Promise Butler
Prof. Ewan
FIQWS
Feb 25,19
Literary Narrative
Angie Thompson is a black African-American who lived in Jackson, Mississippi. She released a phenomenal novel called The Hate U Given that touches upon many significant topics. Angie emphasizes police brutality and oppression being force upon the minority. Angie uses a 16 year old girl named Starr Carter as a protagonist to get her message across. Starr Carter is an African-American girl living a double life. Starr lives in a neighborhood named Garden Heights where her father was a former gang member and she attended a white private school called Williamson. Due to the two different environments Starr gained a split personality: she monitored her speech and behavior among her white peers.
Starr felt like she needed to represent her whole race because she was the only black student in her school. Starr got so caught up in trying to be something she was not, she started deny were she came from and who she was. Starr was at a spring break party and ran into an old friend who was later killed by a police officer. Three bullets to his back ended his life and Star denied knowing the victim to save her reputation at her school. Starr soon used the grief of losing an old friend and a close friend when she was ten to fight for what she believed was right. Starr used her voice to protest and provide justice for the loved ones she and many lost. This novel is absolutely inspiring. The topics that are acknowledged in the text are issues that are occuring in modern society.
Angie Thompson really inspired me with this novel because her choice of words and topics really spoke to me. This novel made me feel like I was an author with a blank page, a pen full of ink and a mind brewed with new ideas and aspirations. I was ready to rewrite, edit and revise the draft of my life and rewrite the story someone already wrote for me. I suddenly had new ambitions and goals to meet. Before I read this book I didn’t know what I was striving for. I knew that I was striving for greatness and success but I didn’t know what I considered to be great or successful. I suddenly knew what I wanted to do with my life.
After I identified what my goals were I started to incorporate them in my everyday life. I started doing little things like voicing my opinion and exercising my work ethic to get one step closer to my dreams and goals. Reading about Starr Carter and how she overcame her fears really meant a lot to me. I realized that you can either run away from your fears or you can face them and rise. I realized instead of using my anger towards my mother’s death to take away from my goals, I could it as motivation. This book is one of the major reasons why I continue to strive for greatness.
Once I realized what I wanted to do with my life, it became the only thing on my mind. Literally everything I do is contributing to my success. For example, after a long day of school and a fair share of homework, I still push myself to go to squash practice because I know squash is going to get me to where I need to go. I know that I have people expecting me to do great things and rooting for me on the other side of the finish line. My only option is to fight and knock over the obstacles to get to the other side. This book did so much for me by opening up doors that I never knew were there.
Now, you’re probably wondering how I was so lucky to get my hands on this phenomenal book. I went to this camp called Songadeewin for two years. During my second summer attending this camp my excitement died down tremendously. I honestly did not want to be there at all. I was having the worst time of my life because I felt so out of place. I felt extremely uncomfortable because the camp was predominantly white. . There were few people of color and the ones who were there acted and carried themselves different from what I was used to.
As well as the camp being predominantly white, the girls that attended the camp had already been going for a fair amount of time. Therefore, the girls already had established their friend groups and were unwilling to allow people into their group. I Quickly found myself trying pretend to be someone I wasn’t just to fit in. I figured that if I’m going to be their for a month, why not just make the best of it? However, I stopped myself in my tracks because I realized what I was doing and I wasn’t proud of it. Whether I had friends or not, I needed to make the best out of it because going home was not an option. So I started reading left and right. I was burning through books like it was my last day to live. Even though I never really liked reading I was in a desperate situation to keep myself occupied.
During my journey I came across The Hate U Give and it changed my life. Opening this book made realize that as an African-American individual the only thing society can’t take away from me is my skin and education. When I was trying to change myself just to fit in it was just a smack in the face to my ancestors. My ancestors didn’t fight for our rights so I could be something that I am not. They fought so I can embrace and live comfortably in my skin. Ever since reading The Hate U Give my blackness and education became the most important thing in the world to me. Everything I do now is following the blueprint to build my success and to let my ancestors know that they didn’t struggle for no reason. Like I stated so many times this book is phenomenal and it will never be forgotten.
