Beartown

Content Warning: This section of the guide contains descriptions of suicidal ideation, bullying, and physical abuse, along with references to sexual violence.

Peter asks if Kira thinks he is less of a man because he can’t fight. She asks if she is less of a woman because she can, and they laugh, “because they can, and because they must. They still possess that blessing” (324).

Sune goes to the Bearskin and tells Ramona that he is worried that what Kevin did will be blamed on hockey. She slaps him and yells, “Fucking men! YOU’RE the problem! Religion doesn’t fight, guns don’t kill, and you need to be very fucking clear that hockey never raped anyone!” (326).

Jeanette gets a call that the alarm has gone off again. When she goes to the school, there is water near the floor by Maya’s locker. In class the next morning, she notices that Zacharias’s hands are covered in ink and he smells like solvent. He had broken in to wash Maya’s locker because “[h]e knows what it’s like to be one of the people hurt, just because they can” (330).