Starr Carter Character Analysis in The Hate U Give

📌Category: Books, Literature, The Hate U Give
📌Words: 920
📌Pages: 4
📌Published: 11 June 2021

In today's society, about 1 in 1,000 black men and boys will have been killed by police in the United States. That statistic is nearly 2.8 times more than the white men and boys' death rate to police. Starr, the main character in The Hate U Give, had to suffer watching her black friend (Khalil) be killed by an officer after a party. Khalil reached into the car to ask Starr if she was ok, within seconds of her response all she heard was a bang, 3 shots were fired and Khalil dropped. Everything changed that day for staff and she had had enough of the brutality and injustice against her race and community. Starr had a tough time speaking out about her experience and was pressured by her community and her white private school. She didn't know what to do for a period of time and was too scared to testify against the police officer that killed Khalil but she was the only witness and was the only person that could make a difference. Her father (Maverick) was a big influence on the Garden Heights community and didn't raise his kids to be scared of the world. Maverick had a talk with Starr and gave her the courage to speak out against the officer who unjustly killed Khalil. In The Hate U Give Starr is effective when overcoming the injustice done against her and her community and making change. Not only was she effective but she was able to show her community that they should fight for themselves.

Starr did some awesome things for her community and since she went to a private school people didn’t like her at first because they thought she didn’t understand their struggles in the hood. In all reality, she had the biggest struggle in her community and was burdened with bringing justice for not only her friend but also her family and her hood (Garden Heights). When Starr heard Khalil being slandered on the news for dealing drugs she knew that she had to stand up for him. Ofrah organized an interview for Starr with a news channel one week before her court testimony so that she could speak out about how nice of a person Khalil was and how he was killed unjustly when all he did was ask her if she was ok. She also wanted to tell people that he was only a suspected drug dealer and there was no evidence. This was effective because within hours of her interview on the news her dad was able to convince the gangs in garden heights to stop the violence to show that they want justice for Khalil and so that Khalil won’t be affiliated with gangs. The great Martin Luther King Jr. once spoke out against injustices at the 1963 march on Washington. At that event, he was able to help bring jobs and voting freedoms to African Americans. When Starr spoke out for Khalil in court and the injustice that had happened to her she brought light to her situation and convinced everyone but the court that Khalil was innocent. Not only did Starr just Testify for Khalil, but she also held a protest and spoke out against the police for murdering Khalil. She normally holds her feelings in but learns from her boyfriend that she can talk to him and her friends. 

When Starr goes to school she normally puts up with the subtle racisms and tries to just get through her day so she can go home and decompress. One day Starr was so fed up with Hailey's racist taunts and actions and finally snapped. Starr swung at Hailey for badmouthing Khalil and making fun of her for being friends with a no-life hood rat. This was effective because Hailey stopped slandering Starr after she got her butt kicked. Starr not only kicked Hailey's butt, but she also made an example out of her. Hailey was a racist person with no sense of empathy and Starr showed what happens to those people if they push their luck. As Malcolm X once said, “A race of people is like an individual man; until it uses its own talent, takes pride in its own history, expresses its own culture, affirms its own selfhood, it can never fulfill itself.” Like Malcolm X, Starr wanted to represent her community and express herself at school. When her “friend” treated her like crap and made her feel like less of a person she let her know that it wasn't right. When she did it again Starr didn't hesitate to pop her in the mouth in order to shut her up. Starr had flaws as a person, but as a social justice activist and a little encouragement from her friends and family she shaped up pretty well under her circumstances. She tried to bring justice to Khalil's death and succeeded in the community as well as succeeding at bringing light to racism.

Starr led her community to a brighter future in the fact that she showed them how to overcome injustices and fight for change in their community. Starr showed the public of Garden Heights that they shouldn't just bow down to the law and let them get away with unjust actions; and that they actually can make a difference if they unite as one. She showed that if you let people step on you they will keep doing it until you fight back. In today's society, there are still many injustices being done to all sorts of people from all backgrounds and races. If society were to stop fighting against injustices then one group would be all-powerful. People shouldn't wait for change or expect change; they should make it themselves whether they succeed or not. If the world just sits around expecting change but doing everything the same then how can it change. Be the change like MLK Jr, like Malcome X, and like Starr Carter.

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