Real World Problems Through The Lens of an Adolescent

By -

    The Hate You Give by Angie Thomas is a story written out of grief and anger. It tells the narrative of racism and injustice. Thomas could have chosen to write a political article or started a petition. She could have led a social justice group or even ran for office. However, she chose to fight the injustice in this world by telling her story through the voice of an adolescent girl. Her choice to use a teenage girl impacts the text in several ways.

     One way that using an adolescent effects the text is through the tone. The tragic mood of the book due to it’s theme and events is juxtaposed with a sarcastic and at times upbeat tone. Starr is constantly giving the reader social commentary on the events in Garden Heights and at Williamson. Thomas is able to lighten the mood with stereotypical teenage drama like dealing with Starr’s boyfriend, Chris. Right after Khalil is shot, Thomas uses Chris to lighten the mood by singing the theme song to Starr’s favorite show, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. She also uses Starr’s friends, Maya and Hailey, to lighten the mood at times. Together they sing songs from High School Musical, make jokes and get involved in a competitive game of basketball. However, throughout the rest of the book, Starr and her friend’s relationship’s are rocky to say the least. But, that is also a typical teenage trope. As kids get older, they begin to focus on each other’s differences more than their similarities. 

    The story is also filled with light hearted references that any modern teenager would be familiar with. One of Starr’s obsessions is Jordan shoes. You might even say that she is passionate about them. On page 14, Starr complains that “with each hard rub, the shoes cry for my help. No lie, every time a sneaker is cleaned improperly, a kitten dies”. And on page 19, Starr and Khalil reminisce about their love of Harry Potter. And throughout the whole book, Tupac is referenced. Many of his songs and lyrics are quoted as well as his philosophies. Khalil states his philosophy that “The Hate U Give little infants f*** everybody... Meaning what society gives us as youth, bites them in the butt when we wild out.” The rest of the book is framed around that same philosophy. All of these references were used for a reason. I think that Thomas used these pop-culture references to appeal to adolescents reading the book. Everyone may not be able to relate to Starr’s story, but we can find connections and similarities to one another. 

    I believe that Thomas used a young girl like Starr to tell this story for some very specific purposes. One, to lighten the mood of such a heavy story. Two, to appeal to younger audiences. Three, to help people who may not have lived a life like Starr’s make a connection. And most importantly, to show young people that they can make a difference in their world. Starr was at the age that it was time that she decided what to believe in and who to be. The events that occurred in her life, shaped her for who she would be the rest of her life. 



Comments

  1. Aniya HallSeptember 15, 2020 at 2:20 PM

    Candace! This is a great perspective on Thomas' intentions and themes evoked by her novel, "The Hate U Give". I find your point on the way using an adolescent to witness and experience these real world problems effects the text very compelling. So, for starters, I love your title for your blog. It really caught my attention & spiked my interest just by first glance. I agree that Thomas knew what she was doing when she made the narrator of the story, teenager Starr. Like you said, it helps the readers that might not be familiar or aware of the challenges people of color, like Starr, experience everyday. However, just because they might not be able to relate, the connections and similarities depicted throughout the story help them better understand the struggle that Starr endures.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Kels SalernoSeptember 15, 2020 at 8:34 PM

    Candace,

    I'm glad you brought up Starr's passion for shoes because I kept coming back to that throughout the reading. I thought perhaps her shoes were a symbol for something. They are the one thing Starr always has even when she code switches from Starr to Starr. I'm also glad you pointed out that this book gives readers a chance to somewhat take a walk in someone else's shoes.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Growing Pains - The Symbolism of the Tree in Speak

By -
I have felt the paralyzing pain of internal disease. The kind of trauma that causes your mouth to curl in and swallow you whole. I, like so many other women, are walking the halls in Melinda’s shoes in “Speak.” I thought Laurie Anderson did a phenomenal job of twisting all of the tribulations a high school girl goes through, into the tree that Melinda is. Whether we’re as strong as an oak or weak as a bush, we have all gone through the disease that strikes Melinda from the inside out. Melinda is like a half-dead tree. Some parts of her strive to blossom and create beauty. Other parts are broken and diseased. Like a dead tree, Melinda needs to save herself and “cut off the damage, [so it] is possible for the tree to grow again” (187). The symbolism of a tree is significant in “Speak.” Trees reflect her growing process. In the beginning, Melinda is a sick and lifeless tree. Her view is negative and dark. She’s so far past repair, bursts of sunlight do her no good. Sunlight would be pe
Read more

How Starr Goes from Acting to Embracing in The Hate U Give

By -
In The Hate U Give, Starr Carter is caught between two worlds. She lives in a predominantly black neighborhood, but her father sends her and her brothers to a private school where she is surrounded by white people. She talks about acting differently depending on what group she is around, which can create some identity problems. She says on page 11, "Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black." When at Williamson, she sees white kids that think it's cool to engage in black culture, but she knows they don't understand what she goes through in her Garden Heights community. She witnessed her friend Natasha's death when she was 10 years old, and she sees gang activity in her community all the time. When she is among her black friends, like at the party, they tease her for hanging out with the white kids. This reminds me of a Drake song where he says, "I used to get teased for being black, and now I'm
Read more

Postmodernism in Curious Incident

By -
Before I start writing, I first want to acknowledge that I just really loved this book! It seemed like a lot of the class had trouble enjoying or appreciating the novel because it's so different stylistically, which is understandable, but all of those unique elements helped make the novel more authentic. The main topic I want to focus on (also what I'm writing my paper on) is how a lot of postmodernist elements were used in the novel to make Christopher come to life. While obviously not every postmodern novel is about an autistic kid, I think Haddon really used a lot of these elements to his advantage and they ended up working out really well to characterize Christopher. One of the major postmodern elements which helps this book really craft an authentic portrayal of autism is the fact that it's metafictive. Basically, this means it's a "story within a story." Readers would be extremely limited just reading the parts of the novel which are meant to be C
Read more