English 485: Expedition Adolescence

In the novel, The Hate U Give , the protagonist Starr Carter is described to be living between two different worlds, her poor black neighborhood and her white suburban private school. She navigates these two environments using a term called "Code Switching" which means that she changes her personality to assimilate with the community she is amongst at the time. She calls her suburban private school alter ego "Williamson Starr" and pulls out this version every time she is with her white school friends or even with her white boyfriend. She then reverts back to her typical self when she is with her family or her Garden Heights friends. This consistent switching back and forth outwardly weighs on Starr and she begins to find difficulty in this practice, as mentioned at the very beginning of the book. "There are just some places where it's not enough to be me. Either version of me." (Thomas 3) The thing about code-switching that this book is trying to portr...

                Throughout   The Hate U Give  the media plays a critical role in the days and weeks after Khalil’s death, leading up to the day Starr testifies before the Grand Jury, and in their coverage of the protests that follow their verdict. The role of the media in Thomas’ books is, sadly, eerily similar to how the news in the real world discusses and reports police brutality against Black people. It starts with the earliest glimpse we receive of the news on page 47: “Between a story about a bad car accident on the freeway and a garbage bag of live puppies that was found in a park, there’s a short story about an officer-involved shooting that is being investigated. They don’t even say Khalil’s name. Some bullshit.” We can see here that at the earliest stage of the investigation in the day(s) after Khalil’s murder, the news barely touches on the event.      Now, I understand that the events i...

The Hate U Give is an incredibly dense novel that covers a lot of territory in terms of social justice. From the necessity of code switching to the realities of racially induced poverty, Thomas addresses a plethora of societal problems inflicted on the African American community by a majority white culture. And therein lies my problem - I am white. I was raised in a white bubble, with white teachers, and white peers in a very small white town. The Hate U Give is a window (my most sincere thanks for the metaphor) and if there is one piece of understanding that I have taken from this novel it is that the white voice does not need to be heard right now.  Thomas’s characterization of white people in her novel communicates to me a message I think we could all benefit from - Shut up and listen. There is not a single prominent white character in The Hate U Give that does not have an open-mouth-insert-foot moment. Starr’s former best friend, Hailey, operates as your stereotypical “I’...

        An individual's surroundings have an immense impact on one's likelihood of success in life. Certain cultures have caste systems that restrict people from being able to escape poverty or climb the latter of success. Junior's position is similar except he has the option to run away from the Rez, as we read we learn there is no escaping. The environment Arnold was raised in affected his future. Arnold summed it up perfectly by saying, "There are all kinds of addicts, I guess. We all have pain. And we all look for ways to make the pain go away"(107). Junior is aware that addiction is often interlaced with poverty and hopelessness on the Rez. He is surprised, however, to see that addiction is universal across all ethnicities and classes. He sees that although someone may carry it well, it may still be heavy. It is also important to remember when you meet someone new to not judge because you don't know their past.       The book introduces Rowdy...

In class Wednesday, my group discussed the structure of The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian and how Alexie moved the novel ahead sequentially. Dr. Thomas jumped in our break-out room and asked us to consider that the school year pushes the novel ahead. It is something we did not see ourselves at the time, because we had not yet finished the novel, but having finished it now, I can say she was right. The novel begins right before school and moves along with the school year, ending right after Junior's first school year at Reardan ends. Right after reading the last chapter, something occurred to me. It can be argued that something else moves the novel ahead as well: death. The contrast of death and survival is present from the very beginning of the novel. Junior begins the book telling the reader of his numerous ailments and surgeries, and how he was not expected to survive his surgeries, but did. He says, "I was only six months old and I was supposed to croak durin...

  I thoroughly enjoyed The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian . Junior’s passion for learning and desire to create a better life for himself is truly inspiring. His story is not only motivational but is also raw and extremely relatable. Outlining major topics such as, alcoholism, bulimia, disabilities, racial and cultural oppression, and death, The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian is a novel that, I believe, as a future teacher, many students could relate to.   Despite some crude language and sexual connotations, I honestly think that this novel would be very applicable in a middle school classroom. I feel that many middle school students would be able to connect, in some way, to Junior and the struggles that he faces throughout his life. Whether they, themselves, can relate to Junior, or they know someone who can, the novel is extremely impactful. When students read how Junior, who is close to their age, experienced some of the same feelings and the same...

Whilst reading The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian , I thoroughly enjoyed this book. As a teacher, I felt as though this book was the primitive look into the life of a student who's background I can not personally relate to. The theme of Post-Colonialism is prevalent throughout the book. The book centers around the blatant differences experienced by Junior in his experiences with his reservation life and education and the life he lives when he goes to Reardan.  Right off the bat, a piece of this novel that I feel as though I have not seen spoken upon was the remark that Roger made the first time he ever spoke to Junior. He refers to him as "Chief" and makes a comment that, as Junior quotes, "That was the most racist thing I had ever heard in my life." (Alexie 64) I do not want to type the exact comment that Roger said, but it took me aback the very first time I read it. This big, burly white boy came up to Junior and thought that was an appropriate t...