Category: Drama

The absurd theatre refers to a specific kind of plays that were famous for the first time in the year 1950 and 1960s. The Absurd theatre is based on the advanced works of the 1920 and 1930s. The absurd elements firstly appeared in the wild comedies, the old comedy and wild humour, and shortly after the need of Ancient dramas. Medieval morality plays can be seen as the man of the theatre of absurd, which are the type of characters dealing with allegoric and sometimes existential matters. The most popular play of the time is mostly Beckett’s “Waiting for Godot”. The characters of the play are strange characters who have difficulty in communicating the easiest concepts when they watch their time while waiting for Godot to return. The language they use is often funny, and after following the cyclic events, the play ends when it has just begun, without a true change. Actually, sometimes it is called in the play that no events happen. Their faults show that this is an error and that often turns them shy because of their faults.

Beckett’s play is one of the oldest play and so there was a lot of confusion among old critics. “Waiting for Godot” cannot be resulted or decided because the play is essentially circular and repetitive in nature. The dramatic chapter’s section in these observe that the structure of each movement is exactly the same. In contrast, a traditional play has an introduction to characters and narration; then there is an expression of the problem according to the place, time and the characters of the play. Moreover, in a traditional play, the characters develop and gradually come to see the world view of the dramatist; the play then rises to a climax and there is a result. This type of development is called linear development. In absurd theatre plays, the structure is usually the opposite. Instead, we have a cyclic structure, and most aspects of this drama support this cyclical structure somehow. The setting is the same, and in both cases the time is the same. Each movement begins until the morning, just as the vagrants wake up and move close to the rising moon every two months. The action takes place in exactly the same landscape; a lonely, isolated road with a single tree. We never said where this road was; all we know is that the action of the play appeared on this lonely road. This movement, known as the absurd theatre, was not a thoughtful movement, and it never made a clear philosophical doctrine, an organized initiative and a meeting in which it had never been transformed. However, it is more important than repeating the setting and time, but repeating actions. In addition to the basic structure of previously mentioned actions, to repeat. At the beginning of each action, for example, several identical concerns should be noted. These include the emphasis on Estragon’s boots. Also, Vladimir uses almost the same words when he first realized Estragon. At the beginning of both acts, Vladimir and Estragon reiterate that they were there to wait for Godot. At the end of both actions, Vladimir and Estragon discussed the possibility of hanging themselves and decided to bring a good rope with them the next day so that they could actually hang themselves.

With Pozzo and Lucky coming into action, we realized that although their physical appearance had changed theoretically, they looked the same from the outside; they are still bound together on an endless journey to an unknown place to meet a nameless person.

Likewise, Boy Messenger, although theoretically different, gives the same message: Mr. Godot will not come today, but he will definitely come tomorrow. Vladimir’s difficulties and suffering are in contrast to the suffering Estragon suffers in his every action. In addition, eating, which includes carrots, radishes and turnips, becomes a central image in every action, and the punks are dealing with hats, multiple insults, and compromising cuddles, these and many other small things are repeated over and over again. Finally, and most importantly, there are bigger concepts: first, the punishment of the punks; secondly, efforts to spend time in vain efforts; the third is the attempts to disintegrate and, ultimately, the fact that they do not expect Godot to constantly wait for the two to make it a circular structure that is openly replicating the two, and the fact that these repetitions are so obvious in the play that Beckett’s rupture from the play reveals the uniqueness of traditional play and its circular structure. Beckett’s difficulty in maintaining a long-term dialogue is overcome by allowing his characters to forget everything. He can’t remember anything that was said just before the Estragon line. Vladimir, despite having a better memory, disturbs what he remembers. And because Vladimir can’t trust Estragon to remind him of things, he’s in a state of forgetfulness. Another reason for their coexistence is their existentialism. Estragon needs Vladimir to tell him his history because he can’t remember anything. He remembers him and sets up Estragon’s identity. Estragon reminds us of everything they do together with Vladimir. So both men serve to remind the other man of his presence. This is necessary because no one in the play can remember them. Then it happens with the boy who claims to have never seen the same thing before.

The lack of assurance of the existence of these assets makes it necessary for them to remember each other. Estragon and Vladimir speak not only to pass the time, but also to avoid voices from silence. Beckett’s heroes in other works are also constantly attacked by the sounds of silence, so the continuation of a theme frequently used by the author. One of the questions that needs to be answered is why the vagrants first suffered. This can only be answered by the original sin concept. To be born is to be a sinner, and therefore man is doomed to suffer. The only way to escape pain is to repent or die. Thus Vladimir remembers the thieves who were crucified with Christ in the first movement. They cannot repent and wait for Godot to come and save them. They think of suicide as another way of escaping despair. Estragon wants them to hang them on the tree, but both he and Vladimir think it would be too risky. This apathy, the result of their age, causes Estragon to remember a time when he was almost able to kill himself. Beckett said the name of Godot came from the French word ‘Godillot’, which means a military boot. Beckett fought in the war and it would be usual for him to spend a long time waiting for the messages to come. The concept of passage of time leads to a general irony. Every minute waiting brings death closer to the characters and makes the arrival of Godot less likely. The passage of time is evidenced by the tree growing leaves, probably showing the change of seasons. As Pozzo goes blind and Lucky dumb, Pozzo and Lucky also turn into time. Religious interpretations save Vladimir and Estragon as humanity and await the liberating return. An extension of this makes Pozzo loyal to the Pope and Lucky. Loyal is then seen as a code of God shortened by human intolerance. The twisted tree can alternatively represent either the death tree, the tree of life, the Judah tree or the tree of knowledge. Political comments abound. Some critics say that the relationship between Pozzo and Lucky is capitalist. This Marxist interpretation can be understood in the second case, given that Pozzo was blind to what was going on around them and that he was silent to protest against the treatment of Lance. The play was also understood as an allegory for French-German relations. An interesting comment argues that Lucky got his name because he was lucky in the context of the play. Because most of the play is spent to find things to do to pass the time, Lucky is lucky because the actions are definitely determined by Pozzo. Pozzo, on the other hand, is unlucky because he doesn’t just spend his time, but he has to find the things Lucky has to do (Davies and Day, Works … 20).

The play was generally regarded as an existentialist when he lived. The fact that none of the characters have an open mental history means that they are constantly fighting to prove their existence. Thus, the child who is constantly failing to remember any of the two heroes doubts the existence of their existence. So Vladimir wants to know that the child will remember them the next day. “Waiting for Godot” is part of the absurd theatre. This means it must be illogical. Absurd theatre eliminates the concepts of drama, chronological plot, logical language, themes and recognizable settings. There is also a division between the mind and the working body. Thus Vladimir represents the intelligence and the Estragon body, which cannot exist without both. This is demonstrated in the progress of dialogue and action in each of the two actions in Godot. The first thing a viewer can notice for “Waiting for Godot” is that they are immediately tuned for a comedy. The first two characters appearing on the stage are Vladimir and Estragon, wearing bowler hats and boots. These characters lend themselves to the same body types as Abbot and Costello. Vladimir is usually long and thin, and the opposite of Estragon. Each character is involved in a comedy action from the beginning of the plays. Estragon is fighting a boat that is firmly seated because he cannot lift his foot.

Vladimir is bowling because of a bladder problem. After this hit, the characters move to a comedy routine. One day in the life of two unpleasant comrades on a single tree-lined country road. Beckett achieves two things using this comedy style. These routines have a beginning and an end. According to Godot, the routine begins at the beginning of the play and finishes with a break. When the event is over, it cannot continue and the routine should be done again. This creates the second movement. The second action, although not a complete replication, is basically the first repeated action. For the audience is routinely applied again. The same chain of events: Estragon sleeps in a ditch, meets Vladimir in the tree, is visited by Pozzo and Lucky, and a child tells them that Godot will not come but they will be there the next day. This way the repetition determines the structure of the play. There is no climax in the play because the only thing that creates the conspiracy is the arrival of Godot. However, after the first performance, the audience decided that Godot would never appear. The second action doesn’t last very long before people realize that the only thing they do is to spend time. By making the second act another show of the same routine, Beckett makes us feel our own waiting and daily routine. Every day for us, but the same thing. It will certainly change the little things, but in general it seems to be living the same day many times. Another effect of repetition on Godot’s structure is the amount of characters in the play. As mentioned earlier, the play is set up like a Vaudeville routine. To maintain the integrity of the routine, the play must be based on these two characters. This leaves no room for extra characters to avoid movement. To allow the routine to be repeated, the player must only contain the required characters. The idea that two characters simply spend time is evident in the dialogue. The above-mentioned nothing to repeat is an example of repetition in the dialogue. On the first half pages of the play, the phrase is repeated four times. This means that the viewer will take the sentence. (Stout, Waiting … 12). It allows viewers to realize that all of these characters have Godot’s hope. All you can do is wait and wait until Godot gets here. The first information we learned about the characters was how he was beaten and slept in a pit. We get the feeling that this is always the case. It’s nothing new to characters. They are used to this routine. The flow of the play is based on the feeling that characters know where each day goes. They’re used to this routine. The flow of the play is based on the feeling that characters know where each day goes (Matt and Saw, Timeless … 44). The repeated silence outlines the incompetence of the rhythm. Repetition then creates the tone of the rhythm. Most of the play’s beats are a kind of repetition. The habit that controls our lives is the habit of feeding the characters in Godot. The same habit that makes Godot’s structure repetitive in itself. In the first act, events in the play may seem reasonable for viewers. It’s just a way for these two people to pass the hours of their day. The tragic humour of their situation emerges by making the second act the same routine. Estragon and Vladimir are stuck in this lifestyle. He is obliged to do more every day, because he cannot find another way to deal with their lives in order to try to get through time. All the ideas of the play and all the questions raised are highlighted by re-use. Therefore, the structure of the play dominates this single feature of the play.

At this point in the play, it was repeated many times that even Estragon knew about Godot waiting. Whenever he wanted Vladimir to go earlier, they continued the whole dialogue about why they could not go. However, this time, Estragon goes through a miniature version of this dialogue: ‘Let’s go. We can’t. Ah!’ It seems that the repetition of this dialogue finally affected Estragon’s desperate decision on the mind. (New and Bell, Works … 18). This implies that this dialogue has occurred many times before, and that the play demonstrates that Vladimir and Estragon are representative of the larger circle that defines their lives. Samuel Beckett’s most famous play “Waiting for Godot” was originally written in French, but the author himself translated into English. The play became popular and was translated into many foreign languages. The reason for its popularity is the fact that the play does not have a plot, but we can find many meaningful lessons in it.

Works Cited

1. New, Melvyn, with Richard A. Davies, and W. G. Day. Waiting for Godot, Florida Edition of the Works of Samuel Beckett. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1984.
2. Samuel Beckett. Waiting for Godot. Edited by Gardner D. Stout Jr. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1967.
3. Samuel, Beckett. Waiting for Godot. Timeless Works of Samuel Beckett. Edited by Sarah Matt and Cloe Saw. New York: University Presses of New York, 1978.
4. Samuel, Beckett. Waiting for Godot. Florida Edition of the Works of Samuel Beckett. Edited by Melvyn New and Joan Bell. Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1978.

“Sometimes you can do everything right and things will still go wrong. The key is to never stop doing right.”

“The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas is a young-adult novel about racism. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, this novel puts us in the shoes of Starr Carter, a memorable girl who was faced with adversity and choices that, unfortunately, are much too common. Starr Carter, a sixteen-year-old African-American girl, attends Williamson Prep, a high school with mostly white upper-class students. She lives in Garden Heights, a poor neighborhood, where most of the population is black. Ever since attending Williamson Prep, Starr feels out of place in her black community. This quote is said by her friend when Starr is in a difficult situation. She tries to fight for justice but no matter what she does, things still go wrong.

This story begins when Starr attends a party in Garden Heights. When gunshots ring out, Khalil Harris, Starr’s childhood best friend, offers to take her home. At the traffic light, a white police officer pulls them over. Khalil is confused about why he is being pulled over but the police officer simply orders him to stop talking and step out of the car. The police officer tells Khalil not to move while searching for him. Khalil puts his head in the car window to check on Starr. That’s when the police officer shoots Khalil dead. His death becomes a national headline. Some people say that he was a thug or a drug dealer. Everyone wants to know what happened the night of his death; but, the only one who knows is Starr. “The Hate U Give” explores the relationship between race and identity. Starr struggles to balance her life between the black world of Garden Heights and the white world of Williamson Prep. She finds herself switching her speech, mannerisms, and behaviors to suit wherever she is. After her friend’s fatal shooting, Starr has to speak out about it. She is scared because she fears nobody understands her. Starr feels that she is “too black” to talk about Khalil’s death with her school friends and that she is “too white” at home to stand up for Khalil. After a police officer murders her friend, Starr Carter must gain the courage and confidence within herself to testify before a grand jury to seek justice for his death.

Winner of #1 New York Times bestseller, “The Hate U Give” is an astounding book that will make you laugh or cry at times. Words cannot even describe how touching this book was. Once I started reading, I couldn’t stop; it was like an addiction! I love how this story opened up my eyes to how privileged I am, and what others have to go through on a daily basis. It had a very intriguing plot but was enlightening as well. It is so important for teenagers to realize what is going on around them and this book would definitely help. “The Hate U Give” isn’t like any old cliche book, it explores universal life lessons and teaches you a lot of things. It raises awareness for police brutality and the activist movement, “Black Lives Matter”. This novel is much more than just racism, it shows the struggles that African-Americans still have to face today and it introduces characters that are represented by the stereotypes that are present in our society nowadays. You can connect with how the characters relate to good and bad times. This book shows how it doesn’t matter what you look like on the outside, it’s who you are on the inside that really counts. I would recommend this book to teenagers or young adults who are looking for an intense drama or crime book. No matter what genre you like reading, you could always try this book—maybe you will enjoy it as much as I did.

In modern-day society, protests are happening due to injustice and violation of human rights as seen with police brutality, predominantly in the black community. In the novel written by Angie Thomas The Hate U Give, an African-American teenage girl, finds herself in a difficult situation, not knowing what to do with her life or her purpose. In search of her identity, Starr Carter, the protagonist, faces the consequences of being situated in two different settings. She copes with the loss of one of her close friends, Khalil Harris, to police brutality and then rises from her bitter past to vocalize her opinion. Throughout The Hate U Give, the protagonist Starr Carter struggles to seek out her true identity due to her race.

The juxtaposition of Starr Carter’s life can be seen as a barrier in her journey to find herself. Living in two completely different worlds, her home in an empty-valued underprivileged ghetto and her primarily white upper-class prep school. In chapter 17 Starr states,” Being two different people is so exhausting. I’ve taught myself to speak with two different voices and only say certain things around certain people […]” (301). Starr her whole life had to manage two different sides of her, the garden heights/ ghetto version of her vs. the suburbs Williamson prep version of her. Starr never really knew how to manage the two sides, for instance in chapter 21 she explains ” […] I should be used to my two worlds colliding, but I never know which Starr I should be. I can use some slang, but not too much slang, some attitude, but not too much attitude, so I’m not a “sassy black girl.” I have to watch what I say and how I say it, but I can’t sound “white.” (357). The protagonist was considered ‘too white’ in Garden Heights or ‘too black’ at Williamson and always had to find an equilibrium between the two. While living with two contrasting identities, Starr has always found it difficult to know who she really is. As a result, the upcoming events are what led Starr to further explore herself and who she is.

After witnessing the devastating shooting and death of her friend Khalil, for mistakenly having a gun, Starr became helpless increasing her insecurities which further delayed the process of finding her true identity. After the incident was reported in the news, one of Starr’s friends from Williamson, referred to Khalil as a drug dealer as described in the news. In reaction to her friends’ statement, Starr defends the late Khalil, “The drug dealer. That’s how they see him. It doesn’t matter that he’s suspected of doing it. “Drug dealer” is louder than “suspected” ever will be. If it’s revealed that I was in the car, what will that make me? The thug ghetto girl with the drug dealer? What will my teachers think about me? My friends? The whole f****** world, possibly?” (113). As Starr is taking in the incident and grieving, she does not want anyone to know that she was present at the scene because everyone in Williamson prep would think of her differently as “ghetto” and friends with a drug dealer. Although Starr may have insecurities, she points out that she has to have a voice because then what is the point in everyone being silent when there is going to be a time of not being silent and standing up for themselves (252)? Starr is a role model because she is a firm believer in everyone having rights as a human beings and can have a say in what they want or do not want to do. The perception of others with respect to who Starr is is important to how she struggles with her own identity, especially after the death of Khalil.

Within every problem, there is always a solution, if not, a turn of events whether it is physical, mental, or sentimental. A few days later, in the afternoon there was a large protest led by Ms.Ofrah, an advocate and lawyer from the black rights community giving, Starr took the opportunity to say something to fight for her rights and for Khalil’s. During the protest, Starr hopped on a police car and said “‘Everybody wants to talk about how Khalil died,’ I say. ‘But this isn’t about how Khalil died. It’s about the fact that he lived. His life mattered. Khalil lived!’ I look at the cops again. ‘You hear me? Khalil lived!’” (Chp 24 pg. 412). At this point, Starr has completely transformed from an uncertain, grieving teenage girl who lost her best friend to a strong-willed brave activist who fights and stands up for others. As Khalil said before he was incidentally shot that THUG LIFE meant” […] The Hate U Give Little Infants F**** Everybody. T-H-U-G L-I-F-E. Meaning what society gives us as a youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out. Get it?” (Chp 1 pg.17). Starr will always remember what Khalil said because it is true and genuinely represents the protest and what lead Starr voicing her opinion. In other words, Starr is now a strong courageous brave person without Khalil’s incident Starr would still be looking and not have found the bravery that was deep inside of her. Within all of Starr’s weaknesses, insecurities, and strong momentums she became who she needed and wanted to be.

Starr has been through a rough patch from the loss of her best friend to having severe insecurities about herself to becoming an activist for her community. Starr has struggled with her double identity crisis to her insecurities after the incident. As well as her becoming one of the leaders of the huge protest. Without the sudden tragedy of Khalil Starr would still be on the lookout searching for her existence on Earth. Therefore, Starr has learned how to speak up, have a voice, and fight for her rights and for others.

Introduction:

Culture is a major component that creates the foundation of self-actualization in many people groups along with class and influence. The identity of a person is consistently evolving with its environment. The most important form of symbolic expression is articulate speech. Articulate speech means the communication of ideas; communication means the preservation– tradition–and preservation means accumulation and progress (Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010). I will expound on cultural identity through the lens of the film The Hate U Give. There were many layers displayed throughout the film by way of the identity of self in community, family, educationally, and through the structures of the justice system.

Body:

The idea of being trapped in a cage due to the lack of knowledge or exposure, can be crippling and render people from progressing as they should. Common in the African American community, invariably feel the need to perform to be accepted. This is how Starr the protagonist described her experience living in Garden Heights, she described it as being a different world. “Garden Heights is one world, Williamson is another. And I got to keep it separate. So when I’m here, I’m Starr version Two. That means flipping a switch in my brain. Williamson Starr doesn’t use slang. If a rapper would say it, she doesn’t, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes me hood” (The Hate U Give, 2018).

African American culture has been a complex topic for years. Having a troubled history of oppressive treatment, identity has been one that continues to evolve over time, meaning the people are trying to find their place. Culture is a word that is heavily used in the African American community and is used to spark conversation as it seems to bring camaraderie. In dealing with the uncertainty of who you are and who you identify with, many find solace in being heard through social media. This seems to make people feel seen and understood. The ambition to fit in society is seen as an equal while navigating through how a person contributes to the world and their community without being negatively viewed. ‘Wherever human beings are related through their wills in an organic manner and affirm each other, we find one or another of the three types of Gemeinschaft’ (Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010).

In the movie, The Hate U Give, the theme of family self-worth and justice flows throughout the film. Starr’s father was adamant in teaching his children values from the Black Panther 10-point program in addition to how to conduct themselves with law enforcement. There was an extreme range of emotions displayed in how the black community processed trauma in the midst of chaos. There echoed a sense of pride in being black but uncertain about how to fully walk in that confidence due to fear of hindering success. In the United States, Black people are stereotyped as musical and athletic, but also lazy, unintelligent, and unethical (Penner and Saperstein, 2013). This in turn had a serious effect on the influence of African Americans outside of those acceptable categories.

Cultural identity can be formed through trauma. A person’s self-conception and self-perception can be tied to commonality violence. Street culture has evolved what may be called a code of the streets, which amounts to a set of informal rules governing interpersonal public behavior, including violence (Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010). In her process of dealing with her childhood friend’s death for the second time in her life, the emotional trauma of her experience was deemphasized. Giving little attention to the emotional toll the incident took on her and being forced to move on with life as normal based on her mother’s pushing.

Starr was called out by her mom when she wanted to avoid her school. Her mom expressed to her that she must go on with life. From this point of view, crying is not so much a matter of breaking the rules as it is playing a different set of rules (Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010). Starr’s identity struggles as a high school student living in a low-income community while going to school in an elite neighborhood forced her to balance her social obligation and acceptability. This was shown in her school, community, Home, with her childhood friends, and ultimately herself. In Engendering Racial Perceptions, it was stated that this is the complicatedness of living with multiple socially marginalized identities (Penner and Saperstein, 2013).

There was a theme of loyalty and leadership throughout the film, feeling indebted to the community, family, and self by abiding by Street culture. The code of the streets it’s actually a cultural adaptation to a profound lack of faith in the police and the judicial system (Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010). Starr’s entire community tried to figure out how they were going to be heard and accepted while navigating through two scenarios of what were their life and the lives of people outside of them, who had their own definition of their culture as well. When decent and street kids come together a kind of social shuffle occurs in which children have a chance to go either way( Macionis and Benokraitis, 2010). Either way is a life of violence or gaining knowledge to change behavior.

Starr dealt with being uncomfortable with being her true self in fear of being judged by others who had an idea of how they thought she should be.“Williamson Starr is approachable. No stink eyes or yelling because Williamson Starr is non-confrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto. And I hate myself for doing it”(The Hate U Give, 2018). Starr’s father raised her prepared for life as well as influenced her based on his personal experiences and trauma. Although his intentions were in the right place, the movie depicted a review of the different parenting styles and the stereotypes of inner-city life. Simply mentioning the phrase “inner city” cues racial stereotypes and affects whites’ attitudes toward crime policy (Penner and Saperstein, 2013).

Outside of Starr’s family, the other characters her age were either raised by a close relative like a grandmother, had a mother who appeared to not care, or the addicted parent. The use of media was portrayed to display the momentum gained for the Garden Heights community and quickly lost with the portrayal of the media incriminating the victim. “Shamell Bell said it best. “It is impossible to be unarmed when our blackness is the weapon that they fear.” And I refuse to let our blackness be seen as a weapon or as a weakness. Division is how they win. Unity is how they crumble”(The Hate U Give, 2018).

Conclusion:

While there are many directions and deeper rabbit holes that could be discussed. I felt it was important to reveal the countless influences and copious amounts of information thrown at this teen in this film. It has been said many times that culture determines how we view our life around us and it can also help us to shape our opinions of how we see ourselves and others. Being trapped in a cage of opinions and ideas, of who you are especially as an African American, can be disheartening and repetitive. What I enjoyed about this triggering film is the power of using your voice and standing up for what you believe in by any means necessary.

A recent news report states that in Toronto, Black individuals are most likely to be harmed or killed by Toronto Police officers rather than white individuals. From 2013-2017, nine out of fifteen police shootings of black people caused crucial death and harmful damage. Despite the fact that black people make up 8.8 % of Toronto’s population, they were found to be engaged in seven out of ten instances of police shootings in which they were assaulted forcefully and sexually by police because of improper and unwarranted charges (Hayes). The Hate U Give, by Angie Thomas, is about a sixteen-year-old black girl named Starr Carter, who is stuck between two worlds; Garden heights which is a black poor neighborhood, and her bougie white school. Her life alters when she witnesses her childhood best friend get shot by a white police officer who ends up receiving no charges. She faces stress and pressure from the people around her to use her voice to defend Khalil. Kenya and Starr’s inflamed argument causes Starr to participate in a live unidentified interview on TV regarding Khalil and Ms. Ofrah’s remarks about the hairbrush and her guidance for Starr leads her to bravely speak up for Khalil.

Starr takes a stand for Khalil due to Kenya’s shameful comments of making Starr feel like a “‘coward’’’. First, Kenya boldly criticizes Starr for remaining silent for Khalil on his behalf. After the police humiliate Maverick by throwing him to the ground, Kenya gets angry at Starr for staying quiet about Khalil. Kenya argues, ‘“Why are you keeping quiet ‘bout it? […] Tell everybody what really happened that night. […] Here you are, with a chance to help change what happens in our whole neighborhood, and you staying quiet. Like a coward”’ (197-198). Kenya accuses Starr of being ashamed of Garden Heights by abandoning the neighborhood, Khalil, and Kenya for her ease of life. This greatly hits Starr because deep down inside, Starr is aware that this is the real truth, and seeing her father get degraded by the police just because Starr is blaming One-Fifteen for Khalil’s death, provokes her to reconsider her actions and concerns. This talk eventually sparks courage in Starr which forces her to show bravery a few days later during the anonymous interview. Consequently, as a result of Kenya’s talk, Starr demonstrates courage and speaks up in the interview with the DA. During the interview organized by Ms.Ofrah, Starr narrates, “One-Fifteen pointed his gun at me.” Starr then says, ‘“I’m tired of them assuming. Especially when it comes to black people”’ (289). This indicates that Starr finally gains the courage in order to address her feelings towards systematic racism when she takes Kenya’s irking comments into account and speaks up. Kenya’s shameful criticism impacts Starr’s mindset because it makes her realize that avoiding the situation will only enable the brutality in the neighborhood to continue. She continuously grows confident throughout the entire interview, revealing her frustration about society characterizing her and Khalil as criminals while also revealing that Officer One-Fifteen pointed his gun at her. Starr adds that she is not afraid of the cops, but is exhausted by the belief that black people are dangerous. In conclusion, Kenya significantly sparks bravery in Starr by opening her eyes to the bitter truth of Starr being ashamed of everyone in Garden Heights and Khalil, which causes Starr to eventually open up and talk about her emotions to the entire world.

Ms. Ofrah also inspires Starr to speak up by letting her know about the “‘so-called gun’’’ and pushing her to let her voice be heard. First, Starr finding out about the hairbrush from Ms. Ofrah infuriates her that Khalil died over such a ridiculous object. When Starr is nervous about answering the questions about the gun to the Grand Jury, Ms. Ofrah shows Starr a picture of Khalil’s hairbrush and remarks, ‘“That’s the so-called gun, […] The handle was thick enough, black enough, for him to assume it was a gun”’(217). Ms. Ofrah makes Starr realize that Officer One-Fifteen was so blinded by racist speculations about Black people’s wrongdoings which caused him to immediately assume that Khalil had a weapon. This act changes Starr’s mindset and drives her to fight for justice with the help of Ms. Ofrah. Second, Ms. Ofrah gives valuable advice to Starr which encourages her to fearlessly speak up later on. After the grand jury’s decision, Starr insists she wants to do something to help. Ms. Ofrah then hands the bullhorn to Starr and recalls, ‘“Remember what I told you about your voice? […] Use your weapon.’’’ Starr then narrates, ‘‘The bullhorn is as heavy as a gun’’ (410-411). When Starr has the bullhorn and claims it is difficult to lift, this is a link between the bullhorn and the gun which expresses Starr’s voice’s weight at this moment. Starr realizes with Ms. Ofrah’s advice that she is the only one capable of using her voice to defend Khalil since she was present for the events of that night. Standing in the same spot where Khalil was shot, Starr is no longer afraid anymore and completely grasps her capability to demand justice. In conclusion, Ms. Ofrah opens Starr’s eyes by clearing her confusion on the object Khalil was reaching for while also enlightening her to take a step toward activism.

In Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give, the two main characters who inspire Starr to stand up and speak out for Khalil are Kenya and Ms. Ofrah. Kenya’s shaming comments towards Starr humiliate her which results in Starr attending an anonymous interview on TV and defending Khalil. In addition, Ms. Ofrah clears Starr’s doubt about the hairbrush and urges her to utilize her voice for activism. The Hate U Give teaches the readers that police can be violent and unfair towards African Americans due to structural racism which leads to elevated levels of police killings of black people. In 2019, roughly 750 citizens were shot and killed by the police, in which 150 of them were black (“People Shot to Death by U.S. Police, by Race 2019”). This proves that black people tend to be victims of shootings and deaths more than white individuals because of how the structural system works. Black Lives Matter is an act of activism by exposing the police in unjust situations. Similarly, Starr also had the courage to talk back to the police officers during the riot which proves that she has the bravery to expose the police officers to stand up for herself and the black community.

Works Cited

1. Hayes, Molly. “Black people more likely to be injured or killed by Toronto Police officers.” The Globe and Mail, Dec 10, 2018,www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/toronto/article-report-reveals-racial-disparities-in-toronto-polices-use-of-force/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.
2. “People Shot to Death by U.S. Police, by Race 2019.” Statista, Statista Research Department, Oct 30, 2019, www.statista.com/statistics/585152/people-shot-to-death-by-us-police-by-race/. Accessed 18 Dec. 2019.

In the lives of the Carter family, living in Garden Heights, the poor neighborhood we see the development of the issues a low-class neighborhood deals with in an everyday matter. Starr Carter lives life in the ghetto while attending Williamson, a predominantly white upper-class high school. In the movie The Hate U Give, directed by George Tillman we look into the racial inequalities and the lack of proper institutions from social class leading to drugs, gangs, and crime that runs rampant in the ghetto. As we look into the different theoretical perspectives of prejudice, each one has a unique view to explain how society and social interactions work. The three main theories are functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism. Functionalism reveals how prejudice is necessary to society and how it functions as a form of solidarity and dysfunctions in a form of group antagonism however, it does not justify why there is prejudice. Conflict theory states that there is always a ruling class and a lower class in which both classes are in a state of conflict and are always in a state of inequality and conflict for power and resources. Symbolic interactionism states how the way we interact with individuals of our same group leads to learned prejudice against another group. Several sociological aspects of the movie play a vital role in Garden Heights and how they impact the Starr family. However, the role of social stratification not only affects them, but it also affects everyone in the neighborhood in both social and environmental factors from conformity to prejudice.

The United States is an open system, meaning that social mobility is possible for anyone living here. In the Erik Wright model of social class, we have the capitalists, petty bourgeoisie, managers, and workers. The Erik Wright model is based upon the Karl Marx model of social class we have the bourgeoisie and the proletariat; the capitalist and the workers. Capitalists are the business owners, the petty bourgeoisie are the small business owners, the managers are the people who have authority over others, and the workers do the labor. In the Gilbert and Kahl model of the social class ladder, we are able to see the different rankings of classes from capitalist, upper-middle, lower-middle, working, working-poor, and the underclass. This class model is based on Max Weber’s components of social class; power, property, and prestige. A person’s power is the ability to control others, the property is wealth, and prestige is your recognition and respect for your social status; these three are used to determine your social class. The neighborhood at Garden Heights would be considered working class and lower while the majority of the people who attend Williamson would be considered upper-middle class. Because Starr lives in the ghetto, certain behaviors and attitudes Starr is considered “hood” while when other people at William who do those certain behaviors and attitudes are considered “cool”, as a result, she code-switches but refuses to assimilate. Her friends at Williamson Maya, Hailey, and her boyfriend, Chris, cannot seem to know the reality of living in Garden Heights because of this she feels conflicted to talk about Khalil’s death but ultimately decides to stand up for Khalil, especially after the students at Williamson decide to skip school to protest for the death of Khalil.

Khalil was a victim of the scapegoat theory in which his death became a means of aggression and blame towards him and black people. When Khalil died it was noted that police officer badge One-Fifteen killed him for holding a “gun” but in reality, it was a brush. A lot of people saw that as an act of police brutality. From a conflict theorist perspective, we see that the dominant group uses prejudiced views on a minority group perceived as a threat (Griffiths et al. 231). The power elite, people at the top are able to control the rules of society which becomes in favor of the privileged, and are able to decide what is criminal and what is not (Griffiths et al 140).

In a study by Babad about preferential treatment in television, he states, “Preferential behavior in television interviewing is a particularly sensitive issue because it has the potential to affect a large audience…” (340). During Starr’s interview with the media, the interviewer only cared about Khalil’s King Lord gang affiliation and drug dealing, favoring stereotypes of black people as malignant. Comparing that to the news sources covering police officer One-Fifteen shows a certain bias towards white privilege protecting law enforcement by portraying the event as an accident and showing the police officer’s dad on TV stating how he believes that his son is not a monster and how their lives were threatened, trying to gain sympathy from the viewers, it becomes justified. We find out that the police officer was not indicted for charges by the grand jury and was only placed on administrative leave. If viewers are exposed to this constant view of preferential treatment, over time, we may become prejudiced against these ideas presented to us; likewise, the culture of prejudice theory states how prejudice is embedded in our culture (Griffiths et al. 232).

From a symbolic interactionist perspective, we look at Starr’s friend Hailey. As stated by Griffiths et al., “… racial prejudice is formed through interactions between members of the dominant group … These interactions contribute to an abstract picture of the subordinate group that allows the dominant group to support its view of the subordinate group…” (231). The authoritarian personality also states how highly prejudiced people are insecure and intolerant, and long for firm boundaries to be set by strong authority. Hailey for example confessed that all black people are the same and that Starr is different by the fact that she is the “non-threatening black girl” (The Hate U Give). If it weren’t for Starr to code-switch into the white dominant culture, Hailey most likely would have viewed her as a different person, a threatening person. Hailey has come to the conclusion that the majority of black people are dangerous, but she makes an exception for Starr. We can also see that Hailey proclaimed that Khalil was nothing more than a drug dealer and a dangerous person. She only cared about the after-the-fact notion of drug dealing and not why people are inclined to do what they do. Khalil said that his “McJob” wasn’t working out and he needed something else that would help him, which was drug dealing. Khalil’s mother was an addict, his grandmother had cancer and was fired from her job, and he needed to support his little brother. We could say that Khalil should have continued to go to school to further educate himself, in hopes to get a better job in the years to come but he was only sixteen; a kid who isn’t even an adult who has to face life as an adult. The pressure to provide for the family knowing that there is no other alternative.

From a functionalist theorist perspective, we can see how Starr’s uncle Carlos acclimates and conforms to the white dominant culture against the black stereotype; he becomes part of an in-group solidarity in which he believes that white people are not dangerous and an out-group antagonism that black people are dangerous. Starr’s uncle explains the logic behind a police’s mind during a traffic stop routine using Starr’s example: An upper-class white person reaching into the windows and Starr’s uncle thought it was a gun would he tell him to put his hands up or shoot him? We are able to see that because, in this hypothetical situation, Starr’s uncle decides to tell the white person to put their hands up rather than the ladder which is to shoot them. We can infer from the attitude and the way Starr’s uncle said this answer that if it were a black person, the result would most likely be the ladder, not the former. Rather than treating everyone equally, this scene justifies an unequal society or in Starr’s uncle’s words, “We live in a complicated world, Starr” (The Hate U Give).

The Hate U Give reveals the nature of individual and institutional discrimination in areas of poverty such as black communities being deprived of the opportunities and resources needed to achieve, it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy for the succeeding generations of black communities. With this loophole, many of the people in Garden Heights are placed in an environment where they cannot escape poverty without relying on illegitimate opportunities, which belittles black people in the form of stereotypes. The labeling theory explains how labels of certain people or groups of people change their perception of themselves, leading to a change of behavior to the standard of that label which causes deviance. Due to the burdens created by poverty, Maverick, Starr’s dad himself became part of a gang, sold drugs, and eventually went to prison. Maverick explains to Starr during their conversation about Tupac’s phrase “Thug Life”; The hate u give little infants fucks everybody. Maverick speaks about how society’s system was made to work against black people. There were no proper institutions nearby, no proper jobs available just low-paying jobs that won’t get you anywhere. Drug dealing is a multi-billion dollar industry and it becomes a trap that people fall into. As a result, even if people like Maverick wanted to find a good job he is labeled as a criminal by society, as he has a criminal record. It would be very hard for him to even find any decent job opportunities. We see how social mobility in an intergenerational cycle is difficult to obtain because low-income communities, like Garden Heights, do not have adequate access to resources such as proper education and employment.

I do think social class and race do affect my life chances of success. Growing up in an Asian working-class family, my mom was the only person who supported us, working 2 full-time jobs as a nurse assistant and a caretaker for the elderly to pay the rent and bills. My dad did not work at all because he had a back injury when he was still living with us. My parents had a very permissive parenting style, my mom especially was always working and nobody ever came up to check on me with my school work and it just made it seem like my mom didn’t care for me but in reality, she did but. I really wanted to see a psychiatrist to see what was going on but, my mom just made enough to pay rent and bills and I did not want to burden this on them so I just dealt with it hoping that it would get better over time. I didn’t know at the time but I was bipolar II and had attention deficit disorder because of this it led to my grades deteriorating and not being able to graduate high school on time. If I was able to see help for myself If I had the money, at that time it definitely would have been a different outcome, but because my parents did not make enough it just did not happen. Just looking at my mom working hard just makes me want to do better for myself, I want to eventually finish college and get a decent-paying job to support my parents and myself.

The Hate U Give explains the notion of how our system doesn’t always work. People in poverty lead to illegitimate means of obtaining goals. These decisions that people make to try to improve their lives and the people around them end up being looked at with a negative stigma and also ruin their lives at the same time. We see the result of these means in social media and on mainstream television, people just blame the people who are discriminating against them, trying to create change. As a result those people who discriminate against others often scapegoat the out-group for making their in-group become that way. In the end, it leads to a standoff of both groups becoming intolerant of each other, refusing to talk, and not understanding why they think a certain way or have hate for each other.

Introduction

In this thesis, I am going to analyze a book called ‘THE HATE U GIVE’, a 2017 novel written by Angi Tomas and published on February 28, 2017. This book is the auteur’s first book which is expanded from a short story to a novel that Angie wrote in college, in reaction to the police shooting of Oscar Grant in 2009.

‘The Hate U Give’ is a novel that tackles the theme of police violence and racism. This novel is particularly aimed at adolescents. It tells the story of Starr, a young African American girl who lives in a poor black community neighborhood of a fictional city, and who successfully studies at a high school located in the suburban parts of the city. One evening Star witnesses the murder of her childhood friend Khalil by a white policeman. In order to overcome her anger and fight against the gangs and authorities who want to silence her, Starr decides to raise her head and find the strength to do justice to her friend Khalil.

In order to get a general view of the book, I will try to lead the readers to my analysis by answering the following questions. Where and when the novel takes place? how is narrated? What is the main content and main characters etc?

I will use the book itself and some internet websites as a resource to accomplish my work.

The story takes place in a fictional town that has two different parts of the place. That means a poor African American neighborhood and the suburban one. The African American neighborhood called Garden Heights is a place that is not secure to live freely there because of the gangsters and drug dealers. While the suburban where the white and reach people do to live to have nothing of scare to live there. Here can I observe the difference between those parts of the fictional city. Starr’s uncle the police officer lives in the suburban a place where Sekani’s youngest brother of Starr is happy to go and ride his bike safely. Starr herself can walk around her uncle’s house without fear of the gangsters. But on the other hand, I would like to mention that one morning Starr and her big brother Seven went to Rose Park of Garden Heights to play basketball but unfortunately, two teenage Garden Disciples attempt to rob them, so they didn’t enjoy their morning as planned. In addition, their parent was so scared because of the riot at that moment causing Khalil’s death. ‘Daddy drives off. ‘Done lost y’all minds,’ he says. ‘People rioting, damn near calling the National Guard here, and y’all wanna play ball.’

Poverty is the most known enemy of the Garden Heights society which leet most teenagers of the community to be drag-dealers, gangsters, and without goals. Through the novel, I observe that the black community complains about the white society. They mean that does not let them have the same opportunity in life as Tupac means of ‘the THUG life.’

The relatives of Starr, her neighborhood, people such as the hairdresser next to her father’s grocery store, or even the relatives of Khalil, his aunt and his grandmother in particular, all these people, are human beings above all. Yes, the ghetto is ugly, it’s crumbling and it’s not pretty to look around without blinking or lowering your head, but this place has life like all other places. They have their own culture and habits like helping each other and sharing together their happiness and sadness. I can see that when Starr’s family was going to visit Kalil’s grandmother after his death. But of course, it is a poor community, they have a problem with the white police officers, and the gangsters bother sometimes more than anyone.

Angie Thomas isn’t just pointing the finger at the shady and indignant white police system. She also knows very well that, in her own reality, things are not quite right either. In the novel, this is very visible through the figure of King, King Lord of the gang of the same name. This mafia, this kind of obese and deceitful godfather sows terror in the district of Starr. And because of whom the father of Starr, Maveric, had to go to prison to be able to escape this vicious and endless cycle of horrors and misdeeds, this guy is just an ambient threat right now. He won’t even hesitate to threaten Starr to silence her. Indeed, it is not only the whites who seek to cover up the Khalil affair.

The protagonist and narrator of the novel Starr, a teenager, with an extraordinary and intelligent personality, brilliant, and inspiring, who does not deny her origins but who would like to get out of this quagmire of drugs, and dirty money. Above all, Starr is fed up with people of color like her being reduced to being seen by whites as junkies, and prostitutes serving gangs of the worst kind, in short. This young girl is having a hard time integrating into her white school. Along with her half-brother, Seven, and another student named Ryan, boyfriend of

her Asian best friend Maya, Starr is the only black American in her high school. Every day, she has to hide who really is, and avoid using the language she uses more naturally at home so that she is not directly cataloged as ‘the black of the ghetto on duty’. However, she shouldn’t be too careful with her language otherwise she would be a completely different student.

Starr’s childhood best friend, Khalil, is a young man who was shot and killed by a white cop (One-Fifty) while he was driving Starr home. After Khalil’s death, the media immediately accused him of being a drug dealer with gang connections in order to make him responsible for his death, to which Starr strongly disagreed. Also, there were rumors in his neighborhood that Khalil was one.

While these negative reproaches question Khalil’s character, Starr remembers that he was a nice boy. Starr wants to say too that the most important thing about Khalil was, that he was a teenager who led a normal life. Even after DeVante tells her that Khalil was dealing drugs to raise money to protect his drug-addict mother, she refused this nuanced portrait of Khalil to determine a negative stereotype about black youth.

Maverick stars father an outspoken and philosophical man who was in prison for he was King Lord. After those circumstances, he became an engaged father and husband who devotes himself to his family and neighborhood. ‘Maverick’s outlook on life draws inspiration from the Black Power Movement, in particular Malcolm X and the Black Panther Party. Often called the foil to Martin Luther King Jr.’s peaceful protests, Malcolm X preached black liberation by any means necessary. The Black Panther Party was a political movement founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They also fought for black liberation and organized community programs. Maverick follows their lead by running a grocery store, helping to nourish the community’ those Khalil and DeVante were an example of his engaged help to the community. https:www.sparknotes.comlitthe-hate-u-give character maverick-big-mav-carter (05162021)

Since Starr does her high school at Williamson she had a white friend Hailey, but they were not friends for real. Starr and her best friend Maya agreed that Heiley can’t be their friend and she was racist against them. Heiley’s silent argument with Starr over Tumblr, her fried chicken joke, and her question to Maya if the Chines eat a cat, were enough points to understand her insidious racism toward Starr. The only visible conflict in the novel was between those two teenage girls, Starr and Healey. Which influences the fight of each big brother at Williamson to protect their sisters.

Starr will decide to no longer be ashamed of who she is, a little bit of a woman between two worlds. A young black girl who lives in the reassuring and polished world of whites by day, Angie Thomas reminds us that we must see beyond our disgust and our hurtful and deeply cruel stereotypes, by making us see her reality. The world the author describes in The Hate U Give is her. That of her family and the people she loves. That of many African Americans. She knows exactly what she is talking about, it shows in every description, every word used, every slang word or a little familiar. With each page that turns, I live the events of this district and its surroundings from the inside and it takes guts to see all this happening before my eyes, with the during and after of the tragic death of Khalil. It makes my hair bristle, with emotion or anger, and I sometimes have the impression that my heart stops in the face of certain critical situations. It is a writing that is worth the detour, as it is realistic and captivates the reader at all times, arousing his emotions and especially his common sense.

Thomas by her choice of an African American dialect, and colloquial tone which I think makes the book more interesting for teenagers especially.

The story is narrated in the first person by providing comments and explaining her feeling Starr tells the story in a familial manner, which in somewhere she was privileging attention to speak formally. An example of that is here when Starr had an interview with the detective at the Polic station; ‘I raised an eyebrow. ‘Nah.’ Dammit. Proper English. I sit up straight. I mean no, ma’am. We were talking when the fight occurred’.’ (The Hate u Give, page. 98

‘The Hate U Give’ is a novel that tells the story of Starr, a young black girl who lives in a poor African American neighborhood of a fictional city. And who successfully studies at a high school located in the suburban parts of the city ‘Williamson’.

One evening, a young African American boy has been killed by a white policeman. This boy was Starr’s best childhood friend. that evening he was at a party he saw Starr and come over to her. When they were talking together suddenly a fight occurred at the party and they left together in his car. Kalil was on his way to drive Starr home when the policeman stopped him. Starr was the only whiteness the murder of her childhood friend Kalil by the white policeman.

Starr always wanted to keep secrets to protect herself against the crimes frequent in her neighborhood, but Khalil’s death affected her a lot and through her actions, she will try to show how much Khalil’s life has been removed for no reason. Starr refuses to stay silent this time around because she doesn’t want the white cop who killed Khalil to get away so easily.

In order to overcome her anger and fight against the gangs and authorities who want to silence her, Starr will learn to raise her head and find the strength to do justice to her friend Kalil.

A true social phenomenon, ‘The hate u give’ prances at the top of teenage literature sales in the United States. More useful than a beautiful speech, this novel is inspired by real facts and joins by its theme the movement of Black Lives Matter created to denounce the corruption and racism of the police. Without complacency but with many nuances, the young African American author depicts a two-speed society where racism and the hatred that results from it are at the origin of crimes and slippages (THUG). From this gloomy picture emerges an astonishing solidarity between the people of the same neighborhood. Supported by those around her and her friends, Thomas is determined to restore the truth to a corrupt, divided, and violent world at all costs.

Conclusion

‘THE HATE U GIVE’ is a novel that tackles the theme of police violence and racism, this novel is particularly aimed at adolescents. We thoughts that we had overcome all these discriminating thoughts and nameless inhumanity and yet, this climate of racial tensions and which gives pride of place to the prejudices that destroy our society, and the lack of harmony that we can already maintain there is still there.

Throughout the novel, I felt the rage, injustice, incomprehension, pain, and sorrow, rumbling in me like a volcano about to erupt. Except that the flowing blade, it’s Angie Thomas who makes it spring, through the character of Starr, this harmed young girl, who, at the height of her sixteen years, has already seen enough, be it violence, bloodshed, fear that comes to haunt you at night, and above all hatred.

By writing this novel, Angie Thomas invites us to use everything we have, our voice, our feet, our hands, our head, our entire body, to make our words resonate, what we think everything low and that should be yelled at to the whole world.

Abstract

‘The Hate U Give’ by Angie Thomas is a novel which is talking about black skin lives in America; racism is a very important issue that we can see in the United States of America. Many years ago we have black slaves in America, and they use black people to work for them instead, they give them a small amount of food and a place where they can sleep there. Nowadays we do not have this slavery law but still, white people look down on blacks. Also, you can hear and read the news that police kill black people because they are black, and they think that they are savage. In this research, I want to talk about racism signs in “The Hate U Give Novel” and the death of innocent black people. Also, you will read about the novel’s writer and characters which we have in ‘The Hate U Give’ novel.

Introduction

Despite the fact that we live in the 21st century and the slavery law has been repealed for many years in the United States, still we can see violence and racist attitudes toward black Americans. These behaviors make life difficult for these black people. Sometimes small and ordinary moves of them are considered as a crime by police and cause their death, and we can see the news in different media. This paper argues racism and black people issues which cause police violence and the death of Khalil in “The Hate U Give” a novel by Angie Thomas. Also, I will introduce you to Gobineau’s view on race and the concept of racism. Then I will introduce you to the characters we have in this beautiful novel.

Arthur de Gobuneau’s Theory about Race

Arthur de Gobineau (1882-1816) considered racial hypotheses and the existence of races as a key concept and the main guide in explaining the history of the world and humanity. In his view, “race” is the driving force and determining factor in the rise or fall of civilizations and cultures, and therefore the rise and fall of civilizations and cultures is only a racial issue. Gobineau reduced the number of human races to three main races: white, yellow, and black. According to Gobineau, each race has it’s own definite physical, mental, fixed, and unchangeable traits, the source of which is the original pure blood (Ursprungliche Reinem Blut). In his view, although the early blood and races have been mixed throughout history, and this has led to the growth of culture and civilization in the early stages, if the relative keeping of pure blood is not observed, at least by the ruling families, and the mixing of blood and races will continue unhindered, the superior and pure corrupt race and the advanced and sublime peoples and civilizations will be destroyed, because racial corruption and consequently cultural and civilizational corruption occurred in the history of the civilized peoples of the world when the blood of the higher and superior race The blood of alien and vile races is mixed. According to Gobineau, the white race is the only race appointed by God to rule over the lower races, and this is a divine destiny and cannot be changed because God has divided and determined talents among races from the very beginning of creation. Gobineau spoke of Aryan blood and the Aryan race; He considered the black race to be the lowest class in human groups who are less intelligent and emotional; The material yellow race is a microcosm in search of material prosperity and was created for trade and handicrafts, but the white race loves freedom and pride, and this race has an advantage over all races because it is Aryan. In his writings, Gobineau does not explain in any way what he means by Aryan blood or pure (primary) blood, what composition this blood has and has or should have, and what factors exist in white blood that does not exist in the blood of blacks and yellows races. In Gobuneau’s work, blood is present as an important, mysterious but determining factor. Although Gobineau believes in and mentions a human origin in accordance with religious texts and books, he does not specify why and at what stage and how God of the universe divided talents between races and the classification of races. And why the white race of Europe was chosen and considered the superior race, and why the Aryans became the beloved people of God and not others. And it leaves unanswered the question that if the Aryans came to Europe from somewhere (India or Central Asia) one day, where did they come from in India and Central Asia, and did human creation or human evolution takes place in India and Central Asia? And if the number of races is three, which is divided into 5 or 4, which race do you think the original inhabitants of the United States belong to? Examination of Gobuneau’s writings on ancient civilizations shows that his knowledge of these civilizations was quite superficial, and he had no knowledge of their cultural content and their relationship to each other, and their socioeconomic conditions and prosperity. Considering that within the capitalist societies of Western Europe and in the relations between the colonial capitalist countries, the principle of “competition” at any cost and in any way was considered as guiding and determining thought for making more profit, it can be said that the economic context in capitalist societies It was provided to generalize Darwin’s theories of the struggle for survival and the choice of the right to human societies. By extending these theories to human societies (Sozialdarwinismus), racial wars should ultimately lead to the survival of the superior race and the flourishing of a higher culture in human society (in this racial war, each race must use all its physical, mental, and cultural resources). He used it to destroy others and survive, and there was no escaping this natural predestination (but a group of racial theorists did not accept this natural predestination and believed in the conscious intervention (racial health) to obtain and create a “superior race” and maintain it.

Writer’s biography

“Angie Thomas was born, raised, and still resides in Jackson, Mississippi as indicated by her accent. She is a former teen rapper whose greatest accomplishment was an article about her in Right-On Magazine with a picture included. She holds a BFA in Creative Writing from Belhaven University and an unofficial degree in Hip Hop. Likewise, she can also still rap if needed. Furthermore, she is an inaugural winner of the Walter Dean Myers Grant 2015, awarded by We Need Diverse Books. Her award-winning, acclaimed debut novel, The Hate U Give, is a #1 New York Times bestseller and major motion picture from Fox 2000, starring Amandla Stenberg and directed by George Tillman, Jr. Her second novel, On the Come Up, is on sale now”.

Characters list of “The Hate U Give Novel”

Starr Carter

The protagonist and narrator of the novel. Starr is a sixteen-year-old black high school student who spends her life divided between the poor, primarily black neighborhood of Garden Heights and Williamson Prep, a wealthy, primarily white school. Starr is analytical and sharp, but because she narrates events as she experiences them, her emotions are immediate and unfiltered. Traumatized after witnessing the fatal shooting of her friend Khalil, Starr blames herself for not being there for Khalil prior to his death. As Starr gains the courage to testify at the grand jury hearing for One-Fifteen and grapples with how being black affects all aspects of her life, she grows more outspoken, refusing to accept the way racism hurts her.

Khalil Harris

Starr’s childhood best friend is shot by One-Fifteen during a traffic stop. After Khalil’s death, rumors spread that Khalil dealt drugs and participated in the King Lords gang, placing his character in question. However, Starr remembers Khalil primarily as the sweet friend she knew growing up. Kenya and DeVante attest that Khalil often spoke fondly of Starr and that he cared about her very much. Toward the end of the novel, DeVante reveals that Khalil took great care of his family and only sold drugs to pay off his mother’s debt to King.

Maverick “Big Mav” Carter

Starr, Seven, and Sekani’s father, an outspoken and philosophical man who runs a small grocery store in Garden Heights. Despite his dark past as a member of the King Lords gang and a short stint in prison, Maverick is an engaged father who devotes himself fully to his family and his neighborhood. Maverick inspires Starr by educating her on Black Power philosophy, but he struggles with balancing his values of black liberation with the reality that those values put him and his family in danger. His strong beliefs often get him into arguments with Uncle Carlos, who helped care for Maverick’s children while Maverick was in prison.

Lisa Carter

Mother to Starr and Sekani, and stepmother to Seven. Lisa is a nurse and a loving but firm mother. Although she comes off as strict, Lisa has a compassionate heart and teaches the importance of forgiveness and second chances. She fiercely protects her children and always reminds her husband, Maverick, not to push the children too far into dangerous activism.

Uncle Carlos

Starr’s maternal uncle, a police officer. Uncle Carlos served as a father figure in Starr’s life, particularly while Maverick was in prison. With his job as a police officer and a home in a suburban, gated community, Uncle Carlos assimilates into the white community and encourages Lisa to do the same with her family, leading to conflict with Maverick.

Seven Carter

Starr’s older half-brother, son of Maverick and Iesha. Seven is the oldest of the Carter children and fiercely protects all his siblings. He worries particularly for Kenya and Lyric, his half-sisters through Iesha, because of their dangerous home environment with King.

King

The leader of the King Lords gang. King profits off the drug dealings in Garden Heights but does not care about the community, threatening elderly men and teenagers alike to protect his hold over the neighborhood. King abuses his girlfriend, Iesha, and daughters, Kenya and Lyric.

Chris

Starr’s boyfriend, a wealthy white boy from Williamson Prep. The two initially bonded over a love of the television show The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, and Chris often raps the theme song to make Starr smile. Chris adores Starr and tries to make her feel comfortable being her entire self around him, which Starr struggles with throughout the novel.

One-Fifteen

The white police officer shoots and kills Khalil. Although the media portrays him as a caring father and good police officer, One-Fifteen lies to his colleagues about the events of the night of Khalil’s death. Throughout the novel, One-Fifteen represents systemic racism and corruption in law enforcement.

Hailey Grant

Starr’s friend from Williamson Prep is a wealthy, white teenage girl who feels uncomfortable when confronted with the racism affecting Starr’s life. In the past, Hailey expected Starr and Maya to go along with her dictates and finds Starr’s new outspokenness threatening.

DeVanteA black teenage boy from Garden Heights and a member of the King Lords gang. DeVante attempts to leave the King Lords after King gives him an assignment that DeVante knows will lead to his own death. Despite his cocky exterior, DeVante cares deeply for his family and others. He has a crush on Kenya.

Kenya

Starr’s friend from Garden Heights and Seven’s half-sister through Iesha. Kenya is assertive and calls Starr out for not spending as much time with people in Garden Heights since Starr started going to Williamson Prep. Kenya also urges Starr to speak out on behalf of Khalil.

Mr. Lewis

The neighborhood barber, an older black man and resident of Garden Heights. Mr. Lewis loudly complains about the effects of gang violence in the neighborhood and often clashes with Maverick because of Maverick’s past membership in the King Lords. The King Lords later beat up Mr. Lewis after he betrays King on television.

Maya Yang

A close friend of Starr and Hailey’s at Williamson Prep. Maya is the peacekeeper of the trio, always trying to get Starr and Hailey to communicate. After Maya confesses that Hailey made racist comments about Maya’s Asian American heritage, Starr and Maya form an alliance to fight Hailey’s racism.

April OfrahStarr’s lawyer, a community organizer who leads Just Us for Justice. She encourages Starr to use her voice for activism.

IeshaMother to Seven, Kenya, and Lyric, a sex worker who is dating King. Iesha puts her relationship with King over the safety of her children, but she is also a victim of King’s abuse.

‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ is a drama/comedy featuring Olivia Cooke, Thomas Mann, and RJ Cyler, and directed by Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, an American filmmaker. It was entertaining and very heartwarming, causing many laughs and cries throughout the film’s entirety.

This movie follows Greg, played by Thomas Mann, as he goes through high school. He had kept a low profile for the past four years, until he was forced by his mom to hang out with Rachel (played by Olivia Cooke), a girl who was just diagnosed with leukemia. Despite being awkward at first, they eventually become very close friends. Greg introduces her to Earl, his best friend and ‘coworker’, as they had been making films together for the past 10 years. They try their best to cheer her up while she goes through chemotherapy, and Earl shows her some of the films which they had made. They get the idea to make a film for Rachel, whose disease has been worsening. Greg starts missing school as he does his best to help, sacrificing everything in hopes of Rachel’s recovery.

‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ teaches its audience many great lessons as Greg experiences them, creating a special connection to high schoolers who might be feeling the same way. When his mom suggested that Earl go and befriend Rachel, he first is very resistant. As he spends more time with her, though, he realizes that she was a great friend, and they eventually form a very strong bond. This teaches him that you need to give everyone a chance, because you will learn that you have a lot in common. In the beginning of the film, Greg is just coasting through life, having an attitude that nothing matters. Through his time spent with Rachel and advice from Earl, he eventually understands the sad inevitability of death, and learns to make every second count, because you never know when your time will run out. These themes follow Greg as he begins to accept himself, and are very relevant in the lives of all students and young adults.

While it may be a tearjerker, this movie definitely delivers on its ‘comedy’ genre. Funny and well written lines are consistently said through the hour and forty-five minutes of it. Being for more mature audiences, the comedy is not childish, but perfect for all ages’ amusement. In behalf of the ‘drama’ genre, ‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ definitely delivers as well. Its characters were greatly developed and depicted, having the viewers form personal connections with each one of them. The main conflict of Rachel’s cancer keeps them greatly invested, along with the narration. After the establishment of these things, the denouement brings the movie to a close, having audiences emotional and leaving them heart-warmed.

The excellent scriptwriting and cast are the reasons for the success of this film in its emotional effects on its audience. The actors were perfectly chosen. Their talent really showed as they were able to deeply express the inner feelings and emotions of their roles. This allows for the viewers to make a connection, especially those in high school who go through the same situations and feel the same as the characters.

‘Me and Earl and the Dying Girl’ is a movie that all young adults must watch during their lifetime. It is filled with great lessons and humor, and really touches its audience. This is all because of the perfect execution made by the director, scriptwriters, and actors. All of these factors made this coming-of-age story, while being a very common theme in filmmaking, a very unique and exceptional movie.

Jack wakes up in a jungle. The setting of this episode is on a beach right outside the jungle on a deserted island, which they thought was at the time, when their plane had crashed. He runs toward the beach where the plane crash happened and begins to help the survivors. Kate helps sow up his wounds. The survivors are scared to see a seemingly huge creature knocking down trees in the jungle. Jack, Kate, and Charlie head through the jungle to find the cockpit. The pilot tells them that the plane was a thousand miles off course, so the rescue operation won’t know where to look for them. He is then killed by the creature as the others run away. Lost begins in such a dramatic way, it manages to mark itself out from minute one as something amazing, and in my opinion, it’s the best moment in the episode. The noticing factor is the way people work from the start of the episode to the end. They are more relaxed and comfortable with each other and they started working together as a team which shows the heart of Lost: enlightenment and transformation.

The intensity and urgency grab you from the second that pupil dilates. We feel much like Jack, confused and a little scared. It builds as he runs through the jungle, then stops. The quietness adds to the suspense of the plane crash site. Focusing on Jack, we’re thrown headfirst into the crisis, but we can still comprehend enough not to be lost. We’re given several different reactions: those who are dazed from shock (Charlie), those who panic (Shannon), those desperately looking for someone (Michael), and those who try to help (Jack and Boone). This exhaustive sequence is thrilling; piling on the problems for Jack, never giving us a feeling of safety. Of course, we have to mention the guy who got sucked into the jet engine, which adds to the sense of anything can happen on this island, which brings us back to that they have to work together to survive on the island to make those changes in being okay with working with each other. This part is a large reason behind the episode’s huge budget, but it pays for itself in what it did for the show as a whole.

Swiftly we realize what the tv show will be about as Jack rushes from one wounded person to the next trying to bring some order to the chaos that’s happening around him. That opening sequence where the plane blows up is very dramatic and draws you into the action immediately. The various characters begin to be sketched into place. Locke, as we will come to know him looks the creepiest at this stage. The scene where Kate takes boots from a dead person and Locke grins at her (with an orange in his mouth) is intriguing and quite strange. Meanwhile, Boone established himself in an interesting way with his frantic search for pens. It’s an unusual and original take on survival stories to show a character trying to be helpful, but lacking the knowledge of how to. Finally, Charlie adds much-needed humor to the story by talking about his clearly struggling rock band and being annoyed that Jack is getting all of Kate’s attention. The music tends to be louder than usual giving off a more suspenseful scene, especially during the crash scene. Then leads to the “monster”, which pulls down trees and is an excellent idea to put so early into the show. It marks Lost Out as more than just a survival show. It tells viewers to expect something supernatural and intriguing is going to develop, so if they don’t like the survival stuff, stick around for something else. The monster also implies that drama will never be far away on the show, for every time someone steps into the jungle they will be in danger. By this point, I’m reading symbolism in the scene. The man in the suit is a civilization. The “wild” is the bamboo around him, and out of the wild comes the symbol of a wild tamed, domesticated dog. When the character stands and looks in his jacket, discovering his wound, we are viewing him through the bamboo stalks. The stalks act like bars, giving us the impression that the character is trapped.

The diverse cast is refreshing. There is one Latino, three blacks, a Middle Easterner, and two Asians. When was the last time you saw two Asians in the lead cast of a primetime show (or how many shows have had even one)? As it is a show whose cast consists of passengers on a plane, it would be hard to believe it would be entirely white people. It works for character-heavy drama to have people from different walks of life. Co-creators Abrams and Lindelof said that an important piece of this show is to have people who would never interact otherwise become friends on this island. Watching in retrospect (at this time, the most recently aired episode was the ninth episode of the second season), many hints and foreshadowing of events to come later in the season. Some of these things would be revealed later in the second part of the pilot. Our fear of what snapped the branch disappears as a dog appears, and whines. We see Jack react with a confused expression. The dog runs past him. By this point, I’m reading symbolism in the scene. The man in the suit is a civilization. The “wild” is the bamboo around him (the jungle), and out of the wild comes the symbol of wild tamed, the domesticated dog. When the character stands and looks in his jacket, discovering his wound, we are viewing him through the bamboo stalks. The stalks act like bars, giving us the impression that the character is trapped. This show takes its time, which is certainly wise in terms of the pilot. Evangeline Lilly, in her first speaking role, is a true find for the producers. Originally, Jack was going to be the one hanging in the tree at the end of this episode and the show was going to have Kate as the focal point. We could see from her performance in this episode that such an alternative reality Lost could’ve worked well. In this episode, she gives some looks that hint towards things revealed later and her chemistry with Jack is great from the start, which is a major part of the show. There was that great moment when they escaped the monster and Kate ‘lets the fear in’ as Jack told her. It is such a great tense moment thanks to her performance.

The only time we’re given an exposition explanation isn’t to describe the characters, but the situation our castaways are in and the transformation they have to make to survive. With our modern technology, many can wonder why they wouldn’t be found within hours, as Shannon assumed. That’s why we need the pilot to tell us that the technology that would help them failed and they were planning to land elsewhere and crashed. No one but they know where this plane is. Lost’s Pilot is easily one of the best pilot episodes I’ve ever seen. From the urgency that grabs you instantly to the characters to the unbelievable production, it’s hard to match on TV and in the cinema. Some were worried that ABC decided to split this feature-length pilot into two episodes, but the first episode was so good (and the retained audience from week to week) that such a concern was rendered useless within weeks. The use of a flashback to show us Jack’s point of view before the crash is also a great idea. It means we will presumably be able to piece together the characters’ back story and contrast it with their behavior on the island. The unknown would be; what is the monster? What is Charlie up to in the bathroom (we also saw him running in Jack’s flashback)? How exactly did any of them survive the impact of a plane crashing into a beach? This show has a lot of suspense and it always keeps me on the edge of my seat, which is similar to Game of Thrones. The 2nd best show ever made. It has everything Lost has except not as much plot bending. It makes up for it in action & politics. Lastly, there is so much going on, so many mysteries and characters, that this bold mission statement of a pilot makes me willing to commit to this show for a long time.