“He Cuts Roses that Have Blooms as Big as My Palms”
Floriography, the Black Gardening Movement, and Environmental Justice in The Hate U Give
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 21409148 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michelle Ann Abate (Gender Studies, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 56 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 183-209 |
| Publication date | 2025-06-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Children s Literature in Education (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0045-6713 • E-ISSN: 1573-1693 |
| Publisher | Springer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1007/s10583-025-09611-4 |
| OpenAlex | W4408750557 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 10 |
This essay explores the numerous, but underexamined, references to nature and the environment in Angie Thomas’s acclaimed young adult novel The Hate U Give . Not only is the narrative set in a neighborhood called “Garden Heights,” but all its municipal features are named after flowers or trees: Magnolia Avenue, Carnation Street, Cedar Grove. Additionally, both major and minor characters in the novel—Big Mav, Mrs. Pearl, etc.—are avid and talented gardeners. I examine these details through the lenses of floriography and the Black gardening movement, respectively. Doing so gives new literary, cultural, and historical meaning to events in The Hate U Give , and they also augment the text’s socio-political commentary. Ultimately, the references to plants, horticulture, and nature in The Hate U Give introduce issues of environmentalism and ecoracism, adding a new facet to the social justice themes that the narrative addresses
Aesthetics · Art · Environmental justice · Movement (music) · Palm · Political science · American Environmental and Regional History · American History and Culture · Ecocriticism and Environmental Literature · Law
| Highly cited | No |
|---|