In Angie Thomas’s novel, “The Hate U Give,” one of the many themes she conveys is racial inequality by law enforcement towards darker colored minorities through similes, imagery, and symbolism.
The similes in this novel are very strong such as; “blubbering like a little kid who skinned her knee.” This simile occurs when Starr heads back from the interview with the DA. The conversation is emotionally draining on top of all the other problems going on in Starr’s life and she ends up vomiting and crying. Since Maverick responds by hugging Starr, this simile also reflects the continued importance of Maverick in Starr’s life. Even though Maverick couldn’t be there for Starr when she actually was a little kid who skinned her knee, now that he is back in her life he’s determined to stay there and be as good of a father as he possibly can.
The imagery in this novel helps you understand the book a little better than if the author were not to use any imagery at all. “When I was twelve, my parents had two talks with me. One was the birds and bees….the other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me” (Thomas 20). The proceeding quote is quotation expresses the inescapability of police brutality and exploitation of minorities, believing the national stereotype in which police cruelty seems to be committed more against men, it’s evident that brutality at the hands of the police can affect women and girls as well. Furthermore, being of young age offers no safeguard from the ill-treatment. Starr’s parents find it necessary to speak with her about how she should conduct her behavior around the police as a minority when she is only twelve years old. They choose to have the same conversation with Sekani a little later, knowing how much younger he is than Starr. In addition, Starr’s thinking through her head, as Khalil and her are consumed by the violence, foreshadows the violence which is about to follow. “That’s the so-called gun,” Ms. Ofrah explains. Officer Cruise claims he saw it in the car door and he assumed Khalil was reaching for it. The handle was thick and black enough for him to assume it was a gun.” “And Khalil was black enough,” daddy adds.
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The hairbrush is a representation of both the blinding power and senselessness of racism, considering it was mistaken for a gun. One-Fifteen alleges Khalil was shot because it was mistakenly assumed the hairbrush looked like a gun in which the officer feared for his life. Maverick feels and believes One-Fifteen made assumptions because the hairbrush handle was not “black enough” to have looked like a gun, but for the simple reason Khalil himself was “black enough” to have been carrying one; racist theories about the criminality of black youth contributed to One-Fifteen seeing a weapon, when in actuality there was none. Individuals of the community and surrounding communities latch onto to this fact, leading to them to chant, “a hairbrush is not a gun” in the riots following the indictment ruling. In fact, an object which is meant for grooming purposes contributes to Khalil’s death, furthering suggesting black individuals can do everything to adhere to societal expectations of propriety and still become a target simply because of the color of their skin.
“Others are fighting too, even in the Garden, where sometimes it feels like there’s not a lot worth fighting for” (Thomas 443). Individuals are realizing, marching, demanding and shouting while not forgetting police brutality to individuals of darker color, race is shown throughout this novel using smiles, imagery and symbolism as the above quote occurs at the end of the novel, summing up the importance of one to use their own voice and perspective to fight for what they believe as well as the importance of not forgetting the violence, when such deaths are forgotten, the motivation to stand up to transform the system and the cycle of violence continues uninterrupted. When situations seem dreadful and circumstances appear to be hopeless, it is important to have confidence and continue battling so there is a brighter horizon created by the very individuals who are oppressed as well as their allies.
Angie Thomas successfully portrays similes, symbolism and imagery to demonstrate fear, the unbroken cycle, and stereotyping of individuals, race and color through racial inequality by law enforcement.
