Stereotypes In The Hate U Give By Angie Thomas

The Hate U Give written by Angie Thomas shines light on the power the police hold over the civilians as it shows the protagonist, Starr Carter, finding her voice and speaking out about these recurring issues as a person of colour. The Hate U Give focuses on racism and police brutality; the social issues that have completely taken over the media. Despite being a person of colour, Starr Carter always hides her true identity from her friends at Williamson, a school that is dominantly populated by caucasians. Starr is aware of what is going on in her society and the mistreatment of the minority, so she makes it a priority to put on a facade at school, as she does not want anyone to stereotype her as the “angry black girl”. She does not let anyone

Officers are supposed to use their power for good and take care of those who are violating the laws. It is their duty to take care of the citizens who feel threatened and afraid. Police officers need to make fair judgements and take appropriate action, however, discriminatory views can cloud their judgement which could lead to harming innocent people. In the novel, Starr has to witness a police officer abuse his power. This event scarrs Starr and whenever she encounters the police, she becomes uneasy and acts in a way to avoid trouble and suspicion. Even though Starr knows there are honourable police officers, like her uncle Carlos, she cannot help what she fears. In one instance, Starr and her mother were going back home when they encountered a police roadblock “[...] Suddenly it’s as if someone grabbed [her] heart and twisted it. ‘Can we-’ [she] swallow[s]. ‘Can we get around them?’” (164). Starr does everything she can to avoid the police because they trigger the memory of the incident. Additionally, former rapper Tupac gets mentioned a few times for his famous saying that thug life means “The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody” (168). Starr talks about how this saying is more than just about the youth, it is about the minorities; everybody at the bottom of the society. Starr’s father explains to Starr about the discriminatory

Starr tries to do the same, she tries to move on and act normal at school, pretending she is fine and that her best friend did not die an unjustifiable death. However, at Khalil’s funeral, she meets a lawyer that wants justice for Khalil and lets Starr know that she can make a huge difference by revealing the truth and preserving her identity, “‘[...] Remember what I told you about your voice?’ ‘You said it’s my biggest weapon’” (410). Starr starts off by talking to the detectives, telling them what happened at the night of the event, however, the conversation ended with the police officers justifying Khalil’s death by using his title; a drug dealer. There was a moment where Starr realized that Khalil would have went above and beyond to get justice if Starr was the one who got shot, so she decides to take this issue to court. She talks to prosecutors and gets interviewed by a news channel, allowing the viewers to see Khalil’s good side and that his case should not be disregarded by his title. In the courtroom, she lets the jury know exactly what happened that painful night, and tells anecdotes about her childhood with Khalil, so they can see the true Khalil. Starr goes on a journey to find her voice and she uses her voice more and more every time she is given a chance to talk to the media. Starr finally decides to stop hiding behind this facade