Summary

Cassette ten is made for three people, two of them whom already had previous tapes made about them. This cassette describes a story that involves Hannah Justin Foley, Jessica Davis, and Bryce Walker. Hannah continues describing the night of the party. Hannah requests Clay to leave her alone in the bedroom to gather her thoughts. Hannah notices two people walk into the room; her old boyfriend Justin Foley, and her ex-friend Jessica Davis. Jessica is completely wasted, and does not feel well. Justin lays Jessica on the bed to rest. He tucks her in, and leaves the room.

Hannah overhears Justin talking with his friend Bryce Walker outside the room. Bryce has a reputation of harassing and pressuring girls. Just as Hannah is about to leave, Bryce enters the bedroom. Hannah does not want to be seen, so she scurries to the other side of the room, and hides in the closet. Hannah knows what Bryce’s intentions are with Jessica, and she debates whether she should stop him. She struggles with the idea of helping Jessica, although Jessica betrayed her when they were friends.

Hannah wants to stop Bryce, but her body feels too weak to move. Hannah tries to block out the sounds coming from the bed, and she stays in the closet silently crying, while Jessica is raped.

            When Hannah was sure Bryce left, she left the bedroom, ready to leave the party. On her way out Hannah spots Justin Foley in the hallway. They look at each other knowing that both of them are too blame for what happened in the bedroom. They both had a chance to stop Jessica from being raped.

Analysis

This chapter focuses on the concept of being a good friend. The characters struggle with problems that deal with friendship, past experiences, as well as hiding from their problems. Just as discussed in the previous Cassettes, Hannah reflects on her experiences. Jessica and Justin are symbolic to Hannah’s past. Her histories with these people remind her that she can never runaway from her past.

The closet also represents the concept of being unable to runaway from your problems. The closet is a symbol of Hannah trying to hide from herself. She wants to hide from the outside world, so she won’t have to face the problems that are in front of her.

Taking responsibility for your actions is also strongly emphasized in this chapter. Hannah and Justin are responsible for ruining Jessica’s life. She had two chances to be saved, but Justin and Hannah let her down both times. Hannah and Justin were not the ones that physically raped Jessica, but they are just as at fault.