The Hate U Give

 Over the past week, I discovered I was beginning to have a new favorite novel--The Hate U Give. This novel has a very strong narrator and point of view, adding to the empathy for the narrator, making it easier and easier to feel like you personally know the narrator. This novel also discusses a lot of heavy themes and important subjects, topics that have become more and more relevant today. And as I read through this novel, I continually asked myself… why would this novel be banned? It talks about drugs and violence, but the overall message of this novel is so important and grand that it should outweigh everything else.

 I would like to focus on two aspects of this novel: the first being, dual identity and double-consciousness, and the second is freedom dreaming. Starr is fully a part of two different lives, her Garden-Heights life, and her Williamson Prep life. These two facets are completely different and contradictory, and the audience sees Starr struggle with balancing both. After the death of Khalil, the audience sees Starr's struggle to balance both lives become more and more difficult. The media attention Khalil and Starr are receiving makes it more difficult for Starr to keep her two worlds separate. One very powerful moment of the novel is when Chris, Starr’s white boyfriend, asks to be let into both of her worlds—to see all of Starr. Starr breaks down in the middle of Prom and finally tells him about her Garden Heights. The information she shares with Chris is something the audience has known for a while now and this information helped led the audience to its key understanding of the character, Starr. However, Chris not knowing this information is shocking to the audience, since the audience knows and sees how this information greatly influences who Starr is as a person and character. 

As the novel progresses, Starr goes back and forth between her two worlds, and as the story moves forward things become more complex and the lines between the two worlds begin to move closer together. This identity and theme of two worlds made me think and recall of my own students. I am currently student teaching at a private school all-girls in Baltimore City, some of my students are on finical aid and scholarship, while others are not. I think I love this novel so much because I related it and felt more connected with some of my students. It caused me to think about things in ways I hadn’t before. Starr truly opened my eyes to concepts, ideas, and life as a teenage girl in the city in a new way.

 Secondly, as I read this novel I thought about the question – what is Starr’s freedom dream? Starr goes through a lot of hardships in this novel, however, we never see her truly wish or dream for something. Starr never states or shares her deepest wishes, desires, or freedom dream. However, as you analyze the text you begin to see that Starr’s freedom dream is a big, grand, and very important topic—it is equal treatment for everybody. Starr often dreams and hopes of a world where people are treated equally, no matter the color of your skin, the kind of neighborhood you reside in, or who your father is.








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