3 Alyssa Brinza – The Old VS The New

Alyssa Brinza (She/Her) is a Senior from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania who is studying English with a Professional & Technical Writing concentration. This literary analysis was prepared for Alisa Clapp-Itnyre’s English L391, who states, “Alyssa wrote an excellent comparison of The Hate U Give (2017) written by Angie Thomas and We Were Liars (2014) written by E. Lockhart. It was thorough and well revised!

The Old VS The New

Throughout the history of young adult literature, a silent (and sometimes not so silent) battle began between the younger and the older members of our society. A battle of feelings, beliefs, and societal expectations that clashed between the new generations and the ones that came before.  It certainly is not shocking; the world is ever-changing and older generations do not feel or understand the changes the way the youth do. It is inevitable the battle had ever begun. With the development of technology and little to no understanding or studies to show how this affects a young adult transitioning into their adult years, the feeling of being misunderstood by your predecessors is at an all-time high. Along with this, the youth become more aware of their elders’ mistakes, educating themselves on race, mental health, sexuality, etc. As the difference in knowledge and experience grows wider, the understanding of each other and how to go about handling situations become more blurred. This is not a topic Young Adult Literature has ever attempted to stray away from. Arguably, YA novels can be the key for older generations, helping to clear their vision and understand the youth by broadening their own perspectives. Two specific novels that can find themselves as a great guide, in juxtaposing ways, are The Hate U Give (2017) written by Angie Thomas and We Were Liars (2014) written by E.Lockhart. Lockhart creates a world where adults battle directly against their children, forcing them to suppress their emotions and ignoring the obvious mental health ailments their children possess, while Thomas created a story where the adults allow the kids in their life to feel their feelings and learn to regulate and direct their emotions.

E. Lockhart’s mystery novel, We Were Liars, tells the mystery of how Cadence Sinclair, and the filthy rich family she has grown up with, handle the tragedy of a fire killing multiple teens on their private island. Themes of how adults interact and address their children’s personal lives and mental health are woven into the plot to demonstrate the pain caused by the insistent avoidance of facing tragedy in a family. The adults in the Sinclair family hide behind their wealth, refusing to acknowledge the pain and flaws that are intertwined in the fabric of their family tree, using money to replace their loved ones and adamantly hiding the pain that lay beneath their new cars and furniture. Throughout the story, Cadence begins to show clear signs of mental health issues and delusions. The overall ignoring of these things had led to the rebellion and recklessness of her and her cousins, ultimately turning their ever-growing internal tension into a tragic reality. Cadence tells the reader these ailments from the very first page, “We are Sinclairs. / No one is needy. / No one is wrong” (Lockhart 3). Early in the story Cadence experiences the trauma of her father leaving her family and her grandmother’s death. Continuously throughout her narrative, she uses extremely graphic imagery such as being shot by her father and her wrist splitting to describe these feelings. Alexus Adkins wrote in class discussion that “Her use of lethal metaphors in these scenes allude to how deeply the loss of her Grandma Tipper truly affected her as a character” (We Were Liars Discussion #1, L391 Spring 2024). When Cadence experiences moments of vulnerability and emotional distress, her mother demands, “‘Be normal, now,’ she said. Right now, she said. Because you are. Because you can be. Don’t cause a scene, she told me. Breathe and sit up. I did what she asked. She was all I had left” (Lockhart 5-6). Cadence hopelessly believed her mother was all she had left, yet her mother, in return, forced Cadence to suffer silently and on her own. While Cadence suffered, Penny, her mother, refusing to acknowledge her grief, cleared the house of any memory of her husband in the days after he left. They had “trashed the gifts he’d given us…we got rid of the couch and armchairs my parents had bought together. Tossed the wedding china, the silver, the photographs” (Lockhart 6). Instead of dealing with their troubles and sorrows, Penny forced her daughter to act as if it had never happened, leaving Cadence alone on her journey to healing from these emotional wounds. In a review written of We Were Liars, Meg Rosoff states that “the aunts, teenagers, littles and golden retrievers form a largely undifferentiated mass. Careless, grasping and obsessed with keeping up appearances, they casually wreck one another’s lives” (Rosoff). The family, each in their discreet pain and beautifully tragic facade, collapsed, creating their own family tragedy.

In juxtaposition to the Sinclair family, in The Hate U Give, Starr’s family does not shy away from the real and traumatic. The adults admit their faults. After Starr catches her Uncle Carlos in a physical altercation, she laughs but he responds seriously, “‘It’s not funny!’ he says. ‘I shouldn’t have lost my cool like that. It was unprofessional. Now I’ve set a bad example for you’” (Tomas 245). These adults use their faults to share knowledge and wisdom with their children.  Kara Lydy wrote in class discussion that “The novel also addresses the challenges and realities faced by adults, especially Black adults, in dealing with systemic racism, police brutality, and the impact on their communities. This realistic portrayal adds layers to the narrative, showcasing the interconnectedness of generational struggles and the resilience of families like the Carters” (The Hate U Give Discussion #2, L391 Spring 2024). The adults in the Carter family yearn to see their children succeed and grow in ways they hadn’t. The reader sees this clearly through a speech giving by Maverick to his son, Seven, on his birthday:

I’m proud of you, man. Like I told you, I never got a diploma. A lot of young brothers don’t get theirs. And where we come from, a lot of them don’t make it to eighteen. Some do make it, but they’re messed up by the time they get there. Not you though, you’re going places, no doubt, I always knew that. (Thomas 369)

These adults empower their children to grow from their tragedies and remind them of their achieved strengths and success, while also celebrating how much further they are able to go. After Starr witnesses Khalil being shot and killed by a police officer, her parents had come to pick her up. They don’t say much, however, when they get home her mother helps her to undress. “Daddy carries me to bed, and Momma brushes her fingers through my hair until I fall asleep” and when she is awoken by nightmares “over and over again, Momma reminds me to breathe” (Thomas 27). Though there may be  nothing her parents can say to heal the trauma she experienced, they are with her the entire time, helping her, letting her feel her emotions, and reminding her to breathe. In a review of Thomas’ The Hate U Give, written by Soumya Tiwari, the author writes that:

I also loved the way family dynamics is portrayed in the book. Starr’s family consists of so many complicated characters…We see so many conflicts between Maverick and Carlos and how Seven always cares about his other sisters more than Starr, but whenever things went down, they were ready to fight together as one! (Tiwari)

Admittedly the two families come from vastly different backgrounds. The Sinclairs can afford a trip to their private island and to refurnish their homes amidst tragedy, while the Carters are forced to stay planted and face their tragedies head on. The story of both families creates a reality of the family dynamics that can exist for young adults. There are very different messages in each novel about post-modern versus traditional ideologies. The privilege and financial situations and upbringings certainly make a distinct difference between the two families. The Carters and their background experiences with race and poverty create a different experience than the filthy rich privilege experienced by the Sinclair sisters. Despite this, the message remains the same, children, regardless of wealth and privilege, need the emotional support of their families far more than the financial.

There is certainly a potential harm in the Young Adult Fiction themes of adult versus child, however, the sad truth is that this is the reality some face and the topic must no longer be avoided. Stories like Thomas’ The Hate U Give counteract this theme well by creating adult figures who are against the youth such as King, while also giving the children Uncle Carlos, Maverick, and other immediate familial adult figures as shoulders to lean on in times of uncertainty and pain. Hayley Friedhoff wrote in class discussion that “The portrayal of responsible and involved parents in The Hate U Give stands out in YA literature, providing a refreshing and realistic depiction of adult figures who actively engage with their children’s lives and societal challenges” (The Hate U Give Discussion #2, L391 Spring 2024). This refreshing novel reminds young adults that adults are human beings too, with faults and mistakes that can be forgiven.

Lockhart’s We Were Liars creates a more dramatized and villainous view of the adults in the Sinclair family. Arguably, that was certainly what Lockhart was going for, Jordan Kluge wrote that, “Lockhart to an extent is being stereotypical, (it is an)  exaggeration” (We Were Liars Discussion #1, L391 Spring 2024). Admittedly, this theme can be potentially harmful to youth reading; it still has the potential to be a reality for some of the young adults engaging with the text. With the gap growing between generations further away, now is a good time to do exactly what Thomas had done and remind the youth of the humanity that lies within the adults in their lives.

There is a common theme throughout history that youth is always the ones fighting and pushing societal expectations and boundaries. They are the ones learning from their elders’ mistakes and educating themselves on issues that remain bigger than themself, however, it is ultimately not the young adult’s responsibility to do these things. Novels such as We Were Liars and The Hate U Give showcase why it is just as important for adults to read young adult novels as it is for teens. With a combination of the young adults who feel seen and heard by the content and an open-minded approach to the content demonstrated by the adults in their lives, these novels can begin to bridge the gaps and bring understanding and humility to the already dwindling relationship between the older and newer generations.

Sources:

Alexis, Adkins, Discussion on We Were Liars. For English L391, Indiana University East, Spring 2024.

Friedhoff, Hayley, Discussion on The Hate U Give, For English L391, Indiana University East, Spring 2024.

Kluge, Jordan, Discussion on We Were Liars, For English L391, Indiana University East, Spring 2024.

Lochart, E. We Were Liars. Random House Children’s Books, 2014.

Lydy, Kara, Discussion on The Hate U Give, For English L391, Indiana University East, Spring 2024.

Rosoff, Meg. “Fantasy Island.” The New York Times, 9 May 2014. https://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/11/books/review/we-were-liars-by-e-lockhart.html

Thomas, Angie. The Hate U Give. Harper Collins, 2017.

Tiwari, Soumya. “The Hate U Give- A book review.” Medium, 21, Sep. 2019.

https://medium.com/amateur-book-reviews/the-hate-u-give-a-book-review-52357a5fb0e8