The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas: Stylistic Elements and Societal Issues

Introduction

I enjoyed reading the novel, The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas simply because it can connect to society effectively and relate to teenagers in a humorous way at the same time. It effectively communicates the issues of police brutality by showing an innocent teenager named Khalil getting murdered by a police officer named Brian Cruise and how it affects friends, family and a community. However, Angie Thomas finds ways to show through all the conflict, pain and an imperfect society, happiness and love. Additionally, the language in which Angie Thomas chooses to present The Hate U Give” effectively connect to teenagers and represent typical teenager's preferences and dislikes at that age such as Jordans, the Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Drake, 2Pac, etc.

Stylistic Elements in The Hate U Give

Khalil’s Shooting

Khalil’s shooting is described at the start of the novel by Starr. It is shown through intense language and some figurative language such as an onomatopoeia, “Pow”, that evidently portrays the horror of the situation, “Pow! One. Khalil’s body jerks. Blood splatters from his back. He holds on to the door to keep himself upright. Pow! Two. Khalil gasps. Pow! Three. Khalil looks at me, stunned. He falls to the ground. “(Thompson 23). The horrific imagery and the onomatopoeia, “Pow!”, clearly conveys how tramautic the situation is and represent the theme of racism and police brutality.

Chris’s House

Chris’s House is described as an expensive and big house through his lavish lifestyle, “Most of Chris’s house looks too fancy to live in. Statue’s oil paintings, chandeliers. A museum more than a home” (Thomas 374). This detailed description and metaphor “A museum more than a home” in which Starr compares Chris’s house and belongings to a museum conveys Chris’s wealth and the contrast between Starr’s house and her Garden Height’s background.

Figurative Language - Allusion

Angie Thomas used informal language to portray her ideas and thoughts. One of the main reasons for how The Hate U Give stands out is how well it connects to the youth and teenagers. The allusions present in The Hate U Give describes what many teenagers might prefer or dislike at that age. For example, through this allusion, Angie Thomas communicated what most teenagers might admire, shoes “Jordans - the Three Retros. They came out a few years ago, but I swear those things are so fresh” (Thomas 14).

Connection to Events

“Listen! The Hate U Give Little Infants F-cks Everybody. “T-H-U-G-L-I-F-E” (Thomas 17). This quote evidently describes how typical societal standards discriminate and abuse minorities. Resistance movements have formed to oppose this such as the Black Lives Matter Movement and the Civil Rights Movement easily show how minorities in both the United States and Canada feel about the system designed against them

Connection to Other Texts

In the novel, The Hate U Give, Khalil’s death is the catalyst for the entire plot regarding the fight against racism and police brutality. It portrays how the system is designed against minorities which in turn lead them into a cycle of poverty and crime. In Indian Horse, racism and discrimination is seen through the entire assimilation system of the First Nations people to the racist chants and slurs towards Saul as a whole. The system is against Aboriginal communities as well, they were told that they are inhumane and their culture is dehumanizing. After they were told that, they felt as if they had no sense of place into Canadian society and fell into the cycle of poverty and crime which may have lead to addiction such as alcohol.

Connection to Text (Personal)

Personally, I connected to the text, especially with “if the good outweighs the bad, I should keep Hailey as a friend. There's a sh-t ton of bad now… I can let go” (Thomas 433). Starr realizes that Hailey is a source of negativity and finally breaks her relationship with her. As a kid, I had many sourced of negativity and I waited around for it to change. But, as I started to group up, I realized how much of an agony fake friends can be. I stopped giving them more chances and ended my relationships with them. I felt sad at first, however, after a while, I was mentally relieved.