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Terms
Code switching refers to the act of changing the way one presents oneself in different surroundings. Starr and her family engage in code switching throughout the novel, altering their inflection, vocabulary, and dress based on whether they are talking to fellow residents of Garden Heights, white people, or law enforcement. Starr feels that she shifts into an entirely separate version of herself at Williamson, dropping many of the tics of her speech so as to not appear “ghetto” to her classmates.
Code switching Quotes in The Hate U Give
The The Hate U Give quotes below are all either spoken by Code switching or refer to Code switching. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 1 Quotes
As long as I play it cool and keep to myself, I should be fine. The ironic thing is though, at Williamson I don't have to “play it cool” — I’m cool by default because I'm one of the only black kids there. I have to earn coolness in Garden Heights, and that's more difficult than buying retro Jordans on release day.
Funny how it works with white kids though. It's dope to be black until it's hard to be black.
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At the beginning of the novel Starr arrives at Big D’s party with Kenya and, having lost touch with much of Garden Heights, immediately feels out of place. She expresses being torn between her Williamson and Garden Heights identities, and will continue to feel conflicted by these competing personas throughout the book. Starr asserts that she is naturally “cool” at Williamson—her posh, primarily white school—because she is black. She will repeat this sentiment later in the novel, pointing out how her white friends assume her to be an arbiter of new trends and dances. This fetishizing of blackness is still Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a.
Chapter 2 Quotes
The other talk was about what to do if a cop stopped me. … “Starr-Starr, you do whatever they tell you to do," he said. "Keep your hands visible. Don't make any sudden moves. Only speak when they speak to you."
I knew it must've been serious. Daddy has the biggest mouth of anybody I know, and if he said to be quiet, I needed to be quiet.
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After being pulled over by the police in Khalil’s car, Starr flashes back to “the talk” her parents gave her when she was twelve regarding how to behave in front of law enforcement. Here Thomas is directly linking police brutality to racist assumptions about black youth: Maverick’s emphasis on the need to act in as nonthreatening a way as possible underscores the fact that much of the world will view Starr as dangerous simply because she is black. People like Starr must engage in code switching to survive, altering their behavior to better conform with white notions of respectability and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantiu
Chapter 5 Quotes
Williamson Starr doesn't use slang—if a rapper would say it, she doesn't say it, even if her white friends do. Slang makes them cool. Slang makes her “hood.” Williamson Starr holds her tongue when people piss her off so nobody will think she's the “angry black girl.” Williamson Starr is approachable. No stank-eyes, side-eyes, none of that. Williamson Starr is nonconfrontational. Basically, Williamson Starr doesn't give anyone a reason to call her ghetto.
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On her first day back at Williamson after Khalil’s death, Starr is especially conscious of how she comes across to her predominantly white classmates. Just as she changes her behavior in front of the police, so too does Starr code switch at her school in an effort to avoid the racist ire or pity of other students. Starr feels pulled between these two different versions of herself throughout the novel, often experiencing the “double consciousness” faced by black people seeing themselves through the eyes of a white society. Starr understands that the white world is quick to flatten black identity Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Volu
Chapter 6 Quotes
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. I choose every word carefully and make sure I pronounce them well. I can never, ever let anyone think I'm ghetto.
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Starr and Lisa go to the police station to speak to detectives Gomez and Wilkes about Khalil’s death. In the interview room Starr immediately engages in code switching once again. This moment reflects the double consciousness Starr continues to feel, the result of being aware how she, a young black girl from a poor neighborhood, is seen by outsiders. Regardless of the fact that she has done nothing wrong, Starr knows the detectives are more likely to listen to her and take her seriously if she presents herself in a manner that white society has deemed acceptable. Nevertheless, Gomez and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occ
Chapter 17 Quotes
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. I've mastered it. As much as I say I don't have to choose which Starr I am with Chris, maybe without realizing it, I have to an extent. Part of me feels like I can't exist around people like him.
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While sitting in the Rolls Royce outside prom, Chris tells Starr he knows that she is the witness in Khalil’s case. He is hurt and angry that she kept this from him, and Starr realizes that she has been hiding part of herself from Chris out of fear he would pity and think less of her. Starr has felt guilty for dating Chris ever since Khalil’s death, and has been trying to navigate how to be with someone from such a different world. Chris is not simply much wealthier and more privileged than Starr, but he is also white, and Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupt
Chapter 21 Quotes
Chris and Maya walk through the gate, and my stomach gets all jittery. I should be used to my two worlds colliding, but I never know which Starr I should be. I can use some slang, but not too much slang, some attitude, but not too much attitude, so I'm not a “sassy black girl.” I have to watch what I say and how I say it, but I can't sound “white.”
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Starr feels her worlds colliding when Carlos hosts a Memorial Day barbeque and her Williamson friends meet her family and friends from Garden Heights. Starr has spent much of the novel code switching between these two groups, changing how she presents herself to better fit in with her surroundings. Though she has worked to keep “Williamson Starr” and “Garden Heights Starr” separate, in this moment she feels she has been placed in the impossible position of inhabiting both identities at once: she must not scare off Chris and Maya without entirely rejecting her roots. Much to her relief, however, everyone Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita del
Chapter 23 Quotes
“Anyway, Chris,” Seven says, “DeVante's got a point. What makes his name or our names any less normal than yours? Who or what defines 'normal' to you? If my pops were here, he'd say you've fallen into the trap of the white standard.”
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When the riots in Garden Heights following the indictment verdict get out of hand, Starr, Chris, DeVante, and Seven pile into Seven’s car and drive away. The atmosphere in the car lightens as they try to “test” Chris by asking him about certain elements of black culture. The mood becomes slightly tense, however, when Chris subsequently asks why black people have “odd names.” Seven points out that Chris is judging things based on the assumption that white names are neutral, when, in fact, they are just as subjective as those of any other group. Seven goes on to point out Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rer
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