THUG quotes, techniques, themes and vocab

Question 1

• Systemic racism and neglect

Answer 1

• Listen! The Hate U-the letter U-Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody. Meaning what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out.
• “What makes his name or our names any less normal than yours? Who or what defines ‘normal’ to you? You’ve fallen into the trap of the white standard.”
• • That’s the hate they’re giving us, baby, a system designed against us. That’s Thug Life.

Question 2

• Silence vs. Speaking out

Answer 2

• I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.
• What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?

Question 3

• Racial profiling
• Racial bias/assumptions

Answer 3

• The handle was thick enough, black enough for him to assume it was a gun. And Khalil was black enough.
• Drug dealer” is louder than “suspected” ever will be. If it’s revealed that I was in the car, what will that make me? The thug ghetto girl with the drug dealer?

Question 3

• The power of voice/inspiring others

Answer 3

• The bullhorn is as heavy as a gun. Ironic since Ms. Ofrah said to use my weapon.
• “After seeing you face those cops the way you did, I don’t know, man. That did something to me..And that lady said our voices are weapons. I should use mine right?”

Question 4

• The cycle of violence, racism and poverty

Answer 4

• People are always talking about how bad things are in the hood, but nobody’s asking why they are the way they are. We can’t blame people for doing what they have to do to survive.
  -“We’re the ones who get the short end of the stick but we’re the ones they fear the most.”

Question 5

• Dueling identities
• Codeswitching
• Double consciousness

Answer 5

“Williamson Starr holds her tongue,”
“Can’t give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.’
“means flipping the switch in my brain so I’m Williamson Starr.”

Question 6

Listen! The Hate U-the letter U-Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody. Meaning what society gives us as youth, it bites them in the ass when we wild out.

Answer 6

Intertexual reference
THUG LIFE refers to the systemic forces of discrimination, poverty, lack of opportunity, police brutality, and educational inequality that disproportionately affect Black youth
The anger and unrest that result from systemic racism affect not just the oppressed individuals, because the destabilizing effects (eg. creating an environment of anger and instability) of systemic injustice ripple outward

Question 7

What makes his name or our names any less normal than yours? Who or what defines ‘normal’ to you? You’ve fallen into the trap of the white standard.”

Answer 7

Rhetorical question, metaphor
- Racial microaggressions
- Challenging racial norms
- Racism as a social construct

Question 8

We’re the ones who get the short end of the stick but we’re the ones they fear the most.

Answer 8

metaphor for being given less, being denied access to resources and opportunities, and being stuck with the consequences of an unjust system. Poverty in these communities is often perpetuated by structural factors

Question 9

I always said that if I saw it happen to somebody, I would have the loudest voice. Now I am that person, and I’m too afraid to speak.

Answer 9

Irony
- Isolating nature of racism
- Fear of retaliation
- She fears for her own safety, her family’s safety, and the risk of becoming further marginalized or targeted by the system
- Empowering and frightening nature of voice

Question 10

What’s the point of having a voice if you’re gonna be silent in those moments you shouldn’t be?

Answer 10

Rhetorical question
- Moral duty/obligation
- The power of voice
- Call to action (inaction allows harmful behaviours to persist)

Question 11

The handle was thick enough, black enough for him to assume it was a gun. And Khalil was black enough.

Answer 11

Repetition
- Racial profiling
- Racial assumptions
- Racial bias infuences decision making
- Chilling inevitability

Question 12

That’s the hate they’re giving us, baby, a system designed against us. That’s Thug Life.

Answer 12

Metaphor
how systemic racism creates an environment in which hate, injustice, and criminalization become the unfortunate responses to a life lived within a system that was never designed for equality or justice

Question 13

The bullhorn is as heavy as a gun. Ironic since Ms. Ofrah said to use my weapon.

Answer 13

Similie
- Accentuates the power of voice and using it as empowerment
- Gun symbolises emotional burden that comes with speaking out

Question 14

Drug dealer” is louder than “suspected” ever will be. If it’s revealed that I was in the car, what will that make me? The thug ghetto girl with the drug dealer?

Answer 14

Rhetorical question
- Invites the reader to consider the implications of racial stereotypes
- racialized identities are tied to criminality

Question 15

Being two different people is so exhausting. I’ve taught myself to speak with two different voices and only say certain things around certain people.

Answer 15

Internal conflict
- emotional toll of racialized expectations

Question 16

People are always talking about how bad things are in the hood, but nobody’s asking why they are the way they are. We can’t blame people for doing what they have to do to survive.

Answer 16

Rhetorical question
The lack of jobs, quality education, and community resources pushes many toward illegal activities, like dealing drugs, as a means of financial survival.
The cycle is perpetuated because people outside these communities rarely ask why the conditions are the way they are or how the system has failed to provide viable alternatives.