Perspectives

Current issues

The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas is clearly intended as a commentary on a range of real-world social issues in US society, especially issues that African Americans experience. It therefore makes sense to put it into perspective by studying the way it refers to real-world cases.

Police shootings and discrimination in the justice system

First of all, the novel presents a critical perspective on the real-world issue of police shootings which disproportionately kill African Americans. The entire plot centered around such a shooting, but the very last chapter also makes the connection to real-life cases clear by listing names of real-world victims alongside the story’s fictional characters:

It would be easy to quit if it was just me, Khalil, that night, and that cop. It’s about way more than that though. It’s about Seven. Sekani. Kenya. DeVante. It’s also about Oscar. Aiyana. Trayvon. Rekia. Michael. Eric. Tamir. John. Ezell. Sandra. Freddie. Alton. Philando. It’s even about that little boy in 1955 who nobo...