A YA book I probably would have not picked up, for the single fact that I do not read YA in general, had it not been for my literature class. What a ride this book took me on, with some…interesting discussions in class. The main thing that surprised me about The Hate U Give was just how many topics and issues Thomas fit into this powerful piece of activism. Just wow.
Double Consciousness as seen in The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas
The idea of double consciousness was first theorized by W.E.B. DuBois in 1903 in his The Souls of Black Folk as a “peculiar sensation… this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eye of others” in regard to African American’s ‘social standings’ in America, and is a “sensation” that we can still witness in today’s society as displayed in The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas (DuBois). In The Hate U Give, we follow a high-school-aged girl, Starr, through her ‘split life’ between living in Garden Heights, the ‘ghetto’ and attending Williamson, a private school populated primarily by white students and teachers. This sense of having two selves and how those selves conflict with each other appears early on in the novel and serves as one of the obstacles Starr must overcome along side fighting for justice for Kahlil.
DuBois described double consciousness as a “two-ness” to explain the issues of race that African Americans face as being “an American” and “a Negro” and how those two identities occur simultaneously within an individual but are not aspects of a single identity (DuBois). To explain this further, it is important to understand the history of slavery and how the treatment of African slaves in early America is one full of injustice, heinous treatment, and prejudice. Additionally, looking at how the historical treatment of Black people in this country has morphed into what it is today, partly through generational trauma, will help further exemplify this theory. One cannot say that the theory of double consciousness is a negative aspect of African Americans but rather it is one that serves to show how this “two-ness” is a mindset that can only be understood fully by those who it affects.
Starr states multiple times about how she makes the conscious effort to keep the two sides of herself separate. She states “my voice is changing already. It always happens around “other” people, whether I’m at Williamson or not. I don’t talk like me or sound like me” showing the conscious effort made to be ‘the other Starr’ and how that Starr is not her true self (95). She then goes on to say “I choose every word carefully and make sure I pronounce them well. I can never, ever let anyone think I’m ghetto” bring up the ‘fact’ that Black people have the need to act a certain way, the way white people want them to act in order to be accepted and ‘fit in’ (95). Part of this statement may come from Starr feeling ‘embarrassed’ about being from a poverished neighborhood, but the reader is to infer that this is statement is speaking to the social perception of Black people by white people. She makes the observation that “funny how it works with the white kids though. Its dope to be black until its hard to be black” connecting back to the fact that those who do not face these racial issues on a personal level, cannot comprehend the internal struggles that they face everyday (11).
We see in The Hate U Give that non-black characters around Starr do not and cannot comprehend or really even understand the mental toll that double consciousness has on the individuals of the Black community and that ignoring these issues can be just as harmful as perpetuating them. Examples of such can be seen when Starr does not wish to discuss Khalil’s death with her white boyfriend, Chris. Starr brings up their differences in how they view racial situations due to their own differences in race, and how Chris cannot understand how Starr feels because he is white. Chris makes the statement “that doesn’t matter… I don’t care about that kind of stuff (race), Starr. I care about you” to which Starr exclaims “that kind of stuff is part of me” stating that he cannot simply ignore her race, and in a wider sense, bringing up the fact that someone’s race is an important and integral part of who they are and should be acknowledged and celebrated rather than ignored for the sake of trying to appear not racist (161). It is this reaction from Starr that leads to her breaking down the wall of her ‘two-ness’ and accepting and merging the two halves of her world in order to win justice for Khalil.
As the investigation into the police officer that murdered Khalil builds to a trial, Starr makes the choice to speak up about what happened. By going public and speaking up for Khalil, she is breaking her rule of keeping the ‘two Starrs’ separate despite the backlash and threats that occur as a result. Thomas poses the question “whats the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you should’t be” marking the change in Starr’s mind that she can no longer keep her two worlds separate and serves as a reminder to the reader to use your voice to fight for what you believe in (252). There is a part when Starr meets with Ms. Ofrah to discuss how going to trial will look, where Starr has the epiphany that “the only way people will known his side of the story is if I speak out” solidifying her need to take her story public as it is Khalil’s story as well (218). In turn, by taking her story and Khalil’s public, she is dissolving that separation of selves. Ms. Ofrah then offers “just like Khalil and Natasha mattered, you matter and your voice matters” helping to build Starr’s confidence in this decision (219).
DuBois’ theory of double consciousness is an important topic to be studied by the majority as it serves as the closest to an insight a non-Black person can get into one of the many struggles that Black people face in this country. Double consciousness, having originated around the Romantic period, sought to explain this phenomenon and aimed to address three major issues. First is “the real power of white stereotypes in black life and thought” connecting to the title of this book and the meaning of THUG LIFE (301). The second idea is that of “double consciousness created by the practical racism that excluded every black American from the mainstream of the society” bringing in the ‘need’ for double consciousness, that is to speak and act a certain way, in order to be more readily accepted by mainstream society, meaning white people (301). The third idea deals with the separation or the opposition of “being both an American and not an American” as a Black person in America, due to the first two issues just discussed, and how they have created this double consciousness (301). The rhetoric being produced during the Romantic period sought to explore the human condition and emotional side of life, which is a crucial aspect to understanding each other. By working towards a unified acknowledgement of the double consciousness mindset of African Americans, we as a country and as individuals, can learn to take the next step toward dissolving widespread, racially driven prejudice that had led to such tragedies in America’s history and present day.
Works Cited
DuBois, W.E.B. 1903. “The Strivings of the Negro People”, The Atlantic Monthly: August: 194-197. https://www.theatlantic.com/past/unbound/flashbks/black/dubstriv.htm
Pittman, John P. 2024. “Double Consciousness”. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/double-consciousness/#AmerRomaLong
Thomas, Angie. 2017. The Hate U Give. HarperCollins Publisher.
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