Beartown: Chapter 35 Summary & Analysis

Hate is a simple and satisfying emotion that neatly divides the world into friends and enemies. It’s easier to choose a side than to accept that a situation is complex. Once you choose a side, you seek out facts that confirm what you want to believe. And then you dehumanize the enemy.

The easiest way to dehumanize is to take someone’s name away from them. People do that by refusing to call her “Maya,” instead calling her “the young woman” or even “the slut.” Nobody uses the word “rape”; they talk about “the allegation.” Discussion starts with the claim that “she started it,” and progresses, before long, to “she deserved it.”

Benji goes to Hed to see the bass player. After they’ve drunk beer together for a while, Benji tells the bass player he wants to go somewhere. The bass player goes off into the woods, and Benji follows 10 minutes later. They smoke together for a while, but Benji’s impulse control is too strong, and he ends up telling the bass player he’s made a mistake. The bass player calls after him that “big secrets turn us into small men.”

Kira tries to talk Maya out of going to school on Monday morning. Maya explains that if she hadn’t been ready for what people would say, she wouldn’t have reported Kevin. After all, this is only going to get worse before it gets better. After Kira relents and drives off into the forest, she screams until her voice gives out.