The official publisher's description of Hangsaman says the novel is "loosely based on the real-life disappearance of a Bennington College sophomore in 1946," referencing the case of Paula Jean Welden.

[2] Jackson's text mixes satire with psychological elements as her protagonist spends half her time in an imaginary world.

On the eve of Natalie's departure for college, she is invited to her first adult party, where she witnesses her parents and their drunken colleagues at their most contemptible.

Natalie experiments with different identities among the party-goers and seems to successfully intrigue an older man, only to be led by him into the woods behind the family's home where he sexually assaults her.

Most of her fellow students are too superficial and self-absorbed to even notice Natalie, who finds an uncomfortable place at the fringe of a group of popular girls.

Natalie's reputation suffers due to her strange new behavior, but for the first time in her life, she no longer cares how others perceive her, even as Tony lures her into increasingly dangerous situations.

During Natalie's last conversation with her father, he had stated that a radical shift in perspective, such as having a suicidal frame of mind, was necessary for one to clearly see one's own worth.