The Hate U Give: Themes

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The Hate U Give was written by Angie Thomas and in her novel one of her themes is stereotyping black people. The idea that all black people are drug dealers who disrespect cops, when in reality most are thriving respectable people. In today's society there are many hate crimes that deal with racial issues that really should not be issues and that is what this book tries to portray in the end. People can overcome any adversity no matter their skin color. The reason that black people have such a terrible reputation is because of the media.

Another theme of the novel is poverty. In the novel the reason behind Khalil selling drugs was to payoff his mother's debt. Sadly, in today's world this is how a lot of poverty stricken people make money especially when they see no other way out. Most kids who were born into drug dealing families end up growing up to sell drugs. They feel pressure to provide and see no other way that to sell drugs. Then there are some who find a way to make it without selling drugs or they find a way out of a drug selling family.

Lastly, there is the theme of identity. In the novel Starr finds her identity and her voice. In the beginning she struggles with being too black in her Williamson Prep world and too white in her Garden Heights world. She changes herself to fit in with each of them. She changes her speech and the way she acts.

Comments

  1. NoahGoodwinNovember 17, 2019 at 12:55 PM

    Anna, I love that you chose to focus partly on the theme of poverty. It isn't something we really talked about in class, despite it's prevalence in the novel. There is an entire subplot within the story concerning poverty and members of the black community being pushed to no other means. I love your perspectives here!

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