Blog Post on a Critical Thinking Question: How does this book help you to think about social issues you care about or causes you are committed to?

Suicide is a social issue that has become more common in the past years. In the novel "Thirteen Reasons Why" by Jay Asher, suicide is an evident social issue. A girl, named Hannah Baker, commits suicide. He has pre-recorded tapes before her death, which go around to 13 people. These thirteen people are the reasons why she committed suicide, and the tapes explain how. Suicide is a very important issue in the world, and it makes me feel like anyone can cause it, even when they never thought much of their actions.

  In this Novel, Hannah gives examples of why she committed suicide. For example: "It's not exactly your actions that caused it, it's the things that were caused by your actions that made you one of the thirteen." While Clay (the main character) listened to the second tape, Hannah talked about how when Alex Standall voted her "best ass" in a 'hot or not list', his actions affected her because it caused Bryce (number 11) to grab her ass in a store. These explanations make me feel like some people are more sensitive then others, and that you should really be careful of what you do to others. It might just make them commit suicide, and that is a very serious thing. Even when you consider things a joke (like the 'hot or not' list, which was originally an innocent joke), it could lead to actions that may not be considered a joke to the victim. 

  Another quote in the book that proves that anyone can cause suicide is a quote that Hannah says on the seventh tape:“Maybe it didn’t seem like a big deal to you Zach. But now, I hope you understand. My world was collapsing. I needed those notes. I needed any hope those notes might have offered. And you? You took that hope away. You decided I didn’t deserve to have it. ” This quote proves my statement because of what was going on. Zach was mad at Hannah because she rejected him. So he stole her notes from Peer communications that was supposed to give her encouragement. I don't think that it was necessary to steal he notes. The notes that would let her smile for once, especially at the time where she mostly needed it. This harmless little action led up to a more serious conflict because Zach didn't know what those notes meant to her. And it caused something that couldn't be erased.

 This novel was very interesting, and it made me think about things differently. Especially the fast growing social issue topic of suicide. After all, You don’t know what goes on in anyone’s life but your own. And when you mess with one part of a person’s life, you’re not messing with just that part. People need to be more careful, because something that you think is cosidered harmless can actually affect people in more ways than one. And considering this subject, that isn't a good thing.

Reading Response On Question: Is This Book Fair?

So far, I'm Reading "Anne of Green Gables" in class. I feel like this book wasn't fair in the beginning, but now it is. The reason I feel this is because in the beginning, Anne was in an orphanage, and was very upset. Then she got the false delight of thinking that she was actually going to be adopted, as someone had called for an 11 year old girl, and she was the only one that actually filled the description. So she had this false hope that maybe she was actually wanted, and that she was actually needed, and that she would finally get a home, as she couldn't imagine the crowded orphanage being one, despite all the imagining that she does. And then when she gets there, she finds out that there was a mistake and that she wasn't actually wanted, that it was a boy that they requested. Not Anne. I thought that it was unfair that Anne had to go through all that happiness that she was actually wanted, just to be returned.

I think that is is fair now because they kept her and the people are actually nice. They figure out that even though they wanted a boy originally, they can't really live without Anne. I think this is fair for Anne, because she never could experience anything a normal girl could, and I'm happy that she got to stay and green gables. I feel that this is truly fair.

How New York's Bright Lights Inspire Me

New York's Bright Lights inspire me a lot. New York always seems to be shining bright, and it's almost never dark. New York inspired me to write this poem:

New York
How very bright
How it shines all day and night
How no matter how dark
How much in pain
How much you're hurting
You can't ever be fully engulfed in darkness
For you always will have a part of New York with you
And New York's light
Never goes out.

New York has also had a lot of references in poems and songs. I actually felt like this poem could actually be related to New York, even if it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with it:

Star shine, star bright,
when I go to sleep tonight,
wish me well, help me fight,
get me through the day alright.

Star shine, star Bright,
Will I ever see the light?
Will i ever learn to fight?
Star shine, save my life.

Star shine, star bright,
I am flying like a kite,
over the sea's, through the night,
Star shine, lead me right.

Star shine, star bright,
when I go to sleep at night,
Lead me forward, guiding light,
shining star, shine so bright.

It's sort of like a kid in New York (New York being the star) and the Kid is afraid of the dark, but with all the lights, the kid is never really lost. I think that New York can inspire people to do anything, especially it's bright lights.