Code Switching In The Hate You Give By Anni Thomas

We all code-switch. Whether it is changing our tone of voice depending on if we are inside or outside, to talking to our parents differently than our friends, every human experiences a form of code-switching. But can code-switching reach an extreme to where we lose ourselves? In the book The Hate You Give, by Angie Thomas, the black protagonist Starr experiences her good friend Khail get unrighteously shot by a white police officer. Starr lives in an all black poor and dangerous neighborhood called Garden Heights, while attending a privileged white school outside her neighborhood called Williamson, where she battles her two personalities while getting over her grief of Khails death. The author, Angie Thomas, displays the effects of code-switching in minorities by utilizing

In this quote Starr uses the comparative metaphor “one world… and another” to portray how she sees Williamson and Garden Heights as different realities. It is clear that Starr , like other young girls coming from minorities, sees code-switching as a necessity in order to fit in. This eventually causes Starr to loose the perception of herself which is a damaging and sadly common effect of having to code-switch on a daily basis. This is even more pronounced when Starr returns to school after Khails death. She explains how she "switches" to her different identity while stating, “I just have to be normal Starr at normal Williamson and have a normal day. That means flipping the switch in my brain so I’m Williamson Starr.” (PDF 74). This switch gives her both relief and pain as she explains that, “I can’t stand myself for doing it, but I do it anyway” (PDF 73). It is clear that Starr placing herself into contrasting settings leads her to be stuck between two different personalities, and despite her belief