How has Angie Thomas Created a Dramatic Moment within Chapter 2 of The Hate U Give? Consider what Methods were used to Achieve this.
Attempting to accurately describe the reality of police brutality in a novel aimed at a young audience can be an extremely difficult task. Angie Thomas successfully overcomes this challenge in her book The Hate U Give. Thomas portrays the very real fear of being a victim of police brutality by showing the protagonist of the book experiencing that fear herself. The way it is written allows readers to view the situation from the perspective of someone who faces this issue. It is for this reason that moments like the one taking place in the second chapter feel as dramatic and emotional as they do.
“So are you gon’ give me a ticket or what?” Khalil asks.
“You know what? Get out the car, smart guy.”
“Man, just give me my ticket—”
“Get out the car! Hands up, where I can see them.” (Thomas 15)
Chapter two describes an interaction between Starr, her friend Khalil, and a police officer, which ends with Khalil being shot and killed by the officer. This quotation shows part of a dialogue between them, which was written with little to no pauses for description in between, making it feel as though it is taking place rapidly. This reminds readers that the story is being told from Starr’s point of view, who is trying to understand the situation and doesn’t have time to describe every little detail of the events taking place. During this chapter, the officer refers to Khalil as both “smart guy” and “smart mouth” (Thomas 15) which are used in a patronizing and condescending way. This reflects the superiority complex held by many police officers that compels them to treat specific groups of people a certain way. The officer in this chapter doesn’t know much about Khalil, except that he is a young Black man, which is enough for the officer to make judgments and assumptions about his character. Addressing him the way he does makes it clear what he thinks of Khalil, and how little respect he has for him and his life. It is likely that Starr notices this, which only adds to her existing worry. This may be one reason why she attempts to interject after the officer pins Khalil against the car. By using the simile “His mouth is open like he wants to scream” (Thomas 15) to describe Khalil’s face as he is dying, Thomas forces readers to vividly picture the face of someone who has just been shot. Stating that Khalil looks like he wants to scream perhaps indicates the sense of anger and injustice Starr feels about the situation, having already witnessed a similar one in the past. Lingering on the moment when Starr watches her childhood friend bleed out in front of her was a deliberate choice by the author to make readers uncomfortable and uneasy. It is this kind of description used throughout the chapter of what Starr is observing that makes it a dramatic, tense moment. This story is told in first person, from the perspective of the protagonist, Starr, and often uses stream of consciousness to demonstrate how the character is thinking and feeling. Arguably the most dramatic moment in the chapter occurs after most of the narration has stopped, including Starr’s stream of consciousness, leaving only the back and forth dialogue between the police officer and Khalil. This makes it clear to readers how fearful Starr is in this moment, to the point where she can’t even think about anything other than what is happening in front of her. This book was written by Angie Thomas, who was raised in a predominantly Black community in the United States and has witnessed gun violence firsthand. Furthermore, she is aware of the many instances of police brutality against Black Americans, and how serious of an issue it is in today’s world. Having the protagonist narrate the story allows Thomas to represent her own experiences and convey her key message through the character. Having Starr tell her story humanizes those who have been killed at the hands of police officers due to their race and it gives them a voice through which their stories can be heard.
Work Cited
Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Walker Books, 2017.
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