The Werther Effect

Improved Essays
THE WERTHER EFFECT AND MEDIA IMPACT

Many are the reasons that might lead one to commit suicide, including mental illnesses, severe unhappiness and ending suffering. These are motives internal to each specific individual and that affect only themselves. There is, however, an observed phenomenon that not only affects one particular person, but also influences others to act equal or analogously – the Werther Effect.
Named after Goethe’s famous work, “The Sorrows of the Young Werther”, the Werther Effect is associated to an upsurge in suicide rates right after the public announcement of an influential or well-known person’s suicide. This connection to the book is due to the various copycat attempts and actual occurrences that unfolded
…show more content…
The show narrates the story of Hannah Baker, a 16 years old teenage girl who kills herself and leave 13 audios recorded in cassette tapes explaining the reasons why she took her own life. Besides addressing to 12 different high school classmates and associating them to the causes of her death, what worries the authorities is that the show contains explicit scenes of rape and, even worse, it displays in every detail the protagonist’s suicide. Psychologists fear that, as in “The Sorrows of the Young Werther”, “13 Reasons Why” might initiate a new wave of copycat suicides. Many adolescents who suffer bully at school or at any other places might identify with the sorrows of young Hannah and feel that imitating her actions is the only way out of their misery. The show would pose as a suggestion and those who already are vulnerable and experiencing suicidal thoughts would feel motivated to echo Hannah’s …show more content…
351). In other words, people who no longer find a meaning in life (or are going through a very difficult phase) are open to options that will remove this horrible sensation that they are feeling. As alternatives to ending one’s life, there are several opportunities for someone to start feeling complete again. For instance, there are many supportive groups from many different areas (religious, political, Alcoholic Anonymous, etc.) that are more than willing to help those who seek them. In addition, every country has its own suicide hotline available 24 hours a

Related Documents

  • Great Essays

    Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory Veronica Moreno Professor, Jacobson Iona College Joiner’s Interpersonal Theory Joiner’s theory was developed by Thomas Joiner, and it tries to explain the reason why people commit suicide. The theory has three factors that lead people to suicide behaviors and attempts. According to Joiner, the combination of perceived burdensomeness and thwarted belongingness causes the wish to commit suicide among people (Simlot, McFarland & Lester, 2013). The need for people to belong is fundamental in a person’s life and lack of belonging or association can lead to a person committing suicide.…

    • 1611 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    “How could he do this to his wife and kids? Easy. Because what’s been called the worst agony devised for man doesn’t allow you to feel any emotion for kids, spouse, lover, parents.. even your beloved dog. And least of all yourself.” (Corliss 55) Suicide is a subject that is very close to my heart because of the loss of two amazing people, my best friend Emerald Wilkie and one of my childhood inspirations, Robin Williams.…

    • 1464 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As the tapes go on you learn more and more about how this young girl withstood this horrible amount of pain. With this pain, the actions of others killed Hannah baker. Betrayal, violence and love, things that at points in our life we all feel and they also had a big role in the suicide of Hannah baker. Hannah felt as though all of her friends had betrayed her.…

    • 469 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It became most obvious after she was sexually assaulted by Bryce. It was the last straw. Her depression, as if it had not been there before, was now inescapable because of, “Bryce Walker, who broke my soul” (Thirteen Reasons Why). Bryce violated her body and her spirit, reducing her to nothing more than an object. Girls who go through sexual abuse will sometimes experience negative symptoms of it throughout their whole life, and so after Bryce, Hannah made the decision to end her life (Springer).…

    • 1561 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Analysis Of 13 Reasons Why

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Luke Richardson once said, “We need to change the culture of this topic and make it OK to speak about mental health and suicide.” Many would argue that the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, created by Brian Yorkey, has created an abundance of controversy regarding suicide, sexual assault, and bullying. These struggles are prominent concerns in today’s culture, more specifically in the culture of today's teens. 13 Reasons Why uses imagery and point of view within the series which allows viewers to gain insight into the tragic world of a suicidal teen. These elements also allow viewers to gain an understanding and awareness of suicide provoking situations throughout today's society.…

    • 1203 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Side B Non-supporters believe that doctor-assisted suicide shouldn’t be legal because it can increase the death rate of people choosing to die this way. People choosing being against assisted suicide believe that there can be a chance for the patients to be cured from their diseases. There is research of how assisted suicide can affect other people who agree with it and how religion can help those who believe to keep fighting from their health issues. Recently, Gov. Jerry Brown from California signed a bill to legalize doctor- assisted suicide.…

    • 1298 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Suicide: A Perhaps Preventable Tragedy Motivational speaker Jeff Yalden tours schools and speaks on the topics of mental illness and suicide to their students. In one video, a collection of clips documenting his mission and tours is displayed. In the video, scenes of his speeches, engagements with students, and inspiring messages are displayed. His messages, according to his audience, “resonated” with them. He focuses on issues of adolescent suicide, self harm, and illness treatment.…

    • 321 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Slater herself writes, "Phillips has dubbed this phenomenon "the Werther effect," because after Goethe published The Sorrows of Young Werther, about an overwrought fictional character who killed himself for unrequited love, a rash of suicides rippled through eighteenth-century Germany (Slater 107). " Slater's point is that Phillips named his findings based on this book that affected those who read the novel. The fact Phillips decided to labeled a theory he has more so add that he is prudent. If not, he would not have used his time to find out why these suicide rates went up during the eighteenth-century. There would be no title for this occurrence, neither researching the cause of these suicides, which was the…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Whether it is glamorized or proven unjust, suicide is a touchy subject and young audiences have no choice but to be familiar with all kinds of causes and effects. In the show 13 Reasons Why and the musical Dear Evan Hansen, suicide is both mildly and boldly presented as a major theme. The show 13 Reasons Why is all about Hannah Baker’s suicide. In the show, Hannah cuts her wrists and bleeds out in the bathtub of her home, leaving a trail of tapes telling her fellow classmates and one teacher what they did that drove her to hurt herself.…

    • 877 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Suicide Risk Factors

    • 1029 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Suicide is described as an act of taking one’s own life. The event is tragic and is often met with overwhelming emotional repercussions for the surviving family members and friends. People who commit suicide are in some way dissatisfied with their lives and are trying to escape a situation they deem impossible to cope with. According to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Statistics show that in 2013 (the most recent year with full data) 41,149 people committed suicide, making it the 10th leading cause of death in America. Suicide is a topic that is difficult to fathom let alone discuss, yet it is very real and prevalent.…

    • 1029 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The world is full of problems for society to deal with. One such social problem is the problem of suicide. Suicide is the death of a person where the cause of death is self-inflicted. In other words, a person intentionally ends there own life. Suicide can be considered a social problem because it is preventable and causes premature death to an individual.…

    • 2066 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What comes to mind when you think of cyberbullying? Thoughts running through your mind wondering how many people have been bullied through the internet or social media? Looking back at the past in middle school there was one girl in particular, no one knew her well because it was her first year there. She was the main target of being cyberbullied. No one knew if she was going to pay attention but little did they know she would.…

    • 1598 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Suicide claims the lives of thousands of people and is seen as both a private trouble and social issue. Individuals’ personal problems can be correlated with social structural problems in relation to aspects of depression, suicidal thoughts, attempts and successes. Reasons for suicide vary greatly from, perhaps difficulties at work to dysfunctional family issues from childhood past experiences. People decide to take their lives everyday for numerous different reasons, however, despite whatever the reason may be, it can be associated with the public world. Examples of personal suffering can create social dilemmas, especially when the suffering is a result of some aspect of their social setting.…

    • 1225 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Question 9: “The servant delivered the pistols, and Werther took them from him enraptured on hearing that it was Lotte who gave them to him” (Goethe 131). Discuss. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s novel, The Sorrows of Young Werther, intimately follows the life and love of the titular character and culminates in his suicide. Though it is ultimately Werther who pulls the trigger, ending his own life, who is actually responsible for the suicide? Two of the most plausible candidates are Werther and/or Lotte, but the novel ultimately asserts that Werther’s suicide is the culmination of an affliction ultimately out of all the characters’ controls.…

    • 1235 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Hannah throughout the story gives thirteen people one reason why their responsible for her choice. Even though Hannah knew that if she blamed others for ending her life they would feel inculpate, she still continued on and made a reason for each person. Thirteen Reasons Why is a book that anyone and everyone should read, the story enlightens an exceptional valuable life less which every teenager can use in their life: everyone is responsible for their own actions.…

    • 1026 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays