Thirteen Reasons Why

by

Jay Asher

The Elderly Man Character Analysis

The elderly man is the driver who hits a high school senior’s car the night of the party thanks to the missing stop sign that Jenny knocked down only minutes earlier. His presence in the novel allows Clay’s compassion for others to shine: when Clay witnesses the crash, he takes it upon himself to run to the man’s house to tell his wife he’s okay. This, in turn, connects Hannah and Clay in an unexpected way: his house is the same house Hannah lived in when her family first moved to town, which makes Clay and Hannah’s connection feel more intense, perhaps even bound by fate, despite the fact that they only had one in-depth conversation.

The Elderly Man Quotes in Thirteen Reasons Why

The Thirteen Reasons Why quotes below are all either spoken by The Elderly Man or refer to The Elderly Man. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Rumors and Reputation Theme Icon
).
Cassette 5: Side A Quotes

Two people—me and him—one house. Yet he drove away with no idea of his link to me, the girl on the sidewalk. And for some reason, at that moment, the air felt heavy. Filled with loneliness. And that loneliness stayed with me through the rest of the night.

Even the best moments of the night were affected by that one incident—by that nonincident—in front of my old house. His lack of interest in me was a reminder. Even though I had a history in that house, it didn’t matter. You can’t go back to how things were.

Related Characters: Hannah Baker (speaker), Clay Jensen, The Elderly Man
Page Number: 206
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Thirteen Reasons Why LitChart as a printable PDF.
Thirteen Reasons Why PDF

The Elderly Man Quotes in Thirteen Reasons Why

The Thirteen Reasons Why quotes below are all either spoken by The Elderly Man or refer to The Elderly Man. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Rumors and Reputation Theme Icon
).
Cassette 5: Side A Quotes

Two people—me and him—one house. Yet he drove away with no idea of his link to me, the girl on the sidewalk. And for some reason, at that moment, the air felt heavy. Filled with loneliness. And that loneliness stayed with me through the rest of the night.

Even the best moments of the night were affected by that one incident—by that nonincident—in front of my old house. His lack of interest in me was a reminder. Even though I had a history in that house, it didn’t matter. You can’t go back to how things were.

Related Characters: Hannah Baker (speaker), Clay Jensen, The Elderly Man
Page Number: 206
Explanation and Analysis: