—a foundational text about suicide—Iago comments that “[r]eputation is an idle and most false imposition, oft got without merit and lost without deserving” (2.4.268-70). Hannah Baker discovers this for herself in Thirteen Reasons Why. Her high school career is dogged by false rumors that give her an undeserved reputation for promiscuity. Throughout the novel, Asher illustrates how rumors affect how others perceive and act toward someone, negatively affect one’s thoughts, and cause people to become projections of damaging narratives.

Hannah’s hopes for a fresh start in Crestmont suggest that she had trouble with rumors about herself in her old town. This suggestion forms part of the tapestry of offstage action in the novel that the reader must infer—the most significant other example being each character listening to the tapes—which in itself mimics the uncertain and gap-filling quality of rumor. Unfortunately, Justin starts the metaphorical snowball rolling with a rumor that he and Hannah did more than kiss. By bragging that he “felt up” Hannah, Justin creates a false impression of her character and her behavior, one that leads others to judge her.