The Hate U Give

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In her novel, The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas explores race relations within American society.  Through the main character, Starr, Thomas conveys what it can be like for an African American teenager growing up split between two parts of society.  Starr is a resident of Garden Heights, an inner-city black community.  However, she attends school 45 minutes from her home at a place called Williamson, which is part of the upper-class white community.  As Starr copes with the murder of her friend Kahlil, she has to also cope with her struggle to form a single identity.
Throughout the novel, Starr explains that there is two sides to her: Garden Heights Starr and Williamson Starr.  Depending on which community she is in, she changes her voice, vocabulary and behavior to better blend in with her surroundings.  However, when Khalil is murdered, her two worlds begin to collide.  This collision forces her to face the fact that she is ashamed of coming from the ‘ghetto’.  Thomas uses one of Starr’s friends, Hailey, to symbolize this dichotomy.  When Hailey confronts Starr about Khalil’s death, Starr tries her best to keep her calm and remain ‘Williamson Starr’.  However, Hailey speaks badly on Khalil which causes Starr to lash out.  As Starr’s hand makes contact with Hailey’s face, the line between her two worlds is shattered.  This battle between Hailey and Starr is a recurring theme, but it finally comes to a resolution when Starr cuts Hailey off after their altercation.  Only after Hailey’s provocation does Starr have the guts to admit to Kenya that she was ashamed of her Garden Heights side.  I believe Thomas utilized Hailey and the death of Khalil as a bridge to identity acceptance for Starr.  This final knot in Starr’s friendships serves as a beacon of hope for adolescents, despite all of the trauma Starr experienced throughout the novel.

Comments

  1. Eva YoussefNovember 11, 2019 at 9:12 PM

    I really like your description of that moment with Hailey as her two worlds being "shattered." I think many adolescents can relate to this moment of when they feel like they have to put on different "faces" of themselves to different crowds. This moment of finally standing up for what you believe in as right against wrong is what builds a persons character and many can learn from that.

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  2. Carter McGillNovember 15, 2019 at 8:31 AM

    Noah, I love how you point out how she is changing her voice, vocabulary, and behavior depending on what group she is with at that time. I think this is extremely important to discuss because adolescents do this on a daily basis so they can be accepted. It's harder for Starr because in a sense she has to put on two faces for two different groups of people. Shes never just Starr. To fit in she has to change everything about herself so both groups will kindly accept her. All they want her to be is like everyone else, and she struggles to find her identity because of this reason.

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