Dear Evan Hansen

Evan arrives at school and finds himself struggling to engage. One of Evan’s classmates, Alana Beck, approaches him and asks how his summer was. Alana is an overachiever, but despite their differences, Evan notes that he and Alana actually have a lot in common: “Even with her class participation and her giant backpack always slamming into people, she goes around this school the same way I do: unnoticed” (18). Evan asks Alana to sign his cast, but she disappears when he turns around to grab a pen.

Evan then runs into another classmate, Jared Kleinmann, who teases Evan about his broken arm. Evan explains that he and Jared only know one another because Jared’s mom is the real estate agent who helped Mrs. Hansen and Evan find a new place to live after Evan’s dad left. Evan asks Jared to sign his cast, and Jared scoffs at him: “Why are you asking me...we’re family friends...that’s a whole different thing and you know it” (21). Evan reflects that despite being a jerk sometimes, Jared isn’t so bad and that his behavior is just an act. After he and Jared part ways, Evan makes it to his first class just before the bell rings and feels proud of having already talked to two people.

Despite the day’s good start, Evan’s confidence shatters during lunch. He joins Jared in the lunch line and asks to sit with him. Before Jared can answer, their classmate, Connor Murphy, an outcast notorious for wearing all black and causing trouble in class, passes between them and interrupts their conversation. Jared mocks Connor, who then confronts Jared, causing Evan to laugh nervously. Jared runs away, and Connor shoves Evan to the ground for laughing at him.

Evan tries to pull himself together and stand up while his classmates step around him. He notices that Zoe Murphy, Connor’s sister whom Evan has a crush on, is approaching. She apologizes for Connor’s actions, and Evan awkwardly responds.

Later, Evan is in the computer lab trying to finish his letter to give to Dr. Sherman. He struggles to write an honest letter because he fears his true feelings are too dark to show to his mom and Dr. Sherman. He prints the letter anyway but runs into Connor before he can retrieve it. Connor asks Evan about his broken arm then signs his cast, stating, “Now we can both pretend we have friends” (35). Connor holds up Evan’s letter, which mentions Zoe, and accuses Evan of printing the letter so that Connor would find it. Connor leaves the computer lab, taking the letter with him.

After school Evan goes to therapy but doesn’t find any relief in talking to Dr. Sherman, although he isn’t able to talk about what is truly bothering him. He imagines what would happen if the letter was passed around to his classmates. Citing an infamous incident between two classmates that his peers still talk about, Evan claims: “It’ll never die if it gets out. It will follow me wherever I go” (40).

At school the next day there are no signs that the letter was spread around. However, at lunch Evan realizes that he hasn’t seen either Connor or Zoe yet. The day progresses without incident, as does the next, but Evan still can’t relax. At home he watches a documentary to distract himself then messages Jared, who teases him about the letter. Before going to bed, he sees a figure outside, staring back at Evan through the window, but it vanishes before Evan can get a closer look.

The letter has still not surfaced, and Connor and Zoe have still not returned to school. At school the next day Evan is called to the principal’s office, and Evan fears it has something to do with the letter. When he walks in, a man and woman are sitting at the desk alone. They introduce themselves as Connor’s parents and hand Evan back his letter. However, because the letter reads “Dear Evan Hansen” at the beginning, they believe that it was written by Connor for Evan. Moreover, they were surprised to find the letter because they had never heard of Evan or thought Connor had any friends at all.

Mr. and Mrs. Murphy explain that Connor took his own life, and they found the letter with him when he died. Evan tries to explain that Connor didn’t write the letter but is unable to get the words out when he sees how much the letter means to the Murphys. Mr. Murphy gives Evan the details for Connor’s wake before he leaves. Before they leave, Mrs. Murphy notices Connor’s signature on Evan’s cast and says: “It’s true. It really is true. His ‘best and most dearest friend’” (62). Evan moves through the rest of the day in a daze. Just before the end of the day, Connor’s death is announced to the rest of the school.

The narrative then shifts to Part I of Connor’s perspective, following his death. Connor states that the day started like another normal day. He struggled to feel understood by his family and at school, stating, “They never knew what to do with me. If you don’t fit into one of their boxes, you get tossed aside” (63).

He was embarrassed that Zoe had to drive him to school, but he didn’t have a car after wrecking the one his parents bought for him. He says he reached out to the only person he knew who could understand him, though he doesn’t mention a name, but that didn’t help him. He realizes he is dead when he sees himself in the hospital bed and finally feels the relief he had sought his whole life.

Connor recognizes one of the nurses as Mrs. Hansen and notices that she spent her lunch researching colleges for Evan. He laments that his mom would never do the same for him; she focused on Connor’s problems rather than trying to learn who he really was.

After school Evan messages Jared about receiving the letter from Connor’s parents. He asks Jared to go to the wake with him, but Jared refuses and tells Evan to stay home as well, saying, “You realize you weren’t actually friends with him, right?” (70). Evan and Connor’s classmates, even those who weren’t friends with Connor, post tributes to Connor online, along with a photo of a smiling Connor.

Evan wonders what pushed Connor to do this and whether he played a part in Connor’s death. He thinks about how his letter could get turned into a lie. He decides to go to the wake. When he arrives, he doesn’t recognize the names in the guestbook and notices that none of his classmates are there, which seems strange considering the messages they posted online. He sees a teacher from their elementary school, Mrs. G, who looks distant. He sees the Murphys at the wake and plans to tell them the truth about the letter, but when he gets a chance to speak to them, he is too nervous to tell the truth, and they invite him to dinner at their house. Before he leaves, he runs into Zoe, who looks like she has been crying.

Part II of Chapter 6 resumes Connor’s narrative. He tells the infamous printer story from second grade that helped form his reputation as an angry outcast. As the story goes, Connor was furious that his teacher, Mrs. G, skipped his turn to be line leader, so Connor threw a printer at her. However, Connor says the story has been exaggerated. Being line leader for the day was a coveted role, but it was particularly important to Connor because it gave him a feeling of control. So when he came to school on the day he was supposed to be line leader, he grew angry and swiped the printer off the desk. However, what Connor’s classmates don’t know is that the next day Mrs. G moved Connor’s desk closer to hers and gave him a notepad to write down his problems when they bubbled up, promising to get to them when she could. As Connor explains: “I had to be patient. If I was, she would listen. She would hear me. I would be heard” (84).