45 pages • 1-hour read
Bully
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Chapters 11-18Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Content Warning: This section of the guide includes discussion of death, bullying, sexual harassment, emotional abuse, child abuse, addiction, substance use, and cursing.
Chapter 11 Summary
K.C. admits that Liam has been cheating on her. She tells Tate that she found out about this when Jared invited her to the Loop one night. She describes arriving just in time to see Liam kissing another girl. The incident strikes Tate as odd. She wonders why Jared would have bothered to expose Liam’s cheating; she knows that Jared and Liam are close and that boys don’t usually reveal one another’s secrets.
Later, Tate goes out into the backyard and sees Jared’s dog, Madman. The dog knows Tate well because she and Jared once rescued him together. Now, he bounds through the hedges toward her. Jared watches the reunion quietly, and Tate can’t help but wonder why Jared is being so polite. Moments later, Jared calls his dog back. Jared’s mother then appears; she is happy to see Tate and invites her over.
Chapter 12 Summary
Tate visits with Jared’s mother, whom she knows to have an alcohol addiction. Jared’s mother has improved, but she and Jared’s father have always been fairly absent from Jared’s life.
Tate’s narrative reveals that one summer, Jared went to visit his father; when he came back from the trip, he had suddenly turned “cold and cruel” (84). As a result of this inexplicable shift, Tate has always harbored ill feelings toward Jared’s parents.
On the following day, K.C. reveals that Jared was texting her to check on her after her breakup with Liam. Tate is immediately suspicious, and K.C. tries to convince Tate that Jared is a decent person. Later, when Ben asks Tate out on a date, she accepts, but she has a feeling that they have little in common. The date goes well, but Tate doesn’t feel any chemistry and sees Ben as nothing more than a friend.
That night, Tate sees Jared picking up K.C. on his motorcycle. She appears to be flirting with him.
Chapter 13 Summary
Tate realizes that Jared must be using her friend to make her angry. She also notices that Jared doesn’t come home until three hours after meeting K.C. When he returns, some older boys pull up and start a fight with Jared. Madoc pulls up moments later, and soon everyone is engaged in a brawl. Jared’s arm is cut, but he manages to win the fight. Intending to help, Tate runs outside with her father’s gun, but by the time she gets there, there is no need for her help. Madoc notices her right away, and Jared just stares at her. Tate goes back to her house and tries to keep thoughts of Jared out of her mind.
Chapter 14 Summary
Tate’s father tells her that her grandmother will be coming to visit for a week. Tate insists that she can take care of herself, but her grandmother is worried about her and insists on coming.
At school, Tate sees Jared and K.C. kissing in the hallways and wonders why she feels more jealous of K.C. than of Jared. Before going to class, Tate overhears Jared telling Madoc that he is only dating K.C. to bother Tate. Madoc tries to convince Jared that Tate isn’t so bad. The conversation also confirms Tate’s suspicion that Jared spent the majority of high school ensuring that nobody ever wanted to date her. Tate cries to herself, frustrated that Jared has succeeded in upsetting her.
Later, Tate confronts K.C. about dating Jared and tries to warn her that she is being used, but K.C. won’t listen. Tate is glad that K.C. is being honest with her now, but she still feels angry and isn’t quite ready for their friendship to go back to normal.
Chapter 15 Summary
A boy named Nate approaches Tate in class and tries to convince her to go out with him. When she declines, he comes closer and starts touching her. Suddenly, Jared orders him to stop. Tate hates the fact that Jared is defending her because his intervention feels like manipulation. She looks at Jared and tells him that his parents are neglectful, implying that they don’t love him.
When Tate is paired up with her discussion partner, Ben, she reveals a precious memory of a day that she shared with Jared. After Tate’s mother died, he took her for a picnic at the cemetery where her mother was buried in order to help Tate feel more comfortable being there. Now, Jared is more like a stranger to her.
Chapter 16 Summary
Tate goes home to find her grandmother already cooking a delicious meal. She is relieved to have some company and loves her grandmother dearly, finding her presence comforting. Tate’s grandmother mentions how close Tate and Jared used to be, but she also realizes that Jared has been bullying Tate in recent years. She tries to advise Tate to talk to Jared, but Tate only gets frustrated and tries to claim that she doesn’t care about Jared at all. Tate’s grandmother believes that if Tate allows herself to be vulnerable with Jared, she might see a different side of him, but Tate doesn’t want to take that risk.
Later that night, a storm sets in, and Tate sits in the tree between her house and Jared’s. When Jared opens his window and stares at Tate, she hopes that they can finally connect. Instead, Jared tells Tate that he doesn’t care if she lives or dies. Tate tries to apologize for her comments about Jared’s parents, but he is already gone.
Chapter 17 Summary
Ben invites Tate to the racetrack and bonfire party, but Tate says that she needs time to think about it. She wishes that she could feel some sort of attraction to Ben, but she doesn’t. When Tate talks to K.C. about it, they get into an argument, and Tate implies that K.C. only dates boys who use her.
In class, Tate reflects that everyone has been telling her to let go of the past. She volunteers to read her monologue assignment early, and the teacher agrees. Tate’s monologue describes her friendship with Jared and how much it meant to her. She calls him her “thundercloud” and reveals that his company helped ease the pain of her mother’s death. She looks at Jared, who is suppressing strong emotions. When she finishes, Tate feels relieved and free, and she agrees to go on the date with Ben. Despite this development, she still cannot help but wonder what Jared thought of her monologue.
Chapter 18 Summary
Tate calls K.C., and they manage to mend their friendship. Tate admits that it is none of her business whom K.C. decides to date. She resolves not to be upset about these things so that she can salvage their friendship. K.C. agrees, and Tate heads to supper with her grandmother. After a relaxing evening out, Tate comes home to find that it is raining again. She sees Madman trapped outside of Jared’s front door, and when she goes to help him, she finds the front door open. Tate goes inside Jared’s house with the dog, who leads her to the back door. She sees Jared outside, sitting in the rain with a bottle of whiskey. Tate cautiously approaches. Jared is numb and upset, but he willingly follows Tate into the house, and she intuits that he is still upset by her monologue and by what she said about his parents.
Inside, Jared approaches Tate and holds her against the sink. He starts kissing her, and Tate falls into the embrace for a moment before realizing that she is kissing someone who has deeply hurt her. She tells Jared to stop and then runs home, confused about her own actions and vowing never to kiss Jared again.
Chapters 11-18 Analysis
Although these chapters provide the first few cryptic hints that Jared’s cruel behavior has its origins in abuse that he has endured from his father, the author does not offer these details as an excuse for his actions. Instead, the narrative’s implicit sympathy lies primarily with Tate, whose taut interactions with Jared and anguished second-guessing of her own motivations reflect The Harsh Lessons of Adolescence. Tate’s resilience is a central aspect of her character, and as she faces various challenges such as bullying, complicated friendships, and the aftermath of family tragedy, she consistently demonstrates her strength and perseverance. Her willingness to tackle her senior year without the oversight of her father speaks to her independence and mental fortitude, and her ability to confront the various social and emotional obstacles in her life suggests that she is well equipped to overcome adversity.
The Cyclical Nature of Abuse rises to prominence in this section as both Tate and Jared find themselves caught up in harmful dynamics. For example, Jared’s current outlook on life is hinted to have been shaped by the as-yet-undisclosed events of his visit to his father years ago. Likewise, Tate’s own approach to her current troubles with Jared are steeped in long-simmering anger over the past injustices that she has endured at Jared’s hands. Thus, it is clear that abusive behavior has spawned more of the same, as those who have experienced abuse sometimes feel the need to regain some semblance of agency by lashing out. In this way, Tate and Jared’s fraught interactions are marked by intense feelings of hurt and betrayal, and they both perpetuate a cycle of bullying. Tate also expresses this dynamic when she finds herself furious at the realization that K.C. has been dating Jared. She says to herself, “I was fucking mad, and I wanted [K.C.] to feel as bad as me. This is how bullies are made, I thought, but it still felt good to lash out, and I didn’t want to stop” (106). Her frank admission highlights the impact of negative experiences on behavior, reinforcing the novel’s implicit message that injustice begets injustice and that it is vital to address underlying issues in order to break the cycle of abuse.
However, upon attempting to sort through the tangled emotions that have led her and Jared to this point, Tate soon gains a deeper understanding of The Challenge of Repairing Relationships. Although Tate and Jared used to be best friends, their relationship has been trampled by years of anger and aggression, and these chapters indicate that Jared is not yet ready to correct his behavior. Thus, the two protagonists continue to grapple with feelings of hurt and betrayal even as they begin to discern their underlying desire to reconnect. This pattern emerges in both Tate’s inner thoughts and Jared’s insistence on always finding excuses—however cruel they might be—to be near her. Tate’s longing to reclaim the closeness she once shared with Jared stands as a constant thread throughout the novel. She desperately wants him to see her a friend and confidant, and she wishes that he would stop regarding her as his enemy.
Within this context, Jared’s dog stands as a motif of the pair’s shared childhood memories and former bond. The author invokes the dog’s presence in key moments in order to show that Jared and Tate’s bond, while deeply damaged, has not yet been entirely severed. The dog also represents Jared’s more vulnerable, human side, which is often hidden beneath his tough exterior. To further illustrate the depth of the pair’s neglected connection, the narrative relates one of Tate’s most cherished memories: when Jared helped her cope with her mother’s death by making her feel safe at the cemetery. As Tate reflects, “Nothing hurt if I knew I had [Jared]” (132). This emotional connection is mirrored in Tate’s monologue, in which she boldly steps into a public arena to articulate her deep affection for Jared and the pain of their lost friendship.
By structuring the narrative around Tate and Jared’s radically shifting emotions, Douglas makes it clear that both characters are too deeply focused on their own skewed perceptions to understand the full truth of their situation clearly. Thus, not all of Tate’s descriptions are objective or accurate, and the subtle flaws and hesitations in her thoughts reveal much about her deeply conflicted views of her former friend. For example, when Tate favorably notes Jared’s breathing or the scent of his skin, these observations contrast sharply with the reality of Jared’s abusive behavior, adding complexity to the characters’ interactions. As the tattered remains of their bond reveal the roiling tension and longing beneath their every action, Tate draws ever closer to a moment of reckoning that will force her to reconcile her unresolved feelings of affection for Jared with the undeniable pain that he has caused her.
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