Summary
After Chapter 9, Jus writes his fifth letter to Martin. In this letter, he expresses confusion about his relationship with SJ. He describes the moments after he and SJ won their division of the state debate tournament. Jus is overwhelmed with his win and feels as if everything has changed. He and SJ share a moment backstage, and he decides to lean in to kiss her. However, before they kiss, SJ turns away from him. Afterward, SJ avoids him for the rest of the night. Jus is confused and upset about this new turn of events and he can't seem to escape reminders of SJ: "It makes me feel whack as hell, but in my mind I keep seeing the shrinking taillights of her car as she drove away" (84).
In Chapter 10, Jus reveals that he hasn't been able to sleep: not only is he racking his brain with anxiety over his mishap with SJ, but "he and the rest of the nation learn that Tavarrius Jenkins, a sixteen-year-old black kid shot by the police while trying to help an older white woman in a Lexus, has died from his injuries" (85). Jus goes to his Societal Evolution classroom on Friday after school to talk about it with Doc, but instead he finds SJ there, "crying her eyes out" (85). SJ and Jus stare at each other for a moment in silence, but then SJ wipes her tears and wordlessly leaves Doc's classroom. Doc asks Jus what that was all about, but Jus responds that he has no idea what is happening, either. Jus goes back to his dorm room without talking to Doc about Tavarrius Jenkins, and he's about to doze off into a nap when a sweaty post-basketball-practice Manny arrives. Manny convinces Jus to go to Blake's birthday party with him, though Jus doesn't really want to go. They go to Manny's basement to prepare for the party. Jus does not get into the party mood and instead is plagued with thoughts of SJ. Manny asks Jus what is wrong, but Jus shakes off his friend's concerns and says that he is fine. Manny reveals to Jus that he heard about what happened with SJ through the rumor mill, and wonders aloud that Jus must have been in love with her. Their conversation switches to Tavarrius Jenkins. Jus tells Manny that what happened to Tavarrius Jenkins could have easily happened to him that night when he was trying to help Mel. He takes several swigs of alcohol in his distress. Manny changes the subject and they leave for the party.
At Blake's birthday party, things quickly take a turn for the worse. Jus has gotten drunk, and he has a hard time controlling his emotional response to Blake's family's racist home decorations. As soon as they arrive at the party, Jus sees that their garden gnomes are painted to look like racist caricatures of Black people. Second, he sees that the wall behind the bar in Blake's basement is filled with pictures from minstrel shows, featuring white actors in blackface. By the time that Blake comes up to Manny and Jus, Jus is ready to explode. Blake, to make matters worse, asks Manny and Jus to talk him up to a Black girl who is at the party and uses the n-word. Manny can see that Jus is getting agitated and tells him to chill. Jus calls out Blake's racist decorations and the fact that he wants Manny and Jus to help him get with the Black girl: "'You coming over here asking us to help you use a black girl IS a big deal, Blake. That's not to mention you tossin' the n-word around like you own it'" (91). Blake tells Jus that "nobody owns words" and tells Jus that Black people always want to play the race card (91). Jared and Tyler walk up. They continue to provoke Jus, until Jus blacks out. When he comes to, he, Manny, Jared, and Blake are all bleeding. Manny tries to reproach Jus, but Jus tells him that he is just as bad as his white friends. He then leaves the party. Manny drives after him and tries to drive him home, but Jus refuses, and walks home alone.
After Chapter 10, Jus writes his sixth letter to Martin. After Blake's birthday party, he is feeling fed-up and frustrated. Watching the news, he keeps getting reminded that he is seen as lesser because of his race: "Every time I turn on the news and see another black person gunned down, I'm reminded that people look at me and see a threat instead of a human being" (95). He wonders what he should do; how he should respond to the threats that seem to be coming from every side. He admits to Martin that he knows what he did was wrong, but he doesn't care about being "agreeable" since Manny's white friends don't seem to care about being offensive. He reveals that he heard a white girl ask "'Why are black people so angry all the time?'" while he was leaving Blake's party, and he wonders how he is supposed to feel (96). He signs off his letter and goes to bed.
In Chapter 11, Jus wakes up hungover in his dorm room after someone knocks on his door. It turns out that the person knocking is Doc, and Jus lets him into his room. Jus realizes that he has fallen asleep beneath his desk with his pants around his shins. He scrambles to get up, and Doc tells him to take a seat and hands him a bottle of Gatorade. Jus suddenly needs to throw up, and he runs to the bathroom. Doc is still in his room when he returns. He tells Jus to take a seat and tells Jus to talk to him. Doc reveals that he got a call from Manny a couple of hours ago, who was worried about Jus. Jus snorts and says that Manny doesn't know him. He then tells Doc what happened at Blake's party. He reveals that ever since his encounter with Officer Castillo, he's "been on high-alert" and noticing "stuff [he] would have glossed over or tried to ignore before" (100). He also tells Doc about his "Be Like Martin" project and reveals a bit of his family history: his father, who passed away when Jus was eleven, had PTSD from the military and was a violent alcoholic. Jus reveals that he's worried something like that happened the night before when he blacked out. He then expresses his frustration at Manny, who seems to always go along with the racist things that his friends say and do. Doc asks Jus if he can "play the Devil's advocate" for a second and then reveals to Jus that his upbringing was very similar to Manny's. He tells Jus that growing up, he was the only person of color at his school. When he transferred to a magnet school in high school, he discovered that all the Black and white kids expected him to "act black" (103). He then tells Jus that the most important thing is for him to accept himself first—the things that kids like Jared say to him have no real bearing on how far he gets in life. Jus tells Doc that he tries to do that, but he gets so frustrated. Doc tells Jus another story: when he was in grad school, his PhD advisor was racist towards him and told Doc to his face that he would never succeed. Doc tells Jus, "'If I'd listened to him, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you'" (104). He then leaves Jus's room so Jus can get some rest.
In the next chapter, Chapter 12, Jus notices that Jared and Manny are both missing from school. He passes Tyler, Kyle, and Blake at lunch, and they all scowl at Jus and huddle closer together. Jus notices that everyone at school seems to be talking about something, but he never finds out what it is—they go quiet whenever he gets too close. Later, he sees the "crew" huddled around Jared's car and sees that Jared is covered in bruises. He wonders if he caused all that damage to Jared's face the night of Blake's party. He goes back to his room and calls Manny, but there's no answer. A few moments later, however, Manny enters his room, with bruises of his own. Jus and Manny reconcile. Manny tells Jus what happened with Jared. The Saturday after Blake's party, they went to a festival, where Manny had to grit his teeth after four separate offensive comments made by Jared. That Sunday, he went home and seethed, thinking about how bad a friend he had been to Jus. On Monday, he went to school and quit the basketball team, telling Jus that he actually hates playing basketball but had assumed that it was what was expected of him. While Manny was quitting, Jared was in Coach's office and he said a racist comment to Manny: "'When I said I was quitting, he made a 'joke' about how I couldn't until Massah set me free'" (109). Manny and Jared ended up physically fighting, and Coach tried to keep it a secret so that Jared can play in the upcoming game. After relating the story, Manny then thanks Jus for helping him open his eyes.
Following Manny and Jus's reconciliation in Chapter 12, Jus writes his seventh letter to Martin. In the letter, he tells Martin that he has "a lot on [his] mind" after spending the afternoon at Manny's house (111). He recounts to Martin what happened. Manny's father, Mr. Julian, comes down to Manny's basement to talk to the two boys. He tells them that earlier that day he overheard one of his white employees refer to him using a racial slur. He tells the boys that he wonders if he did not prepare Manny enough for the harsh realities of this world. He wonders what would have happened if Manny was in Jus's situation in Chapter 1 and worries that he did not prepare his son enough to handle that kind of run-in with the police. He reveals that it took him a long time—much longer than it took his white colleagues—to attain the level of success that he has today. Even now, a good number of his subordinates are upset about "having to answer to a black man" (113). Manny assumes that his father fired the guy who said the racial slur, but Mr. Julian says that he let him keep his job: "'The young man knows I heard what he said. I have no doubt he'll be on his best behavior going forward. People often learn more from getting an undeserved pass than they would from being punished'" (113). He tells Jus and Manny that the world is full of racists and it is up to them to push ahead, to not let that behavior keep them down. After their conversation, Jus can't help but feel discouraged. It is incredible to him that a man like Mr. Julian works as hard as he does and still is not fully respected. He wonders why he has working so hard in his own life, and who he is doing it for. He also notes in the postscript to the letter that SJ is still ignoring him.
In Chapter 13, Manny picks Jus up to go hiking. However, as soon as he enters Manny's car, he can tell that something is wrong. Manny is not wearing his hiking gear and is instead still in his pajamas. He asks Jus if they could just drive for a while and Jus agrees. He tells Jus that his parents were just notified this morning that Jared's dad is pressing charges against Manny for their physical fight earlier that week. Manny is extremely blindsided and upset: "'All those years that man has looked me in my face and called me his 'other son,' and this is what happens'" (116). They decide to just drive around for a bit so that Manny can cool off. They are listening to music—a new Deuce Diggs song—and turn it up so loud the entire car is vibrating with the bass. When they stop at a red light, Jus looks over and sees a white man driving a Chevy Suburban giving them a dirty look. Jus turns down the music. He is uncomfortable—the look on the man's face reminds him a little too much of his encounter with Officer Castillo in Chapter 1. When the light turns green, Manny turns the music back up, and they drive alongside the Suburban until the next red light. At the next light, the guy yells at them to turn the music down. Manny teases the man, saying that he can't hear him over the music. Jus suggests that they turn the music down, but Manny says that he won't do what a white person tells him to do in his own car. The white man gets extremely angry and starts yelling slurs at them. Manny leans out Jus's window to insult the man back and then yells "Oh SHIT" (119).
Chapter 14 is just three words that take up the entire page: "BANG. BANG. BANG" (120).
Analysis
In these chapters, the tension in the novel rises until it reaches its climax at the end of Chapter 14. We see anger bubble to the breaking point in several characters over these pages, including the dispute over loud music between Manny, Jus, and the white man driving the Suburban in Chapter 13. This tension culminates in an act of violence (indicated by the sound of gunshots) that stands alone in Chapter 14: "BANG. BANG. BANG" (120).
Jus is overwhelmed by the injustice that surrounds him. Over the course of these chapters, he sees another unarmed Black teenager, Tavarrius Jenkins, get shot by the police on the news. Tavarrius Jenkins was trying to help a stranded woman when the police killed him: "he and the rest of the nation learn that Tavarrius Jenkins, a sixteen-year-old black kid shot by police while trying to help an older white woman in a Lexus, has died from his injuries" (85). Jus is upset about Travarrius Jenkins's death, which occurred just a few months after Shemar Carson was murdered. Jus wonders how close he got to facing a similar fate in his encounter with Officer Castillo. Castillo's unfair arrest of Jus causes him to rethink everything about the world he lives in. He tells Doc Chapter 11, "'ever since my run-in with that cop, I've been on high alert. Noticing stuff I would've glossed over or tried to ignore before'" (100).
Police brutality weighs heavily on Jus's mind; he is angry and depressed about the state of things. This anger extends to his relationships. In Chapter 10, he tells Manny, "'I keep thinkin' that coulda been me. What if that cop thought I had a gun?'" (89). Jus is drinking as he talks about his worries with Manny, and his feelings escalate: "Jus grabs the flask and takes a swig. 'Niggas gettin' shot for carrying candy and cell phones and shit. Can you imagine what woulda happened to me if I'd had my cell phone out that night? I could be dead, dawg. And for what?' He swigs again just to feel the burn" (89). In this scene, however, Manny is less interested in talking about Tavarrius Jenkins and more interested in attending Blake's birthday party that evening. This also causes Jus to feel frustrated: "Part of Justyce wants to shake Manny. Ask why he cares more about some stupid white-boy party than he does about the unjust death of a guy who looks like him" (89). Justyce goes to Blake's birthday party with a slew of complicated emotions swirling within him, where things quickly get out of hand.
At Blake's birthday party, tensions rise—both within that scene and within the novel as a whole. As soon as they arrive at Blake's house, Jus gets progressively more upset about Blake's family's racist home decorations. He is already drunk, and having a hard time controlling his emotions: "Perhaps if Justyce hadn't downed half the liquid in Manny's refilled flask on the way to Blake's house, the wooden lawn jockeys with black skin and big red lips standing guard at the bottom of Blake's porch steps wouldn't bother him so much. There's a good chance that if he'd 'slowed down' when Manny told him to, he wouldn't feel fury when he sees the wall behind the bar in Blake's basement is lined with posters from 'William H. West's Big Minstrel Jubilee'" (89-90). Nevertheless, Jus does feel fury at these decorations, and he, Blake, and Jared get into a physical fight after Blake tries to get Manny and Jus to help him hit on a Black girl. Jus storms out of the party. Manny follows him in his car, but Jus is mad at Manny as well. He accuses Manny of supporting his racist friends. Jus tells Manny, "You're just as bad as they are." Manny responds, "What are you talking about? I don't know where all this me against the world shit is comin' from but you really need to check yourself" (93). Manny ends up offering Jus a ride home and says that their friendship is in trouble if Jus does not get in Manny's car. Jus turns away from Manny and walks home alone.
The fight between Manny and Jus causes Jus even more emotional turmoil. He feels frustrated that Manny took his white friends' side and expected Jus to act "respectable" during the party. He wonders why he's supposed to be nice and appeasing when the people around him don't care about not being racist: "Those assholes can't seem to care about being offensive, so why should I give a damn about being agreeable?" (96). He wonders in a letter to Martin how he is supposed to respond to the racism that surrounds him with anything other than anger: "I swear I heard some girl ask 'Why are black people so angry all the time?' as I left Blake's house, but how else am I supposed to feel?" (96). In his letter to Martin, Jus wonders how Dr. King survived the political turmoil that surrounded him at all times: "You know, I don't get how you did it. Just being straight up. Every day I walk through the halls of that elitist-ass school, I feel like I don't belong there, and every time Jared or one of them opens their damn mouth, I'm reminded they agree. Every time I turn on the news and see another black person gunned down, I'm reminded that people look at me and see a threat instead of a human being" (95). His frustration leads to a series of questions, which he cannot find an answer to: "What the hell are we supposed to do, Martin? What am I supposed to do? Be like Manny and act like there's nothing wrong with a white dude asking his 'niggas' to help him exploit a black girl? Do I just take what they dish out, try to stop being 'so sensitive'? What do I do when my very identity is being mocked by people who refuse to admit there's a problem?" (95). The form of the text—a list of questions of various lengths—demonstrate Jus's growing frustration at this moment. The tension builds with the questions, until it seems like there's no end to these feelings in sight for Jus.
As Jus writes his letter to Martin, he doesn't know that tensions are rising within his best friend, as well. The Monday after Blake's party, Manny's not at school, but the rest of the school is seemingly gossiping about Jus: "Justyce sees Tyler, Kyle, and Blake—who scowls at Jus but keeps his distance—huddled around a table in the senior lounge, whispering. As the day goes on, there's an ever-increasing buzz, though Justyce never catches what people are murmuring because they go quiet whenever he gets too close" (106). This description sets a background of suspicion that would raise anyone's hair. Jus is in a hostile environment where he is being treated as an oddity to be gossiped over rather than a human being. When he gets back to his dorm, however, he discovers the reason behind all the whispers: Manny has beat up Jared. Apparently, while the tense feelings were rising in Jus, they were rising in Manny as well. According to Manny, after Blake's birthday party, he experienced a political awakening. He tells Jus, "'I woke up'" (108). He then goes on to describe the events that brought him to this moment of political consciousness: Jared made a racist comment at a music festival, Manny realized that he is not truly seen as equal by his friends, he decided to quit the basketball team, and then while Manny was quitting, Jared made an extremely racist comment, and Manny beat Jared up in response. He tells Jus that it is thanks to their fight that he finally came to his senses: "'You know why I couldn't really get mad about what you said? You were right. I knew you were right the moment the words came outta your mouth" (108). Manny begins to come to terms with his identity as a Black person, which comes into direct conflict with the friendships he has with racists. He realizes that Jared and the "crew" care very little about what Jus and Manny have to fight against: "Them fools don't wanna hear when they're being offensive. They couldn't care less what it's like to live in our skin. Those assholes aren't my damn friends'" (209). Ultimately, Manny thanks Jus for "helping [him] get [his] eyes open" to the realities of this world (110). Their friendship is rekindled—but the frustration and anger inside of them continue to rise.
In Chapter 13, we reach the climax of Dear Martin. Manny picks up Jus to go for a drive. He is extremely upset because he has just learned that Jared's dad is pressing charges against Manny for "assaulting" his son. Manny is bubbling with anger, and Jus suggests that they go for a drive to cool off. However, things gets out of control when a man stopped next to them at a red light starts yelling at them about the volume of their music. Jus's instincts are on high alert as soon as he sees the expression on the man's face: "The way the guy's scowling reminds him a little too much of The Incident" (117). This is a moment of foreshadowing—but it is too late. As the narrative builds towards the end of the chapter, the violent insults that the white man hurls at them paired with Jus's internal dialogue build tension within the scene. Jus is left panicking before he is even fully sure of what is going on: "Jus's heart jumps up between his ears. What would Martin do what would Martin do what would Martin—?" (118). The man follows Manny and Jus's car to the next red light and keeps yelling at them. Chapter 13 ends at the pinnacle of the chaos, when Manny's shout is cut off: "'OH SHIT!' Manny shouts—" (119). The em-dash at the conclusion of Chapter 13 shows a break to the tension: we have reached the moment that the narrative was building towards. In Chapter 14, we learn that the man in the Suburban shot Manny and Jus via three words: "BANG. BANG. BANG." (120). In Chapter 14, Stone uses onomatopoeia to bring the gunshots to life. Everything has changed within the world of the novel forever.
