Literary Devices in Thirteen Reasons Why
Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Setting
It's the Real ThingHannah was all about setting: her tapes even come with a map! She wants the people on her list to not only listen to her story, but to walk in her shoes, so to speak. Of course,...
Narrator Point of View
Unreliable narrator alert! Thirteen Reasons Why blends Hannah Baker's audio-taped explanation for her suicide with Clay Jensen's reactions to it. Both stories are told in the first person by the ch...
Genre
Clay Jensen is breezing through high school relatively drama-free, maybe because his nose is usually buried in his schoolbooks. Yes, he's upset by the recent death of Hannah Baker. But for the most...
Tone
Tone can be very tricky. But sometimes we get lucky and the author will come right out and explain the tone, often in the hands of a smart interviewer. We get a version of this in the interview wit...
Writing Style
All of Thirteen Reasons Why is either spoken or thought. And, we don't know about you, but Shmoop sure doesn't always speak or think in a very polished way. Turns out, neither do Hannah or Clay. Fo...
What's Up With the Title?
Guilt and blame. That's what's up with the title. Thirteen Reasons Why points to the thirteen incidents that Hannah says are most to blame for her death. Each of these incidents features one of the...
What's Up With the Ending?
One word: Skye. Thirteen Reasons Why ends with this one word, but boy is it packed with meaning. This word sums up the way that Hannah's tapes have affected Clay; and because the novel is centered...
Tough-o-Meter
There's nothing super difficult about the style of Thirteen Reasons Why, but it's no secret that the topic of teen suicide isn't easy to stomach. Once you wrap your mind around the psychological i...
Plot Analysis
An Audiotaped Suicide NoteThe story begins when Clay Jensen receives a package: seven audiotapes recorded by Hannah Baker, a girl he knew who recently killed herself. We know from the very beginnin...
Trivia
The authors Jay Asher most admires are Stephen King and Ray Bradbury. Can you see their influence on his writing? (Source.)We think it's a little creepy that Asher's wife dressed up as Hannah Baker...
Steaminess Rating
Sex is a big theme in the novel, and while none of the sex is particularly steamy, it can get a tad graphic. The scene where Hannah and Bryce have sex might even rate an R in some readers' eyes. Th...
Allusions
J.D. Salinger, The Catcher In the Rye (8.30)William Carlos Williams, "The Red Wheelbarrow" (9.12)William Shakespeare, Romeo and Juliet (11.46)