The Hate U Give by angie thomas Novel Analysis Paper Literature Essay

Write a short essay using one of the prompts below. Your essay should be 3+ pages in length. It should use MLA format. You should have a central focus of the writing which should be evident in a thesis statement. Your essay should cite the novel and at least two other sources of information to back up claims.
Writing Prompts:
Choose one of the topics (A-D) below to be the focus of your novel analysis essay:
A. Research Topics of Interest
The following topics appear prominently in the novel. These research projects ask you to delve deeply into one of these topics and explore its thematic importance in the novel and connections to real-world issues. For each topic, I offer some research to get you started. In the end, you must write a research-based essay exploring these topics and their connections to the novel and real-world implications:
Double consciousness, code-switching, and negotiating multiple identities
Double consciousness from DuBoisopedia (Links to an external site.)
Learning How To Code-Switch: Humbling, But Necessary (Links to an external site.)
American Promise: Idris Codeswitches (Links to an external site.)
Being Black—but Not Too Black—in the Workplace (Links to an external site.)
The Black Panther Movement
The Black Panther Party from Encyclopedia Britannica (read all but “Legacy”) (Links to an external site.)
The Ten-Point Platform (Links to an external site.)
The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution documentary homepage (scroll to view trailer) (Links to an external site.)
Tupac Shakur and his Activism
YouTube Video: 2pac-T.H.U.G.L.I.F.E. (Links to an external site.)
Politics of Protest: Tupac and Thuglife (Links to an external site.)
Keepin' It Real in Hip Hop Politics: A Political Perspective of Tupac Shakur (excerpt) (Links to an external site.)
The Rose that Grew from Concrete (Links to an external site.)
Media Representations of Fatal Police Shooting of African Americans
OpEd: How the media smears black victims (Links to an external site.)
When a police shooting victim is a white woman (Links to an external site.)
The conversation we need on police shootings (Links to an external site.)
The complexity of gang culture/the difficulty of leaving a gang
How do you leave a gang? (Links to an external site.)
Gangs: Once a member, it is difficult to get out (Links to an external site.)
Excerpt from “Violent Stories: Personal Narratives, Street Socialization, and the Negotiation of Street Culture Among Street-Oriented Youth” (Links to an external site.)
Gang Culture (Links to an external site.)
B. Research Project: Victims of Police-Involved Deaths
At the end of the book on page 443, Starr says, “It would be easy to quit if it was just about me, Khalil, that night and that cop.” She then lists names including, “Aiyana, Trayvon, Eric” etc. that These are all people who have been impacted by police brutality, police misconduct (including situations resulting in death) and/or shootings. Starr adds, “The messed up part? There are so many more.” In this activity, you will engage in a research project about these individuals, all of whom have been impacted by police-involved deaths. In the book, the author only includes their first names but their last names are included here: Oscar Grant, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray, Aiyana Stanley-Jones, Tamir Rice, Alton Sterling, Trayvon Martin, John Crawford, Philando Castile, Rekia Boyd, Ezell Ford, Michael Brown, Sandra Bland. Choose one of these names on which to conduct your research and write an essay about their life/death. Consider the following questions:
What happened?
What were the circumstances around the person’s death?
How did the community and nation respond (or not respond)?
How did news media and social media portray the person and their death?
What are your thoughts and opinions about the case?
How was the case handled?
How do you think it should have been handled?
What were the outcomes of the case and do you think it was fair?
What was done and what should have been done in your view?
What impact did the person’s death have on others?
C. The Power of Music and Poetry
Many characters in The Hate U Give make reference Tupac Shakur and other rap, hip hop and soul artists (Tupac Shakur, Kendrick Lamar, Will Smith, J. Cole, Marvin Gaye, Beyoncé, Jay-Z and Drake) and their music. Read the article, “Here’s How Tupac Inspired The Hate U Give.” (Links to an external site.) Read the poem written by Tupac Shakur, “The Rose that Grew from Concrete (Links to an external site.).” Identify the theme of the poem and make connections to the events in The Hate U Give. For example, Maverick, himself, is a rose that grew from concrete in many ways, a parallel that is further enhanced by the fact that he tends to his garden of roses frequently throughout the story. Which other characters serve as “roses that grew from concrete”? The list could include DeVante, Starr, Seven, and others. And/or, are there other themes and lessons are conveyed in the book. Are there other connections to be made between the other musical artists mentioned and other major themes in the text?
D. Thematic Analysis
Explore how the novel communicates the thematic ideas using the literary elements we’ve learned so far (plot, POV, characterization, setting, tone and style, symbolism, etc.). Here are some of the major themes at work in the novel:
Injustice: Khalil’s shooting and the ongoing investigation of Officer Cruise put the theme of injustice at the forefront of the novel. The fact that Khalil was unarmed and did not threaten the officer makes his murder unjust. The police are unjust at other points, too, such as when they force Maverick to the ground and pat him down. Race is tied into this theme of injustice as well, since pervasive racism prevents African-Americans from obtaining justice. Starr and Maverick in particular are focused on bringing justice not only for Khalil but also for African-Americans and other oppressed groups, such as the poor. The activist group that Starr joins is called Just Us for Justice because it fights against police maltreatment on the basis of race. At the end of the novel, Starr accepts that injustice might continue but reinforces her determination to fight against it.
Community: The theme of community is significant to the novel, as seen in the way that Garden Heights residents draw together in the face of unspeakable tragedy. At the end of the novel, when Starr and her friends and family work to rebuild Maverick’s store, they are supported by cries of encouragement from passerby. This reflects the strong sense of community felt by those who live in Garden Heights, even after their neighborhood has faced physical and emotional destruction. The importance of community is the factor that keeps Maverick tied to the Garden Heights house even though he recognizes that the area is more dangerous than the suburbs. It’s evident in the way that Ms. Rosalie’s neighbors bring her food when there is no other way they can express their deep sympathy. It’s also why Maverick is so determined to help DeVante get out of the gang system, because he knows that the gangs bring about ruptures in the unity of the community.
Race: Race is central to the story that The Hate U Give Starr’s identity is heavily informed by her race, and Khalil's death is due in part to entrenched racism in the police force. The tension that Starr feels between Garden Heights and Wiliamson Prep is due to differences in wealth and in race. Most of her classmates at school are white, but most of her neighbors are black; Starr feels torn between making sure she’s not seen as “too black” at school and making sure she's not “too white” at home. The novel is also undeniably a celebration of blackness. The stereotypes and racism to which African-Americans are subjected is revealed to be extremely pervasive and harmful, even bringing about the death of innocent young men. By dealing directly with the issues of police brutality and protest, the book enters the broader conversation about race relations in America.
Belonging: One of the central issues that Starr faces is a struggle with belonging. From the very beginning of the novel, Starr recognizes that her personality is two-sided. When she’s at Williamson, Starr worries that her classmates will think she’s “too ghetto.” She recognizes that being one of the few black students at the school makes her automatically “cool,” but at the same time she censors her own behavior to fit in. Back at home, however—as evidenced by how she feels at Big D’s party—people say that Starr thinks she’s “all that” and doesn’t hang out with them enough, because she attends Williamson. Because of this struggle, Starr is never truly able to be herself in any situation. As the novel progresses, however, Starr learns to embrace both sides of herself, and she brings both sides of her personality together along with friends from both of the spheres of her life.
Bravery: Many people tell Starr that she is brave for speaking up about Khalil, especially when she gives a nationally televised interview. Starr, however, does not share this view. She protests that she isn’t brave, that she has been “misdiagnosed” by the people around her who commend her courageousness. It takes Lisa’s perspective to point out that bravery is not the same thing as not being afraid. In fact, the very nature of bravery is to act in the face of fear, to refuse to back down even when the task is frightening. By the end of the novel, Starr undeniably demonstrates bravery when she stands on the top of the patrol car to give a speech, lead a chant, and ultimately throw a can of tear gas back at the police. Starr’s future in activism will likely be fueled by her continued bravery, which is inspired by the connection she feels with her loved ones both living and dead.
Family: Just as community is an important part of The Hate U Give, family is central to the novel as well. The book offers a perspective on nontraditional families and the way these families provide support systems. For example, Starr’s family is atypical because Seven doesn’t live with the family; he has a different mother than Starr and Sekani. Nevertheless, Maverick and Lisa are able to support Seven in many different ways: they go to his graduation, convince him to go to college outside of the city, talk to him about the importance of not joining a gang, and watch out for him when he goes to the park the day after riots. However, the book explores dysfunctional families as well. King abuses Iesha and his children, and DeVante essentially sacrifices himself in order to remove King from the household, because Iesha is unable or unwilling to stand up to him.
Speaking Up: Starr struggles with speaking up for Khalil for a variety of reasons. She worries that she doesn’t deserve to defend Khalil since they had grown far apart in the time before Big D’s party. She is also afraid to speak up, and in the midst of trauma and grief, it’s difficult for her to take on such an emotionally taxing project as standing up for Khalil in the face of national attention. Kenya inspires Starr to speak up because of her resounding logic: Khalil would have fought for Starr, had she been the one to get shot that night. Maverick also explains that Tupac would have wanted Starr to use her voice, because she can help fight against the oppressive systems that keep minorities from getting ahead. By the end of the book, it’s clear that Starr has conquered her fears and recognized the importance of speaking up.
Assignment Objectives:
Learning objectives are statements that define the expected goal of a curriculum, course, lesson or activity in terms of demonstrable skills or knowledge that will be acquired by a student as a result of instruction. A successful demonstration of skills will show that students are able to:
Demonstrate critical thinking and reading skills in discussion and in essays.
Understand relationships between meaning in literature and language manipulation, including literal and figurative language, denotation, and connotation.
Analyze and evaluate relationships between meaning and the use of literary forms and strategies, including parody, satire, irony, etc.
Identify unstated premises and assumptions arising from social, historical, moral, cultural, psychological, or aesthetic contests in which primary texts and applicable criticism exist.
Explore a line of inquiry and limit the topic appropriately.
Establish and state clearly a unifying thesis or proposition.
Select examples, details, and other evidence to support or validate the thesis and other generalizations.
Use principles of inductive and deductive logic to support and develop ideas.
Avoid logical fallacies in the presentation of an argument.
Organize the main parts of an essay and define a sequence that contributes to clarity and coherence.
Use precise diction to communicate unambiguously.
Correctly use the systems of documentation and bibliography (MLA).