Similarities Between The Hate U Give And To Kill A Mockingbird

The Hate Cycle

Though, The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas and To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee are very different stories, being in completely different time frames, places, and overall settings; both stories hold a lot of thematic similarities. One is the overall cycle of hatred through both societies. The hate cycle has been present pretty much since society became a thing. At some point, somebody has hated somebody for a million different reasons, which is due to prejudice. People judge people based on little things about them that almost always say nothing about who they are as a person. For example, racism is part of the hate cycle. We see it in both books, in many forms. Though racist actions are different now than they were in the past,

People tend to look down upon social classes that are lower than them. In To Kill a Mockingbird, Aunt Alexandra refuses to allow Walter Cunnigham into the Finch home due to the fact that he is “trash” according to her standards. She says, “There’s no doubt in my mind that they are good folks”, but doesn’t allow Scout to befriend him due to his social status. Similarly, there’s a lot of prejudice towards people in Star’s neighborhood in The Hate U Give. Star sees two different worlds when it comes to social class. She comes from Garden Heights, a run-down neighborhood known for its gang violence. However, she goes to a school for rich kids who come from a kept-up suburban neighborhood. Her friend Hailey refers to Khalil as a “thug”, which is partly due to race but also social class. It’s easy for people like Hailey to view someone from Garden Heights as a “thug” or a gangbanger who could potentially be a

Oftentimes certain genders are prone to be seen in a certain way due to this. In To Kill a Mockingbird, we often see women being treated differently than in our modern time. Though it’s not necessarily as horrid as racism, we often see hurtful remarks being said to Scout because she doesn’t “act like a lady”. Scout talked about how Aunt Alexandra made remarks about how she dressed and conducted herself. Also throughout the book, we hear many characters requesting for Scout to be taken home because the subject matter is unfit for a lady to hear. Jem also often told Scout she was “acting like a girl” which deeply upset her. In The Hate U Give, sexism is less prominent due to it being modern times. However, Khalil is one of the examples of how it’s much easier for a black man to be seen as a “threat” than anyone