After reading the entire novel, and getting the opportunity to analyze it from different perspectives. The archetype theory gives the reader more insight to picture the deeper message. It gives the reader information that other theories can't provide. Throughout the novel, many characters fit into different archetypes. The theory helps me understand why a certain character is shown in that particular way. Considering there is always an explanation for the way we act. For example, in the novel The Hate You Give, Star is struggling between the two worlds she lives in. She doesn’t expect a lot from anyone or expects Khalil to get justice because of his skin color. “Fifteen minutes later, I leave the police station with my mom. Both of us know the same thing: This is gonna be some bullshit” (Thomas 103). During the investigation, Star agrees to give witness testimony. Which later isn't even taken into consideration during the case. Which allows the officer to be able to walk freely. Instead of authorities realizing the officer shot an unarmed citizen, they start asking Star about Khalil's background. As well as, his connection to drugs as if that's going to make this situation better. Star realizes that the investigation is extremely unfair and biased. Due to the fact that Khalil was racially profiled by the officer that should have been held accountable for his actions. Which explains why Star keeps her expectations low. So that the truth doesn’t surprise her later. The justice system has a different perspective on how the black people are to be treated. It is shown that justice isn't going to be served for a black person and it doesn’t matter if he was armed or unarmed at the time. The author portrays Star’s father as a very strong and careful person. Examining the text through an archetype lens enables me to see why he was shown in that way. Throughout the novel, he acts as a very cautious father figure because of the racism around the black community. He even gives his children “the talk” very early. “When I was twelve, my parents had two talks with me. One was the usual birds and bees...The other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me” (Thomas 20). Star’s father is definitely aware of the police brutality against black people. As all fathers are concerned about the well-being of their children. Maverick wants his children to know their rights, and make no sudden moves if they get stopped by an officer. Making sudden moves just makes a person a bigger suspect. Which foreshadows the time Khalil and Star are stopped by an officer. During the time, Star was aware to make no sudden moves, but clearly Khalil wasn’t given the talk. If Star did not get the talk either, she would have been killed with Khalil. Which explains why Star’s father is so cautious. All in all, analyzing the novel through an archetypal lens, provides the insight on why each character was put into play in that certain way. Symbolism also plays a very essential part throughout the novel. Analyzing it through this lens gives me the opportunity to understand every single detail. Which other lenses don't allow me to do. I realize that every single detail put into the novel has a lot of meaning behind it. There were many symbols throughout the novel that provide a very strong message. If you don't take the time to analyze through this lens, it would be difficult to understand the symbols throughout the novel, and it reduces the value of book. You wouldn’t be able to know why that object or chapter plays out like that. The brush that Khalil picks up at the time he gets shot connects to a real-life story. The reference to the black Jesus during the novel makes me realize it’s a symbol of strength for African- Americans in the face of operation. Another symbol like Chris’s rolls Royce is symbolic of his privilege, both in his race and financial situation. Star worries that this will prevent both of them from opening up to each other as couples should in a relationship. She fears that she might need to hide the parts of her that seem to be too “ghetto” for him to understand. Just like these examples, there were many symbols throughout the novel with significant stories and facts behind them. Therefore, applying the archetypal lens allows insight to the reader to imagine the message in more detail. This type of lens provides me with the knowledge that other perspectives couldn’t. This helps connect with the character and acknowledge the complex worlds they are from. Symbolism plays a big role in this book by making the reader understand the true meaning of the certain objects which were used. Rather than just reading it and not understanding the deeper meaning behind the symbols and archetypes that were put in the novel for the reader to understand and reflect upon.
Work Cited SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-hate-u-give/summary/. “The Hate U Give.” IMDb, IMDb.com, www.imdb.com/title/tt5580266/plotsummary. TAGS: THEORY, INSIGHT, ARCHETYPE
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Angie Thomas’ novel The Hate You Give, primarily shines a light on police brutality and discrimination. Though, Thomas also focuses on the issue of feminism in her novel and shows the power behind female voices through the protagonist, Star Carter. Traditionally, women are seen as caring and nurturing, while men are seen as cold-hearted and strong. This novel breaks the stereotypes that are set up against women. Both genders are shown with equality and shown in different environments, roles, and personalities that demonstrate the breaking of the stereotypes. Star’s brother, Seven is very supportive and protective of Star. Seven starts receiving many offers from colleges that are not in his hometown. “Tanks are rolling by outside, but Seven’s been accepted into six colleges so far. But he says he prefers to stay close to home” (Thomas 225). In spite of receiving many offers from excellent colleges, to continue on his personal journey. He decides to stay in his hometown and attend Central Community. Stereotypically, men are often told not to express their feelings and to bottle them up inside. Which shows that Seven is clearly fond of his sister and his people, which destroy the image that men are cold-hearted and unemotional beings. Star lives in a men dominated society, where men are the backbone of the family. Throughout the novel, Star starts growing into this new person. She proves that women are powerful and strong and not what society labels them as. “Weak”. Star uses her voice as power to speak against racial discrimination. She goes against the officer who tries to make her quiet as she speaks about what happened that brutal night. "We weren't doing anything wrong. Not only did Officer Cruise assume we were up to no good, he assumed we were criminals. Well, Officer Cruise is the criminal" (Thomas 333). As she speaks, the power of her words influences the crowd to cheer and yell. Star even throws a can of tear gas at the officers who demand for her silence. This goes against the idea that women are weak and have a persistent need for a strong, male figure to protect them. Another example is Star’s mother Lisa. She is very soothing and caring towards her daughter. Lisa is very similar to Star and plays a huge part in her growth. Lisa is not afraid to speak up to someone with a higher power, especially if it means protecting her family in any way. When the officer interrogates Star’s credibility, Lisa steps in and doesn’t stay silent like it is expected for women to be. Lisa says “Are y’all putting Khalil and Star on trial or the cop who killed him?” (Thomas 90). This clearly shows her power and strength not only as a protective mother, but also as a woman of color. As the novel continues, a shooting breaks out at Garden Heights while Star’s father is at work. Lisa takes the children to the den to stay low and safe from the bullets flying in the air. “Momma stays on the phone to check in with dad at the store” (Thomas 119). This breaks the stereotype of how women are seen lower than men in society. Lisa is able to protect her children without the man of the house being present. Instead of Star’s father checking in, Lisa checks in on her husband. Which shows that both genders are capable of doing the same kind of work and are equal in every way. Since this novel is written in the modern-day, it doesn’t restrict women from doing anything and shows equal rights for both genders. Whereas, in the past generations women were only seen as housewives and not superior enough to their husbands. Though, the distinct line between both genders is still apparent even today. However, it is slowly becoming blurred and this is shown throughout the novel. Star’s character and actions serve as a good example to the victims who face discrimination and feminism in any way. It encourages them to speak up and break the labels and barriers society put up against women.
Work Cited LitCharts. “The Hate U Give Summary.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/the-hate-u-give/summary. “The Hate U Give Quotes by Angie Thomas.” Goodreads, Goodreads, www.goodreads.com/work/quotes/49638190-the-hate-u-give. TAGS: FEMINIST, LENS, RESPONSE Archetypes are common, inborn representations of individuals, attitudes, or personalities affecting human behavior. They were developed by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung who proposed that these archetypes were ancient manifestations of inherited human information passed down from our ancestors. As I was reading the novel, I was able to identify many archetypes and symbols that helped me to analyze the novel through an archetypal lens and find a deeper meaning. The Hate You Give follows unfortunate events that are taking place in Star’s life. I feel there are many characteristics of the hero archetype that fits in with Star. The character hero usually goes through many obstacles. He or she focuses on achieving certain goals and overcoming thoughts in his or her head which helps the character to grow and become a better version of them. As I continued to read the novel, she seems to be going through both physical and emotional journeys after she first handedly witnesses the killing of Khalil. She has a very difficult childhood that contributes to the development of her hero persona. She watches her childhood friend, Natasha, die from a drive-by shooting, and later she witnesses Khalil die in her arms by an armed police officer. Following the death of Khalil, Star struggles with nightmares that take her back to the night, Khalil is killed. As the novel goes on, Star finally breaks through and realizes that staying silent isn’t acceptable. “What's the point of having a voice if you're going to be silent in those moments you shouldn't be?” (Thomas 210). She starts realizing that this is a real issue and needs to be dealt with. She starts to speak on behalf of Khalil and other victims who have died because of police brutality and demands for justice. It reveals the hero archetype in her because she realizes many things in her personality which her past didn’t. By facing these obstacles, it gives her the power to speak against police brutality. The mother archetype in the novel would definitely be Star’s mother, Lisa. When Lisa and Maverick Star’s father reach the crime scene, Lisa immediately runs to Star to give her a tight hug. Lisa constantly reassures Star she will be okay and not to worry. As they are driving home from the crime scene, Star is extremely traumatized and asks to stop the car and throws up. When this happens, Lisa is the first one to run to Star and comfort her. “Momma hops out and runs around to me. She holds my hair out of the way and rubs my back” (Thomas 28). This reveals how Lisa is doing everything in her power to make Star feel safe once again, as to how any mother figure would do. When they arrive home, Lisa continues to nurture Star. She undresses Star, for a hot bath to relax and take in what just happened. It is clear, Lisa is very caring and nurturing towards her daughter, having characteristics of a mother archetype. Star even tells her mother about her white boyfriend but hasn’t been able to tell her dad. This reveals how supportive and approachable Lisa is, which allows Star to tell her mother about her white boyfriend. Symbolism is also a big part of the novel. Star’s father is from Garden Heights and even though both Star’s parents can afford to move to a safer neighborhood. Star’s father insists they keep living in Garden Heights with their people. Garden heights is a very dangerous area, in some ways it represents the effects of black Americans being left behind by power systems, the ways they 're held back, and forced into desperate circumstances. Khalil’s hairbrush is symbolic of the distrust the officers have for minorities. In the novel, one of the protesters yells “A hairbrush is not a gun” (Thomas 304). It demonstrates the anger and rage the black community is experiencing when it comes to shooting an unarmed black person, because of stereotypes and insufficient facts. The hair-brush also invokes Amadou Diallo 's death in 1999. Police officers wrongly assumed Diallo 's wallet was a pistol and shot him 41 times. The death of Diallo resulted in an intense outcry and a public debate on racial discrimination and police violence (Olumhense 2019).
Work Cited Olumhense, Ese. “20 Years After the NYPD Killing of Amadou Diallo, His Mom Asks: What's Changed?” THE CITY, THE CITY, 2 Feb. 2019, www.thecity.nyc/justice/2019/2/1/21211182/20-years-after-the-nypd-killing-of-amadou-diallo-his-mom-asks-what-s-changed. SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-hate-u-give/summary/. TAGS: ARCHETYPE, NOVEL, LENS The Hate U Give tells the story of a 16-year-old girl named Starr Carter. She lives in a mostly black, lower-income neighborhood called Garden Heights. She struggles between the two worlds: the poor neighborhood where she lives and the fancy suburban prep school she attends. Star fights to keep the two worlds separate after Star witnesses a white police officer kill her childhood friend, Khalil. When reading the novel, I was able to make some very evident connections to real life. Today, police brutality has been all over the news and is demanding justice for the victims that have died because of it. In the novel, Khalil is the victim who dies because of police brutality. After his death protesters take the streets in Khalil’s name. This is very similar to what is happening today with George Floyd’s death that has sparked the Black Lives Matter movement across North America and the death of Ejaz Choudhary. The two of them were unarmed at the time they were shot, which makes me wonder: when is it going to be enough to realize enough is enough? There is a whole book written on police brutality, yet there are still incidents happening like these in the real world today. In both the novel and Ejaz’s case, the police responsible for the death are not charged and walk freely. In both cases, witness statements weren’t taken into consideration. Since I’ve experienced racism myself, I didn’t have a hard time putting myself in Star’s shoes. I think racism was one of the major factor of police brutality. Even though the victim was unarmed, the police felt their lives were in danger: Muslims are seen as terrorists, while black people are seen as drug dealers and gang members. “Exaggerated fear, hatred, and hostility toward Islam and Muslims that is perpetuated by negative stereotypes resulting in bias, discrimination, and the marginalization and exclusion of Muslims from social, political, and civic life. Islamophobia continues to cause discrimination against Muslims. Discrimination occurs when hatred and certain actions become common in one specific community, which causes society to label them” (Kirkpatrick 2017). Both the officers in both circumstances felt the need to shoot because of the discrimination around that type of community, in both circumstances the officers felt the need to shoot. In chapter nine, Lisa says “Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right” (Thomas 180). Clearly, the justice system we live in is extremely unjust, and it demonstrates that we all have limited control weather the legal system pursues justice…. or not. The police’s initial decision not to press charges against One-Fifteen is an early example of the many failures of justice throughout the novel. This reveals that discrimination around a certain group will never go away; it’s something officers will always have in the back of their minds, if they feel their life is in danger, they won’t think twice before they shoot. The character of Khalil, his lifestyle and how he is killed serves a very important role throughout the novel. It expresses how we as a society label victim as drug dealers, but we don’t take the time to realize why they choose that path. In Chapter 10, Star’s father explains “When the Khalil’s get arrested for selling drugs, they either spend most of their life in prison, another billion-dollar industry, or they have a hard time getting a real job and probably start selling drugs again. That’s the hate they’re giving us, baby, a system designed against us. That’s Thug Life” (Thomas 130). Star’s father’s clarification of “Thug life” connects to the most important theme of the novel: for decades, racialized deprivation and crime are cyclical, trapping poor Black communities. Khalil starts to struggle with drugs because of the poverty of his family, which is the result of his family's lack of resources and his mother's drug addiction. His drug trafficking is a pretext for his death after one-fifteen shoots Khalil. We need to understand that he was stuck in this loop of no choice and instead punished for his lack of choices. It demonstrates how black people trapped within the system are initially set up to fail. In linking Khalil’s death to a broader framework, Star’s father clarifies that Khalil’s battle for justice is bigger than one teenager’s death. Work Cited Kirkpatrick, David. “Is the Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 30 Apr. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/04/30/world/middleeast/is-the-muslim-brotherhood-terrorist.html. SparkNotes, SparkNotes, www.sparknotes.com/lit/the-hate-u-give/summary/. “The Hate U Give: Chapter 1 Summary & Analysis.” LitCharts, www.litcharts.com/lit/the-hate-u-give/chapter-1. TAGS: LENS, READER RESPONSE, NOVEL
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