On August 28, 2018, a white former Texas police officer, Roy Oliver, was found guilty of shooting a 15-year-old black boy, Jordan Edwards, who was unarmed . In the book "The Hate U Give" by Angie Thomas, Starr Carter, a 16-year-old black girl attends a predominantly white middle school, Williamson, and lives in a "ghetto" neighborhood, Garden Heights. After watching his childhood best friend, Khalil, get shot and killed by a white police officer, he struggles to find himself in the midst of the darkness. When the grand jury decides that the officer should not be punished for his actions, she finally decides to defend herself and the public. Thomas demonstrates that accepting oneself even in critical circumstances can lead one to assert themselves and make an impact. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get Original Essay "The Hate U Give" - Literary Analysis EssayIn the story, Angie Thomas explains that Starr wanted to keep her two lives and personalities separate especially after Khalil's death. After witnessing his death, Starr didn't want her Williamson friends to know she witnessed it because she feared being judged and standing out even more among her white classmates. “That's when I realized that Williamson is one world and Garden Heights is another, and I have to keep them separate.” But Starr soon realizes that she must accept that she doesn't fully fit in with Williamson or Garden Heights. Later in the story, Kenya brought up the fact that Starr was ashamed of her family, friends, and the Garden Heights community: "I was ashamed of Garden Heights and everything in it." But Starr soon admits that she wasn't anymore because the situation with Khalil really opened her up to seeing the fact that he was an important part of Garden Heights and their family. And being isolated from her classmates at Williamson led her to push her friends even further away as she kept an important part of her life a secret. Throughout the story, the author also revealed the idea of Starr standing up for herself and making an impact on her society even if there were discouraging people along the way. One of Starr's best friends, Hailey has made many racist comments about her and Maya. At first Starr thought they were just small, immature jokes, but then they got worse and were racial and stereotypical statements about Khalil and how he's a "drug dealer." This situation forced Starr to defend herself in front of Williamson and start a physical fight against Hailey. “He was a drug dealer and a gang member,” Hailey says. "Someone was going to kill him sooner or later."(...) "I move Maya out of the way and slam my fist into the side of Hailey's face." This shows that Starr isn't as closed off as she once was and finally lets her "other" personality out to Williamson. As the story progressed, Starr's older brother, Seven, was immersing her, Chris, and DeVante in Garden Heights. They were stopped several times and soon his car ran out of gas. Starr was really angry and frustrated at this point because Khalil didn't get the justice he deserved and decided to join the Just Us Justice group of people in Garden Heights to start a riot and protest. “My name is Starr and I'm the one who saw what happened to Khalil,” I say into the speaker.(…) I turn to the police. “I'm sick of this! Just like you think we are all bad because of some people, we think the same about all of you.(…) His life mattered. Khalil mattered." Starr's personality changed and evolved miraculously. She's no longer the old closed-off, “two-personality” Starr. Because of the murder of Khalil and..
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