Respond to BOTH of the prompts below: Each response should be at least 150 words.
1. As Starr and Khalil listen to Tupac, Khalil explains what Tupac said “Thug Life” meant. Discuss the meaning of the term “Thug Life” as an acronym and why the author might have chosen part of this as the title of the book. In what ways do you see this is society today? (Chapter 1, p. 17)
2. At the police station after Starr details the events leading up to the shooting, the detective shifts her focus to Khalil’s past. Why do you think the detective did this? Discuss Starr’s reaction to this “bait” (Chapter 6, pp. 102-103).
I think that the author, Angie Thomas, chose to use part of the acronym as the title is because it relates to Starr. As the author describes it, Thug Life means “... what society gives us a youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out,” (Thomas 17). When Starr was born, she was born a “queen” but since her dad left his place as King Lord, she lost her status in the street royalty. As a youth, society gave Starr a nicer life because she was a part of street royalty. When her dad stepped away from being King Lord, Starr lost her nicer life. This is showing that what society gives you when you’re young, can be taken away in an instant. You see this in society today with unarmed African-Americans. When they are killed, the hate that they have been given impacts a lot of people.
ReplyDeleteI think that the detective shifted her focus to Khalil’s past because if they could confirm that he was selling some type of drugs, they could say that they had a reason to shoot him, that reason being he was a dealer. Starr realizes that they have baited her and doesn’t want to give them the satisfaction of having a reason, so although she herself has some suspicions, she doesn’t give in. When they ask Starr if she was drinking at the party, she gets more upset because now, not only are they trying to get Starr to give them an acceptable reason for killing Khalil, they are trying to discredit Starr. Starr’s mom also realizes what is going on and questions the detectives about it as well. If roles were reversed and Starr and Khalil were white, and the police officer who shot Khalil was African-American, things would have gone a completely different way. The detectives would have been trying to discredit the officer instead of Starr.
1. I think one reason that Khalil decided tell Starr about THUG LIFE was because kids who grew up in a place that they experienced a lot of hate, could lead to them becoming like the people who treated them badly, therefore hurting the people who hurt them, and treating people in the future badly as well. So that it all becomes an endless cycle of hate. I think that the author might’ve chosen this acronym for the title of the book because it shows how it is hard for a society to move forward. This is because there will always be people who are repeating a cycle that they were taught. Just because we have gotten better doesn't mean that everything will just become sunshine and daisies in a matter of days. Today, I think there is much less hate towards people than there was a couple years before. But those children who grew up in those years, and have their past imprinted onto them, may be repeating what they learned about how to treat other people.
ReplyDelete2. I think the detective decided to focus more on Khalil then on 115 because she was trying to make the cops actions justifiable by what Khalil had done in the past. Even though Khalil may have been involved in illegal things, I don’t think that makes it right to murder them. Especially when they are not in the act of doing illegal things, and when you can’t prove that they did those things. I think that Starr had every right to be mad at the detective. If Kahlil was white, then I think that the situation would have been way different. The detective would’ve asked more about the cop then Khalil. Instead The cop asked more about Khalil. Just because of the place he was from, and his skin tone. The detective who is trying to get Starr to believe that she wanted to get the best story possible, but she seemed like she was really just trying to get alibis and reasons that 115 was innocent.
I think Tupac’s description of Thug Life is that what people impose on children comes back to haunt them. If we tell kids exactly how to behave when they grow up they retaliate, trying to break the rules we set for them. Thug Life is about rebellion. We grow up with a certain set of rules and when we grow up we want to show the world that we are free, and individual people. We also rebelled against labels that society gives us. The Hate You Give stands for “THUG” and I think that is why it’s the title of the book. Khalil is labeled as a thug, a drug dealer, after his death, and Starr is rebelling against that accusation. Today I see people of a certain color, or nationality being labeled negatively by society. In the media they are labeled as mean and dangerous. As a result, we stereotype them as thugs.
ReplyDeleteI think the detective is bias. The media has labeled Khalil as a drug dealer and the detective believes that description. She wants Starr to incriminate Khalil and prove everybody right. The detective doesn’t want to recognize that the cop did anything wrong. She is trying to get Starr to help her justify Khalil’s murder, and prove that 115 is innocent. Starr knows that she’s being baited. She recognizes the position she is in and reacts accordingly. She gives the detective answers that aren’t lies, they just aren’t the whole truth. She gives information that can’t be used to discredit her, or incriminate Khalil. Starr plays this really smart because she knows that Khalil wasn’t doing anything wrong when he was shot. I think the detective knows the cop was wrong to kill Khalil, but she doesn’t want to admit it. Starr and her mom know it to. The detective is trying to save 115’s image by incriminating Khalil, and Starr isn’t giving her any ground.
This comment has been removed by the author.
DeleteMadelyn, I strongly agree with how you described the meaning of THUG LIFE. I think what you said is very true, especially the part about how “when we grow up we want to show the world that we are free, and individual people.” Most teens in general I think feel this way, but that it’s especially strong in the minority groups because society labels them and gives them a different “set of rules” to follow. I like your connections to the title of the book and the song. Although the idea crossed my mind, I never really strongly thought that it could have to do with Khalil, but you’re right. Society labeled him as a thug and a drug dealer, among other things, and he’s very close to Starr, so it makes sense that the title could relate back to him. I agree with your point about how the detective doesn’t want to recognize that Officer Cruise did anything wrong but that she knows Khalil is innocent. I think that she doesn’t want to incriminate her fellow officer, so she plays along with what society thinks, that being that Khalil is in the wrong. Overall, really good response!!
Delete1. When Starr and Khalil were riding in the cars, Khalil put Tupac on. Starr asked why he was listening to Tupac, because it was so old. Khalil justified his taste in music by pointing out what Tupac said. Khalil said THUGLIFE meant "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody." Khalil interpreted it as, "what society give us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out." He is correct because when you are given hate as a youth, you will be vengeful when you get older. I think it also means when you show your hate in small but mean ways, it could make things get out of hand. Even if the acts are small, when you shown hate, you will not forget it, and it could cause something to arise. I think the author used part of the THUGLIFE acronym for the title because it is exactly what the book is about; Hate and justice.
ReplyDelete2. The police woman was asking more questions about Khalil than the actual event because she was trying to justify the killing. Before the cop started asking the questions about Khalil, Starr thought they just wanted to know what happened, and not Khalil's life story. The cop asked questions about the incident, and Starr recognized the same sympathetic tone in her voice. The cop acted like she was giving consolations, but she was really just buttering her up to answer questions about Khalil. Starr realized that the cop was putting out bait, and she din't like it. The cop asked a question about Khalil being a suspected drug dealer. When Starr processed the question she immediatly thought, "What the fuck?" STarr could not believe that she was doing this to her. She did not like that they were trying to put Khalil in the spotlight when trying to figure out what happened. Starr was wondering if they were investigating what happened, or if they were only trying to justify it.
1. "THUG LIFE" which was said to stand for "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everyone" is powerful in its own essence for it heavily relates to our world today. Our kids that come to be grow up under an influence, they are their parents reworked, thus why kids who are treated with respect tend to end up in better places than those who were abused or used as children. What children get will be given right back as Khalil says "what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out" and this shows how really our society around us is built off of how kids were raised, often their opinions are made from experiences as a child. Thats why a lot of young ones will strive to become what runs in the family, a firefighter as a father might drive a kid to take up work in enforcement or saving people, whereas a lawyer in the family might take other routes. It is always the children that see people above them, and if you do them wrong, watch your head for they will come swinging.
ReplyDelete2. The detective jumps back into the past, what was happening with Starr and Khalil for one obvious reason; justification. In this case, clearly as police brutality and black-Americans being considered a threat to most police, it seems the case was more directed towards twisting the situation so it was able to be justified, so no one would see it as a wrong doing yet it would be seen as justice being served. When "investigating" this situation it is clearly not about the cop but it is about Khalil and what he was doing wrong that makes him being shot some what justified at all. This story had basically turned into something where just because of his skin he was being told off as some drug dealer who basically was shot for what the public would assume was a valid reason, thus, without much detail, no one would know the true tales.
Tupac was a person who knew what freedom was in his own perspective. His way of describing Thug Life was a way to describe those who society gave a lot of freedom and choice to, but then would have it all taken away if they act out. Young adults, and children won't listen to commands like dogs, they're human so it's not in their nature to always listen to somebody else's orders. So when society finds a loophole to punish those who disobey their liking in a way, they will pin them down. It is in our nature to fight back when we realize that the rules/laws that somebody had set, fulfill nobody but themselves. We are unable to just sit back and let crude things happen to oneself since everyone has self respect. As Madelyn said in her post: "Thug Life is also about Rebellion" I agree with her statement because it's ruthless to let society and others to put labels on you. It creates chaos in between people and their perspectives/opinions about others. "Don't judge a book by it's cover" is a very popular quote nowadays, but more people ignore it than really try to understand it's meaning. Stereotypes are a very "normal" topic now, and all I hear, and notice is people making rude, and unnecessary comments about race, gender, skin colour, appearance, etc. The Hate U Give reflects how people pin point others in their brain as dangerous, or threatening just because they're black. Khalil, and Starr were targeted by a police officer who was a white man, and when he saw they were black he acted defensive, and alarmed as if they were criminals. In the end Khalil got shot because he opened the car door. That police officer might've thought of anything at that moment, but he knew that if a white man did exactly what Khalil did he would just be annoyed and have a different opinion of him. So in the end Thug Life represents the stereotypical, racist, and judgmental human beings bringing down the ones who are innocent.
ReplyDeleteMost investigators try to dig deep when something happens. The detective that was questioning Starr was baiting her so that she would implicate Khalil was indeed a criminal. As critical that situation was, it got worse for Starr as she realized that the detective wouldn't even think of accusing troop 115 of shooting Khalil for stereotypical reasons since he was labeled as an armed thug, and a drug dealer by others. The detective tried to find any evidence that can lead back to Khalil being inculpated for the crime, and so Starr played smart and answered all of her questions without making herself look guilty nor putting Khalil out in the open as a bad person.