How would you determine the life you’re living is what you want? That was certainly the leading question for the protagonists’ in the books, The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. Trying to figure what what you want in life can be challenging for a person when things only have a negative effect on you. That is what Holden Caulfield, Hannah Baker, and Clay Jensen were going through. In both of these books the author allows the reader to discover multiple themes such as how depression and loneliness makes things worse revolving any situation, dealing with a mental illness has a great impact on the outlook of life, and acceptance allows you to lead to positive adjustments and changes. That was what these
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In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden refused to do anything in life except go out to drink and contact people to keep him company. He didn’t want nothing to do with school, family, or getting a job. Basically he didn’t want to take responsibility that required him to put in effort. But after realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with that kind of lifestyle, he had to get some help. To help find a reason to understand that those things matter and it could help him with developing a life of his own that he can enjoy. That is why he is where he is. He accepted the fact that things weren’t going to last with the way he was handling his life. On the last page Holden had said, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything, If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214), which meant that things are better left unsaid. He understands that there’s no turning back and things will eventually turn out for the better. That relates back to Thirteen Reasons Why when Clay was listening to the tapes. He said, “That’s not an obsession. It’s respect. I’m living out her last requests” (Asher 97) while he was listening to the tapes and searching through the map for Hannah’s next location. He came to terms that she’s already dead and should at least here what she had to say. Even though it freaked him out so much, he accepted it. He wanted to know what she had to say about him. If neither Holden or Clay didn’t allow themselves to obtain the realization that they needed to accept that one thing, they could have lived the rest of their lives stuck in the past and feeling more miserable as time went
In The Catcher in the Rye, Holden refused to do anything in life except go out to drink and contact people to keep him company. He didn’t want nothing to do with school, family, or getting a job. Basically he didn’t want to take responsibility that required him to put in effort. But after realizing he wasn’t getting anywhere with that kind of lifestyle, he had to get some help. To help find a reason to understand that those things matter and it could help him with developing a life of his own that he can enjoy. That is why he is where he is. He accepted the fact that things weren’t going to last with the way he was handling his life. On the last page Holden had said, “Don’t ever tell anybody anything, If you do, you start missing everybody” (Salinger 214), which meant that things are better left unsaid. He understands that there’s no turning back and things will eventually turn out for the better. That relates back to Thirteen Reasons Why when Clay was listening to the tapes. He said, “That’s not an obsession. It’s respect. I’m living out her last requests” (Asher 97) while he was listening to the tapes and searching through the map for Hannah’s next location. He came to terms that she’s already dead and should at least here what she had to say. Even though it freaked him out so much, he accepted it. He wanted to know what she had to say about him. If neither Holden or Clay didn’t allow themselves to obtain the realization that they needed to accept that one thing, they could have lived the rest of their lives stuck in the past and feeling more miserable as time went