Examples Of Archetypes In The Hate U Give

Marcus Hermary

Mrs. Ozdogan

Literary Studies 10

The American Apotheosis

One can observe countless dichotomies that define places, people, and eras. Commonly, though, these differences result in bloodshed and violence, often pushing human development back. The opposition of the civilized Romans and tribal barbarians forced humanity into the dark ages, but the unification of unrestricted, dystopian capitalism and heavily restricted, dystopian socialism led to the birth of liberalism. In Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate U Give, one can observe the process of Hegelian Dialectics, a thought system involving the unification of a thesis and its antithesis, using characters and places which are in turn archetypes of greater parts of America. This relates

For instance, Maverick represents intellectuals and activists in the African-American community such as Martin Luther King Jr. or Malcolm X. King, on the other hand, is an archetype of the crime and violence in low-income black communities, with characters like Khalil and Devante showing the result of systemic racism and violence. Maverick often makes inward criticisms of the gang infestation of Garden Heights and the nationwide oppression of African-Americans, shouting during the riots: “Who is it gon’ benefit if the whole neighbourhood burns down? Damn sure won’t benefit none of us.” (Thomas 345) in response to the burnings and lootings. One could observe that Maverick believes that through the violence, they have descended to the level of the racists. In fact, through the violence, they have optically stoked the fire. Contrarily, King is a constant archetype of the gang and hood culture of many low-income African-American communities; a disease that continues to plague not just the minds of the youth, but as well as their discourse, music, and identities, or lack thereof. King and his gang’s chapter of the King Lords dominate Garden Heights, essentially using the neighbourhood as a means of peddling drugs and recruiting members, emphasizing a severe lack of care or affection for Garden Heights. He rules with an iron fist, suppressing the neighbourhood with threats of violence until the climax in which the people declare that “[they are no longer] scared of [him]!” (423) and work in cooperation, in synthesis, with the diametrically opposed police. Khalil and DeVante also represent greater parts of African-American society, being those directly victimized by the systemic racism imposed by their antithesis and the faux-escape presented by their thesis. DeVante comments on how this hostile and racist system has affected him and how correspondingly, he has been engulfed in the fire