Language and Tone in The Hate U Give

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In The Hate U Give, readers watch quiet, reserved Starr Carter transform into practically a minority and discriminatory activist after the passing of her childhood best friend, Khalil. Starr is forced to overcome adversity in her poverty-stricken neighborhood, at her predominantly white private school, and as the face of the only witness to the murder of one of her own by a white police officer. Throughout the novel, Starr is aided by her family, her friends towards the end of the novel when she finally decides to come out to them, and the team of activists she has working as her lawyers on her behalf. Although, justice is not served in Khalil's defense at the end of the book, Starr emerges as a determined, fighting individual and leads her community into protesting against police brutality in the neighborhood and at a national level.

Personally, my favorite aspect of the novel was the tone and language that author Angie Thomas decided to use for each character. Being a novel written in 2015, the characters all dialectally sounded relevant to this time period. Thomas incorporated many modern-day phrases, like the party scene in the first chapter where Starr and a friend talk about Drake and Starr mocking the students at Williamson for completely botching the Nae-Nae. The conversations between characters seem so realistic and personal that oftentimes I found myself forgetting that I was reading a book. It reminded me a lot like one of my good friend's family and the way that they all interact with one another. Maverick, Starr's father, is very humorous and outspoken and reminds me a lot like my friend's father.    This style of language and tone could be easy for any adolescent born during this era to pick up on and connect with in some way, whether it be within the family dynamic or within the mass media references that Thomas gives. 


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