83 pages • 2 hours read
Val EmmichDear Evan Hansen
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2018A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Themes
No One Is Alone
Throughout the novel, all of the characters learn just how little they know about the interior of one another’s lives. For instance, Evan learns that he and Connor share many similarities, from common interests to internal struggles. Similarly, the Murphys don’t know that Connor was not responsible for the drugs that resulted in his expulsion from boarding school, or that he was trying to save a close friend from the same fate. While the novel’s central conflict rests on Evan’s deliberate attempts to hide the truth, underneath it all is the sense that everyone is trying their best to hold it all together, though they are afraid to reveal the truth.
The characters in Dear Evan Hansen inhabit a world teenagers are all too familiar with, in which everything can be shared instantly with the click of a button. Yet it’s never been more difficult to build community. Despite so many opportunities to connect with others, we are further from one another than ever before. It’s no wonder that Evan, and everyone else who resonates with Connor’s story, feels so isolated, or that the Connor Project affects so many people. The project shows people that they aren’t alone, even when it feels like no one is listening. But it’s up to them to take a risk and make much-needed connections with others.
Found Family
Dear Evan Hansen explores the meaning of family, particularly found family, as the teenage characters find new sources of familial support and acceptance. Evan and Connor both feel like their families don’t listen to them. After Evan’s parents’ divorce, his father moves to Colorado to start a new family, and his mom works constantly and never has time for Evan. He longs to connect with his father and even plans a hiking trip on a trail near his father’s new home, though his father never responds to Evan’s idea. Even when his mother is around, Evan is frustrated that all she ever wants to talk about is Evan’s anxiety or his college plans. Evan just wants to be treated like a normal high school student, but his mom can’t stop trying to fix him.
Connor’s struggles mirror Evan’s in many ways. Connor’s father is a lawyer who does not spend enough time with his family. His attempts to connect with Connor are shallow and rooted in his vision of what he wants for his son, without taking into consideration who Connor really is. Connor buries his pain in anger, and Mr. Murphy responds by enforcing harsh rules that make Connor feel further isolated and misunderstood. In contrast, his mother’s approach to treating his behavior is more forgiving and gentle, but she still fails to see Connor as more than a problem to fix.
Because their needs are not met by the families they were born into, Evan and Connor search elsewhere for security and acceptance. Connor finds acceptance through Miguel, his only true friend. Evan finds acceptance with Connor’s family. Moreover, the followers of the Connor Project find community among one another; their shared struggle bonds them in ways they haven’t found with those they see every day. Ultimately, family is anyone who makes you feel seen.
Being Your Authentic Self
Nothing can be taken at face value in Dear Evan Hansen. Evan’s classmates post tributes to Connor and sell merchandise bearing his name, feigning a deeper relationship with Connor than existed in reality. Jared hides behind imagined relationships and carries himself with a bravado that masks his deep insecurity. The letter the Murphys found with Connor after he died was written by Evan, not their son. With so many secrets and misunderstandings, and with so many characters pretending to be someone they are not, how can anyone possibly be their authentic self?
Like many teenagers, Evan struggles with the ever-elusive concept of being his true self. He struggles to even understand the concept, uncertain how he can be that person when he doesn’t know who that person is yet. What’s more, Evan feels his honest feelings are too dark and depressing for his mom to handle, and that she and his therapist only want to see his optimistic side. The one time he does tell the truth, in the letter Connor takes from him, his words are turned around into a big lie. Evan believes he can’t share his true feelings, and so he struggles to make real connections with others.
By the end of the novel, Evan learns that being his true self can mean many things. It’s flexible, not static, and imperfections aren’t a sign of failure but a testament of courage. Evan understands that he is worthy of acceptance just as he is, and he no longer has to hide behind the false concept of his idealized self.
