The Series of Th1rteen R3asons Why and its Origin
“... And if you are listening to this tape, you are one of the reasons why (Netflix, 2017).” is one of the famous words said by Hannah in the novel Thirteen Reasons Why. Hannah Baker, the female lead in the book and the films, commits suicide after recording 13 audiotapes. And each tape brings out a reason why she makes this decision. As for the male lead Clay Jensen, he is a 16-year-old shy boy and has a crush on Hannah. Tony is also an important role in the work. Not only does he receive and keep the tapes for Hannah, but he is also Clay’s best friend. Though the series are based on the novel, the directors make some changes when shooting. Thus, there are three main differences between the novel and its film.
First of all, the relationship between Hannah and Clay is different in the novel and films, though they both have feelings for each other. In the book, Clay is the only one who appears in her cassettes but does nothing wrong, and Hannah thanks him a lot but still feels really sorry for him. However, Clay’s position in the series is totally different, and the director changes Clay’s order in the cassette. He appears in tape 11 in the films instead of tape 9 in the book. It is because their relationship is much closer, compared with the setting in the book. Hannah thinks Clay is also responsible for her death.
Secondly, the actual days that Clay spends on the tapes are different. Clay spends one day only listening all the audiotapes recorded by Hannah in the novel without taking any actions. However, Clay in the films spends several days listening to the recordings and tries to uphold the late justice for Hannah. In original one, Clay only interacts with Tony, and has some simple communication with other classmates and his mother. During the process, he listens to what Hannah says, deeply understands how grief Hannah is, and recalls many memories through her voice. Nonetheless, in the films, Clay plucks up his courage to finish the task of listening all the audiotapes in the company of his best friend Tony. He realizes the situation of Hannah gradually because he gets in touch with those who appear in the tapes as well. Even if everyone knows that Hannah has been dead already, Clay still tries to fight for her because he knows what she has experienced.
The third significant difference between the book and its series is the way how Hannah takes her own life. In the novel, Hannah decides to take some hypnotic drug, and soaks herself in the bathtub until her last breath. On the contrary, Hannah first soaks herself in the bathtub, and then she cuts her wrists in the films. Although the audiences might feel the film is too bloody to watch, especially for the younger ones, the film itself emphasizes how suffering and in despair Hannah is. In a nutshell, the reason that Hannah dies in the film is severe loss of blood, which is totally different from the former one–suffocated to death.
The three main differences between the novel and the series are as above: the relationship between Hannah and Clay, the day Clay spends on the recordings, and the way how Hannah commits suicide. There is no absolutely good or bad on both works, and they all have their powers to impress readers and audiences. Most important of all, the viewers understand that the author really wants to raise the awareness that everything affects everything. On the other hand, we all need to care and love others better, and prevent such kind of tragedy that is mentioned above from happening again.
References
Netflix (2017) 13 Reasons Why.
Retrieved from: https://www.netflix.com/tw/title/80117470
Sources
Readmoo 分享書 (2011) 漢娜的遺言13 Reason Why
Retrieved from: https://share.readmoo.com/book/290781
Wikipedia (n/d) 13 Reasons Why. Retrieved