13 REASONS WHY STUDY GUIDE.pdf - JacobEnglish11

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Themes and Symbols
Theme 1: Rumors affect individual’s life
Example 1
One of the most significant part where the theme of Rumor is implied is where Hannah’s
rumor starts and starts to grow. Hannah foresees that the rumors will get bigger, but the
rumors were too small to make a big deal out of. The rumors started with Hannah’s first
kiss. Hannah, after having her first kiss with Justin Foley, says, “I know. I know what
you’re thinking. As I was telling the story, I was thinking the same thing myself. A kiss?
A rumor based on a kiss made you do this to yourself?”(Asher 30). This quote means that
the kiss was the primary factor that started everything. After she was “accused” for
having the best butt of her class, people wanted to take advantage of her and even if it
started out as small as a rumor about a kiss, eventually it got bigger, which caused
Hannah to commit suicide.
Analysis 1
A rumor based on a kiss, which started out small, became something that could not be
ignored. It spread with emphasis and because of the rumor, Hannah became extremely
upset. She mentions how the rumors about the kiss was not that significant, but when it
started to spread with more details and when others started to feel as if they can get to
Hannah very easily, it was the starting point of all the new rumors and also the start of
where people started to look at Hannah, not for being herself, but for being what the
rumors described of her.