Who Is John In You Don T Know Me

In the book You Don’t Know Me, John is brutally beaten by his mom’s boyfriend, Stan. Stan does this in secret to John’s mother, but does she actually know that this goes on? While some may believe that John’s mother did know that this goes on, the truth is that she does not know about this at all. Stan was very good at keeping him beating John a secret, whenever Stan beat John, it is never in front or near John’s mother. John’s mother was always away from home and she also had to visit her aunt Rose, allowing Stan to be able to beat John in secret. In addition, John says that Stan hits him in a way that does not leave bruises. “When he hits me he doesn’t curl his finger up into a fist because that would leave a mark”, (Klass 2). John explains the way that Stan hits him. This quote shows why Stan is able to keep beating John a secret.
He always acted happy around the two of them as if he is wearing a mask. The reason John does this is because he does not want to get in trouble with Stan but most importantly he does not want to ruin his mother’s relationship with Stan. John sits in the hospital giving his mother the reason why he did not speak up earlier. “You-would-have-chosen-him”(Klass 331). John says this because his mother and Stan would have married if it were not for John’s mother finding out about the beatings Stan gave John. This is why John kept quiet and why his mother did not know about the beatings Stan gave John in the first