Characters:

Starr Carter
Characters  Starr Carter

Throughout The Hate U Give, Starr grows from an uncertain teenage girl to an outspoken
activist for change in her community. Starr’s witty and relatable narrative style contrasts with
her reluctance to speak out at the start of the novel. Because Starr feels torn between her two
worlds—the poverty and violence of Garden Heights and the wealth and respectability of
Williamson Prep—she is unsure how to speak about Khalil’s death, fearing the story will
affect how her white friends and boyfriend, Chris, view her. Khalil’s death disrupts any
semblance of equilibrium Starr has created between her Garden Heights and Williamson Prep
identities, and forces Starr to realize that no matter what she does, she will always be judged
within white spaces. With this realization, Starr stops silently tolerating racist comments from
Hailey, allows Chris into her Garden Heights life, and ultimately testifies before the grand
jury on Khalil’s behalf, becoming a voice of justice for those subjected to police brutality.
Starr’s name carries the thematic weight of the many meanings of the word “star,” which
emphasizes her potential for leadership in her community. Maverick states that he chose
Starr’s name because she was a light in a dark time for him. Throughout The Hate U Give,
Starr acts as a light of hope and truth for many of the characters. In testifying to the grand
jury and speaking out at the protest, she sheds light on the truth about Khalil and breaks
through the layers of falsehoods that the media has created. By exposing King’s involvement
in Khalil’s death, Starr inspires her neighbors and DeVante to have the courage to speak out
against King. Starr’s realization of her potential for leadership in her community highlights
how Hailey’s racism had previously relegated Starr to a secondary role in Hailey’s life
whereas Starr is the center of her own.

Maverick “Big Mav” Carter

Characters  Maverick “Big Mav” Carter

Starr’s father Maverick inspires Starr with his pride in being black. Maverick’s outlook on
life draws inspiration from the Black Power Movement, in particular Malcolm X and the
Black Panther Party. Often called the foil to Martin Luther King Jr.’s peaceful protests,
Malcolm X preached black liberation by any means necessary. The Black Panther Party was
a political movement founded in 1966 by Huey Newton and Bobby Seale. They also fought
for black liberation and organized community programs. Maverick follows their lead by
running a grocery store, helping to nourish the community. Maverick also organizes the
neighborhood gangs to mediate the response to the grand jury verdict, using structures from
within Garden Heights to protect the neighborhood instead of relying on the police. However,
Maverick’s devotion to his ideals means he ignores the difficult realities associated with
them, such as when he initially refuses to move the family out of Garden Heights.

Maverick’s caring nature breaks stereotypes of black fathers in popular media, who are often
absent and cold. Maverick’s garden showcases his nurturing personality, mirroring the care
he brings to his parenting. Significantly, Maverick had almost been an absentee father, but
after going to prison he renounces gang connections entirely. Part of Maverick’s anger
toward Uncle Carlos stems from jealousy because Uncle Carlos acted as a father to Starr
while Maverick was in prison, living out the negative stereotype of a black father. Maverick
attempts to compensate for the missing years by being involved in his children’s lives. The
tattoos Maverick has of Starr, Seven, and Sekani emphasize how central they are to his world.
In fact, Maverick’s love for his children is the one thing that breaks through Maverick’s
devotion to his ideals, which is why he decides to move them out of Garden Heights once
King threatens Starr.
Summary: Chapter 1
The narrator of The Hate U Give is a teenager named Starr Carter. As the novel opens, Starr
attends a spring break party with her friend Kenya in her home neighborhood, Garden
Heights, and instantly feels out of place. Kenya accuses Starr of acting stuck up because Starr
attends Williamson Prep, a fancy, majority-white school. In contrast, the residents of Garden
Heights are primarily poor and black. Kenya is one of the few Garden Heights friends Starr
keeps in touch with because they share a half-brother, Seven.
Kenya gossips about a girl named Denasia, who accused Kenya of flirting with a boy named
DeVante. Kenya tells Starr she’s lucky that she doesn’t have to deal with girls like Denasia at
Williamson, but Starr counters that promiscuity is universal. Other teens greet Kenya. They
recognize Starr from elementary school and her father, Maverick’s, store, but Starr does not
remember them. Kenya goes off with her friends, leaving Starr alienated and abandoned. She
laments that at Williamson, blackness bestows her with coolness as long as she doesn’t bring
up the difficulties associated with blackness, but in Garden Heights, coolness must be earned.

Starr runs into Khalil, her childhood best friend. Khalil is handsome with dimples that keep
him from looking tough. She asks why she hasn’t seen him around, and Khalil replies that
he’s been busy. From this statement and his new clothes, Starr understands that Khalil likely
has been dealing drugs. They update each other on their families. Khalil wants to speak with
Maverick about something but refuses to tell Starr what.
Suddenly, gunshots sound out. Khalil and Starr run toward Khalil’s car. Starr cannot find
Kenya but texts to make sure she is safe. Once in the car, Khalil complains that in Garden
Heights they can’t have a party without a shooting, sounding like Starr’s parents. Khalil
thinks the fight was likely a dispute between the two neighborhood gangs, The King Lords
and the Garden Disciples. Starr explains to the reader that her father used to be a member of
the King Lords but quit.

While in the car, Khalil plays Tupac Shakur’s album “Thug Life.” Starr teases him for
playing older music, but Khalil insists the album still holds relevance. He explains that “Thug
Life” is an acronym that stands for “The hate u give little infants f---s everyone,” which
means that society’s violence creates problems for itself. This prompts Starr to ask Khalil
whether he’s dealing drugs. Khalil tells her to mind her own business. He insists he needs
more money than a minimum wage job because his grandmother lost her job after cancer
treatments caused her to miss work.

Starr’s half-brother Seven texts, furious at Starr for going to the party. From the look on
Starr’s face, Khalil recognizes instantly that Seven is the one who texted. They reminisce
about growing up together with their friend Natasha and acutely feel Natasha’s absence.
Police sirens interrupt their conversation.
Summary: Chapter 2
The chapter opens with Starr remembering the lecture Maverick gave her twelve-year-old self
about how to act around police, right around when her mother, Lisa, gave Starr the sex talk.
Maverick told Starr to do whatever the police tell her, keep her hands visible, not make
sudden moves, and only speak when spoken to.
Khalil pulls the car over. When the police officer asks him for identification, Khalil demands
to know the reason for the stop. Starr remembers Maverick’s instructions to make note of the
cop’s appearance and badge number. His badge number is one-fifteen, and Starr continues to
refer to him by this number. One-Fifteen asks where they came from, but Khalil insists that it
is none of One-Fifteen’s business. Starr panics and realizes that Khalil did not get the police
talk from a parent. One-Fifteen tells Khalil that his tail light is broken. Khalil continues to
complain, and One-Fifteen forces him to get out of the car. One-Fifteen searches Khalil,
presumably for drugs, but finds nothing. As he heads back to his car, One-Fifteen warns
Khalil and Starr not to move. However, while One-Fifteen walks away, Khalil opens the car
door so that he can check on Starr. One-Fifteen shoots Khalil.

Starr jumps out of the car to check on Khalil, only to have One-Fifteen point his gun at her.

Analysis: Chapters 1-2

Chapter One introduces the reader to Starr’s voice, establishing her as a thoughtful and
engaging narrator. The immediacy of Starr’s narration means that she observes and reacts
first before reflecting. Her experience of feeling abandoned at the party, therefore, becomes
large enough to fill a chapter with her emotions because she does not have the benefit of
knowing that a life-changing tragedy looms on the horizon. The present tense keeps the
reader very close to Starr’s feelings at all times, making her easy to empathize with. While
Starr is limited by her perception of events, she never intentionally misleads the reader or
attempts to save face by distorting the truth. Even when Starr lies to another character, such
as when she pretends to recognize people at the party, she tells the reader the truth behind her
actions.

Read an in-depth analysis of Starr Carter.

Chapter One also shows how Starr’s school life at Williamson Prep has damaged her ability
to feel comfortable in Garden Heights. Starr is both embarrassed by Garden Heights and feels
inadequate in it. Because she cannot act like a teenager from Garden Heights at Williamson,
and she cannot act like a Williamson student in Garden Heights, Starr tends to distance
herself. Starr’s sense of alienation causes her to harshly judge the people at the party from the
moment she walks in. She equates the provocative dancing with teen pregnancy not as an
impartial observer, but because she feels out of place, and admits later in the chapter that
promiscuity happens everywhere. Her insecurity particularly emerges when she reflects on
how she must earn coolness in Garden Heights. Starr has been away from the teenage social
scene in her neighborhood and no longer feels confident in her ability to fit in. This insecurity
suggests Starr feels inauthentically black in her own neighborhood.
Read more about Garden Heights as a symbol.
These two chapters offer the only glimpse of a living Khalil and reveal him to be kind but
conflicted. Thomas quickly emphasizes Khalil’s inner sweetness when Starr notes that
Khalil’s dimples ruin his “G” (gangster) persona. These dimples, which keep Khalil from
looking tough, disappear when Starr asks him why he’s been busy, which symbolizes the way
Khalil has fallen in with a bad crowd. Starr also notes several times that Khalil now makes
world-weary comments or choices that sound like her parents. This disgruntlement both
foreshadows his death and introduces the troubling theme that children in Garden Heights
take on adult responsibilities very young. Starr clearly has conflicted feelings about Khalil
that mirror her conflicted feelings about Garden Heights. She finds Khalil incredibly
attractive and cool, but also expresses anger at him for selling drugs, just as she identifies the
social scene in Garden Heights to be intimidatingly cool but also dangerous.

Chapter Two provides the inciting event for the action of The Hate U Give and serves as an
important record of what really happened. Through Starr’s observations and our
understanding of her as a reliable narrator, we know that One-Fifteen’s use of deadly force is
shocking and unnecessary. For most of the chapter, Starr’s narration avoids her usual
digressions and analysis except when she thinks about her father’s advice on how to speak to
police. The lack of analysis serves two purposes. First, the directness gives the impression
that Starr is too scared to think beyond what is happening directly and how to keep herself
safe. Second, Starr’s lack of verbal filters means she reports exactly what she is experiencing.
No matter what speculation happens in later chapters, the immediacy of Starr’s narration here
means Chapter Two has the most accurate depiction of what happened the night One-Fifteen
shot Khalil.
Read more about “One-Fifteen” as a symbol.
Finally, Chapters One and Two set up the twin forces of violence in Garden Heights—the
gangs and the police—as the embodiment of “hate” described in the “Thug Life” acronym.
Gun violence disrupts a party because of hatred between gangs, with teenagers as both
perpetrators and victims. From Kenya’s unfazed reaction, readers can infer that this violence
is commonplace enough to barely distract Kenya from boy drama. Similarly, the racist
prejudice of One-Fifteen turns a routine act—dropping a friend off at home after a party—
deadly. Just like the victims of the party, Khalil and Starr are minors, and yet One-Fifteen
treats them as dangerous threats. Starr describes Maverick’s police talk in the same sentence
as her mother’s teenage sex talk, which suggests similar discussions are common rites of
passage for the black teenagers of Garden Heights. Although the gangs and the police may
seem diametrically opposed, for the teenagers of Garden Heights, both forces haunt and mar
common teenage experiences.