Striving for Superiority Reflected in the Main Character of Angie Thomas’s the Hate U Give: A Psychological Study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.36312/jolls.v4i4.2257Keywords:
The Hate U Give, Angie Thomas, black discrimination, psychological issuesAbstract
This study analyzes the main character, Starr Carter, in Angie Thomas' The Hate U Give, using Adlerian psychology to explore her drive, motivation, and development. Starr’s feelings of inferiority, stemming from her social and economic conditions, race, and traumatic experiences, are examined. The study reveals that Starr compensates for these feelings by adopting two contrasting personas: one in her predominantly white school and another in her Black neighborhood. However, as the story progresses, Starr strives for superiority by embracing her true identity and overcoming the challenges of racism, social inequality, and personal trauma. Her final goal is to unify these conflicting identities and assert her voice as a Black woman, representing her community in the fight against institutional racism. Through creative power and striving for success, Starr transforms her initial inferiority into activism, culminating in her decision to use her voice for justice, particularly following the murder of her friend, Khalil. This research contributes to understanding how Adlerian concepts apply to literary character analysis, especially in the context of racial identity and social justice.
Downloads
References
Abrams, Meyer H. 1971. The Mirror and the Lamp: Romantic Theory and the Critical Tradition.
Abrams, Meyer Howard, & Harpham, G. G. 2012. A Glossary of Literary Terms (J. M. Flaherty (ed.); 10th ed.). Michael Rosenberg.
Adler, A. 1997. Understanding Life: An Introduction to The Psychology of Alfred Adler. One World Publications.
Blank, R. M., Dabady, M., & Citro, C. F. 2004. Measuring Racial Discrimination. In Measuring Racial Discrimination. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10887
Christianti, Y. 2019. Double Consciousness of Starr Carter in Angie Thomas’s Novel “The Hate U Give” [Universitas Airlangga]. https://repository.unair.ac.id/91014/
Creswell, J. D., & Creswell, J. W. 2008. Research Design Qualitative Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (4th ed.). SAGE Publications, Inc.
Dwipujowati, D. 2020. Starr’s Struggle for Her Identity in Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Give [Universitas Sanata Dharma]. https://repository.usd.ac.id/36693/2/124214021_full.pdf
Feist, J., Feist, G. J., & Tomi-Ann, R. 2018. Theories Of Personality, Ninth Edition. In McGraw-Hill Education. https://mheducation.com/highered
Irawati, S. A. 2018. The Struggle of Black People to Avoid Stereotypes in Angie Thomas’ The Hate U Give. http://eprints.undip.ac.id/62986/1/Thesis_Suryaningrum_Ayu_Irawati_13020114130060.pdf
McCarthy, C. 2019. Anxiety in Teens is Rising: What’s Going On? American Academy of Pediatrics; New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM/MMS). https://www.healthychildren.org/English/health-issues/conditions/emotional-problems/Pages/Anxiety-Disorders.aspx
McCord, F., Ansbacher, H. L., & Ansbacher, R. R. 1956. The Individual Psychology of Alfred Adler: A Systematic Presentation in Selections from His Writings. American Sociological Review, 21(5). https://doi.org/10.2307/2089120
NPR. 2017, February 26. “The Hate U Give” Explores Racism And Police Violence. https://www.npr.org/2017/02/26/517305270/the-hate-u-give-explores-racism-and-police-violence
Nurhayati, Q. 2017. The Influence of Racial Prejudice on the Law Enforcement in Angie Thomas’s The Hate U Gives A Sociology of Literature [Universitas Airlangga]. http://eprints.ums.ac.id/74563/1/ARTICLE PUBLICATION.pdf
Pangesti, M. K. 2018. The Discrimination Experienced by the Main Character as Reflected in “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas: A Sociological Approach [Universitas Ahmad Dahlan]. http://digilib.uad.ac.id/penelitian/Penelitian/detail/103556/the-discrimination-experienced-by-the-main-character-as-reflected-in-the-hate-u-give-by-angie-thomas-sociological-approach
Purwaningsih, E. 2019. Slang Words in the Novel “The Hate U Give” by Angie Thomas [Gunadarma University]. https://library.gunadarma.ac.id/repository/slang-words-in-the-novel-the-hate-u-give-by-angie-thomas-ssm
Ratri, N. L. 2019. Racism Reflected in The Hate U Give (2017) by Angie Thomas: A Critical Race Theory [Universitas Muhammadiyah Surakarta]. http://eprints.ums.ac.id/79316/1/PUBLICATION ARTICLE.pdf
Wajiran, W. 2024. The portrayal of black women in Toni Morrison’s Beloved, The Bluest Eye, and Song of Solomon. Research Journal in Advanced Humanities, 5(3), 37-48.
Wajiran, W., & Septiani, N. A. 2023. The subordination of black people in the United States Toni Morrison’s novel, Beloved. NOTION: Journal of Linguistics, Literature, and Culture, 5(1), 69-81.
Wallace, S. B. 2019. The impact of racism on child and adolescent health. Pediatrics, 144(2). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2019-1765
Wellek, R., & Warren, A. 1949. Theory of Literature. Jonathan Cape.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2024 Shofia Nur Rachma Utami, Wajiran Wajiran, Fakiha Arain
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with JOLLS agree to the following terms:
- For all articles published in JOLLS, copyright is retained by the authors. Authors permit the publisher to announce the work with conditions. When the manuscript is accepted for publication, the authors agree to implement a non-exclusive transfer of publishing rights to the journals.
- Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
