Finding the Balance between Safety and Identity in The Hate U Give
There are two neighborhoods that are portrayed in the book The Hate U Give, Garden
Heights and the suburbs. In Garden Heights, an all black community, the residents are
able to better develop their racial identity as they are constantly around people similar
to them. However, the price of having the opportunity to develop this African American
identity is by living in a dangerous environment which is unsafe for many of the
characters. On the other hand, in a white neighborhood, such as the suburbs, the black
community is unable to form their racial identity as they have to bury it inside of them.
This balance between black communities better developing their racial identity while
maintaining their own safety is a significant aspect of this novel.
In both Garden Heights and the suburbs the importance of safety is portrayed.
Minorities such as the Carters are often torn between choosing their identity and their
own safety as shown throughout the novel. In Garden Heights there are many aspects of
the bittersweet feeling surrounding the Carter family and their neighbors. Oftentimes,
Starr and her community are able to communicate with each other and further deepen
their identity and relations. Yet, there is also a cost to finding one's identity. Garden
Heights is an extremely violent community as there are many gangs and gun violence in
the environment. This violence is portrayed through the roses that grow in Garden
Heights. When Starr witnesses her friend, Natasha, get shot by a gang Starr explains
how she was both harmed and saved by the rosebush she fell into by saying, “I dove into
a rosebush...The thorns on the rosebush got me, that’s all. It was Natasha though. Her
There are two neighborhoods that are portrayed in the book The Hate U Give, Garden
Heights and the suburbs. In Garden Heights, an all black community, the residents are
able to better develop their racial identity as they are constantly around people similar
to them. However, the price of having the opportunity to develop this African American
identity is by living in a dangerous environment which is unsafe for many of the
characters. On the other hand, in a white neighborhood, such as the suburbs, the black
community is unable to form their racial identity as they have to bury it inside of them.
This balance between black communities better developing their racial identity while
maintaining their own safety is a significant aspect of this novel.
In both Garden Heights and the suburbs the importance of safety is portrayed.
Minorities such as the Carters are often torn between choosing their identity and their
own safety as shown throughout the novel. In Garden Heights there are many aspects of
the bittersweet feeling surrounding the Carter family and their neighbors. Oftentimes,
Starr and her community are able to communicate with each other and further deepen
their identity and relations. Yet, there is also a cost to finding one's identity. Garden
Heights is an extremely violent community as there are many gangs and gun violence in
the environment. This violence is portrayed through the roses that grow in Garden
Heights. When Starr witnesses her friend, Natasha, get shot by a gang Starr explains
how she was both harmed and saved by the rosebush she fell into by saying, “I dove into
a rosebush...The thorns on the rosebush got me, that’s all. It was Natasha though. Her
