Dear Evan Hansen

Chapters 1-6

Reading Check

1. 12th (Chapter 1)

2. Zoe (Chapter 3)

3. Connor (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. Evan’s therapist asked him to write the letters to help Evan process his thoughts and feelings. Evan faces them somewhat reluctantly, not sure of their benefit. (Chapter 1)

2. Evan’s mom is hardly around because she is working a lot. She cares about him, as is evident in her researching his college options and setting up a therapy appointment to help with the first day of school. Evan does not always recognize her actions as caring. (Chapters 1-5)

3. When Jared makes fun of Connor, Evan laughs out of nervousness, and Connor shoves Evan. (Chapter 3)

4. The Murphys find the note Connor took from Evan. Because it starts “Dear Evan Hansen,” they think Connor wrote it for Evan and that they were friends. (Chapter 5)

5. Mrs. G saw Connor needed to express his feelings. She gave him a notebook to write in and promised she would read it, even if she could not at that moment. It was important to Connor that someone listen to him. (Chapter 6)

Chapters 7-12

Reading Check

1. Going to Bell House for breakfast (Chapter 7)

2. The apple orchard (Chapter 8)

3. Jared (Chapter 9)

4. He fell out of a tree at work. (Chapter 11)

5. Zoe (Chapter 12)

Short Answer

1. Connor remembers his family acting like a regular family, keying into the time they were spending together. It is a memory that is neither unhappy nor full of joy—one that prompts him to wonder why they could not have more times like that one. (Chapter 10)

2. People think Evan and Connor were friends, so he gains more attention at school. People talk with him who did not before, drawn to him because of his connection to tragedy. (Chapter 11)

Chapters 13-16

Reading Check

1. Alana (Chapter 13)

2. His tie (Chapter 14)

3. 4,000 (Chapter 16)

4. Zoe (Chapter 16)

Short Answer

1. The Connor Project focuses on helping others. It is “a student group dedicated to keeping Connor’s memory alive and showing that he…mattered. That everyone matters.” (Chapter 14)

2. Connor views the speech with confusion since it is so different from the truth: he and Evan barely knew each other. Connor also reflects that if his true friend had said those words, it would be really meaningful. (Chapters 14-15)

Chapters 17-23

Reading Check

1. To revitalize the apple orchard (Chapter 17)

2. Miguel (Chapter 18)

3. Evan (Chapter 21)

4. Money they hd saved for Connor (Chapter 23)

Short Answer

1. He gets a lot of likes quickly, showing his newfound attention. Just posting the selfie is something he would not have relished in a short time earlier, which reveals how the attention is changing him. (Chapter 19)

2. Alana wants to post the emails and feels it is the right of the community to read them. Evan feels they are private. (Chapter 22)

Chapters 24-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. A thumbs-up emoji, then nothing else (Chapter 26)

2. Connor Murphy Memorial Orchard (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. People turn against the Murphys, posting hurtful things. The stress causes the Murphys to fight and blame each other for Connor’s death. (Chapter 25)

2. After the letter Evan wrote (but that the Murphys believe Connor wrote) is posted, Evan sees the Murphys fighting and blaming each other, which prompts him to tell them the truth. He feels his lies brought them to this point. (Chapter 25)

3. He jumped out of the tree, struggling with feelings of isolation. (Chapter 26)

4. They are upset and surprised. Mr. Murphy asks him to leave. They do not tell others, though, which protects Evan from the fallout. Zoe also makes sure he sees the hope in the orchard. (Chapter 26-Epilogue)

5. Evan hopes the orchard will bring peace to people. He reflects on how much he and Connor needed that comfort. (Epilogue)