Echoes of Silence: Role of Cultural Attitudes in Adolescent Trauma in Jay Asher’s 13 Reasons Why and Naoko Yamada’s A Silent Voice

Abstract

This dissertation investigates the interplay between adolescent trauma and cultural frameworks by examining the Western paradigm of individualism and the Eastern paradigm of collectivism through a comparative analysis of Jay Asher’s novel 13 Reasons Why and Naoko Yamada’s animated movie A Silent Voice. The adolescents depicted in 13 Reasons Why and A Silent Voice come from a culturally distinct backgrounds, one rooted in individualism and the other in collectivism. However, their voices are similarly silenced by social structures, cultural expectations, and institutional failures, raising critical questions about how adolescent trauma is shaped and suppressed across different cultural contexts. Centering on Cathy Caruth’s trauma theory, particularly focusing her emphasis on belatedness and the necessity of acknowledgement, the study interrogates how trauma is voiced and silenced in narratives about adolescents. The research further draws on the theories of Jeffrey C. Alexander and Ron Eyerman to contextualize adolescent psychological responses and social roles within their respective cultural frameworks. The study reveals how the Western narrative privileges self-expression and vocal autonomy, as seen through Hannah Baker’s posthumous tapes, whereas the Eastern narrative prioritizes group harmony and silent endurance as illustrated by Shoya and Shoko’s reticence. By analyzing the motif of silence versus voice, the research highlights how cultural norms either inhibit or enable trauma expression and recovery. This qualitative study incorporates close analysis, with attention to guilt, shame, institutional complicity, and the redemptive potential of listening and acknowledgement. This research contributes to trauma studies by foregrounding adolescence as a culturally sensitive and under-theorized site of trauma articulation. Keywords: Adolescence, trauma, culture, silence, voice, individualism, collectivism