The Hate U Give (Angie Thomas)

Download the Math of Storytelling Infographic

1. What is the genre?

Global—Status > Sentimental

Secondary—Society > Historical

2. What are the conventions and obligatory scenes for the genre?

Conventions

Strong Mentor Figure: For Starr, there are multiple mentor figures including her father Maverick, her mom Lisa, and her uncle Carlos. Each of these mentors educates and protects Starr as she learns the injustices held against her because of her race, as well as how to find her voice against others trying to keep her down.

Big Social Problem as Subtext: Racism and class division controlled by disadvantages placed on those who live in lower-income communities, with little opportunity for quality education.

The Herald, or Threshold Guardian is a fellow striver who sold out: Khalil for selling drugs. Devante, who Maverick agrees to protect from King. Kenya and Iesha, both of who represent what Starr could be if it weren’t for Starr and Maverick working so hard to pay for Starr to attend her private school.

A clear Point Of No Return/Truth Will Out moment, when the Protagonist knows they can never go back to the way things used to be: Starr agrees to work with Justice for Justice. Later, Starr uses her voice and speaks up for Khalil during the riots, demanding justice.

Ironic Win-But-Lose or Lose-But-Win bittersweet ending: Starr finds her voice and gains respect and power in her community, but Khalil’s murder isn’t even brought to trial.

Obligatory Scenes

An inciting opportunity or challenge: Khalil is driving Starr home from a party when they are pulled over without reason; Khalil is shot and killed by a police officer after assumed to be holding a weapon, which he is not.

Protagonist leaves home to seek fortune: Starr remains in the ghettos while figure out her place in each of her two worlds. She begins to find her voice when she starts to resist Hailey and when she speaks up for Khalil in a televised interview.

Forced to adapt to a new environment, Protagonist relies on old habits and humiliates himself: Starr relies on her horror of the injustices placed against her, Khalil, and all African-Americans, which leads to interrogation from the police, and threats from King himself when she “snitches.”

The Protagonist learns what the Antagonist’s Object of Desire is and sets out to achieve it for himself: King wants to remain in power by making everyone in the ghetto fear him—he wants power, control, and money. Hailey wants Starr to stop calling her out for being a racist so their friendship can go back to normal (delusional!)—where Hailey runs everything and every decision. The police officer who shot Khalil wants to walk free, without a trial.

Protagonist’s initial strategy to outmaneuver Antagonist fails: : King threatens Starr’s life and her family after she snitches on him; society continues to suppress Starr’s equal rights, along with her people’s and community’s when the judge doesn’t grant Khalil’s case a fair trial.

During an All Is Lost Moment, Protagonist realizes they must change their definition of success or risk betraying their morality: After Khalil’s murder is passed for a fair trial, Starr and her brother and boyfriend run towards the riots instead of away from them; they’re sick of society suppressing their social status and are ready to fight for it. (Chris wants to support Starr and her brother.)   

The Core Event—Protagonist chooses to do what’s necessary to attain status or reject the world that they strived to join: Starr remains true to her beliefs and values and speaks out for Khalil during the riots, even if this means facing physical consequences like being arrested or killed by King.

Protagonist saves or loses him/herself based on their action in the Core Event: Starr gains the support from her community, which ends in their joined consensus to call out King for his role in the drug wars. Starr also vows to continue speaking up for Khalil and against injustice, working with non-violent organizations like Justice for Justice.

Learn more about obligatory scenes and conventions.

3. What is the point of view?

First-person limited; Starr Carter

Learn more about point of view.

4. What are the objects of desire?

Conscious External Want: to be accepted by both of her worlds—the white community where she attends school and the black community where she lives. To have her friend Khalil back—alive.

Internal Need: to respect and believe in the power and influence of her own voice

Learn more about objects of desire.

5. What is the controlling idea / theme?

Success results when a person is true to their values, whether or not they obtain a higher social status. (In this story’s case, Starr does not achieve higher social status in the view of the country (by much), but she does earn self-respect, self-esteem, and greater respect from her home community.

Learn more about controlling ideas.

6. What is the beginning hook, middle build and ending payoff?

Starr Carter, an African-American teen who lives in the ghetto but attends a dominantly white private school, witnesses her childhood best friend Khalil’s murder after being pulled over and shot by a police officer; Khalil was unarmed. Khalil’s death throws Starr’s life into chaos: riots arise in her hometown community, all while Starr finds herself caught in the middle of being asked to speak up for Khalil—and afraid that if she does, King, the ghetto’s drug lord, will harm her and her family. (She will also forever be looked at as “the witness” by kids in her private school.)  

Starr navigates her social status and realtionships as she transfers back and forth from her private school and her home community, all while struggling to decide if she should speak up as the witness, or let the news drag Khalil’s name through the mud as a drug-dealer. She decides to speak up, anonymously, which leads to riots and dangerous threats from King himself.

After the police officer who killed Khalil walks free, a massive riot break out in Starr’s community. She decides to use her voice and speak up for her friend’s reputation, which inspires the members of her community to stand up against King. Starr vows to continue to speak out against social injustices demeaning African-Americans in American society.   

Download the Math of Storytelling Infographic

Share this Article:

🟢 Twitter — 🔵 Facebook — 🔴 Pinterest