Starr Carter Character Analysis in The Hate U Give Essay Sample

The Hate U Give, written by Angie Thomas, follows a young girl named Starr Carter who is forced to keep a secret from the world. That secret contains the information to let the whole world know what truly happened to her best friend, Khalil. Starr faces different obstacles throughout the book, but within those obstacles she reveals hidden parts of herself she never knew were there.

Starr Carter didn’t have an easy life while growing up. She grew up in Garden Heights which was “a ghetto and notorious for gang violence” (Thomas 168). Her parents, Lisa and Maverick Carter, sent their three children to William Prep which was a wealthy, predominantly white school. Lisa and Maverick were not wealthy people. But regardless of their financial status, they always made it a priority to protect their children. They always valued their children’s needs and protection before anything else. Even when it was extremely difficult, they found the money  to put their three kids in an expensive school where they knew they’d be safe rather than sending them to a public school where they would have to fear for their safety everyday. They showed how much they cared for their children even through the toughest times of their life. Growing up, Starr was told to keep everything to herself because she wouldn’t fit in as much as the other kids because of her color. This influenced her throughout the majority of the book because it caused Starr to be petrified to speak up and tell people the truth of what happened to her best friend, Khalil. Starr was scared of what people would think of her and what she had to say.

In order for Starr to set the truth free, she learned that she needed to change who she was. Starr acted based on her emotions after witnessing the death of Khalil. When Starr saw the police officer, who is referred to as one-fifteen or Officer Cruise, who shot Khalil, her main goal was to get him arrested. All Starr wanted to do was show the world what Officer Cruise did to her best friend. She had her mind set on her personal situation and wanted justice for Khalil, ultimately ignoring everyone else’s experience. She didn’t think anybody else could feel the pain she was feeling. She believed that it was her burden to carry around for the rest of her life because she told herself that she could have done something to save Khalil but instead she did nothing and watched him die in front of her. After that moment, Starr realized that the world isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. She learnt that people will do anything in order to survive. This altered her perspective on life.

After the fatal shooting, Starr started to grow closer to many of her family members. Starr wasn’t as close to her father, Maverick, because he spent most of Starr’s childhood in prison. In that period, Starr lived with her Uncle Carlos. He was like a second father figure to Starr. He taught Starr everything she needed to know about the world. Nobody forced him to take responsibility for Starr, he insisted on taking on that duty. Uncle Carlos sought it to be an honor to raise her. Starr grew extremely close with her other two siblings, Sakeni and Seven. Even though Seven was her half-brother, they still protected each other from everything. Hailey, Starr’s ex-best friend, said “Khalil was going to die anyhow and One-Fifteen did everybody a favor by killing a drug dealer” (Thomas 360). Seven protected Starr by fighting with Hailey. Seven also defended Starr as well as Khalil through his actions. Seven shows his love for Starr through that. He shows that he would do whatever it takes to protect Starr from anybody even though they are not siblings by true blood. 

Throughout the story, Starr changed as a character. In the beginning, Starr was a soft spoken sixteen year old. She didn’t want to cause any trouble and she did as she was told. When Starr went down to the police station for questioning after Khalil’s death, the police officers told her to keep everything a secret until they find out more. Starr listened to them and kept everything quiet. She didn’t tell anyone outside of her family. She believed she was doing the right thing. As Starr faced many of her obstacles, she soon realized what her true self was capable of. She was able to find her own voice and spoke out for what she believed in. She realized that she couldn’t keep this a secret and that the world deserved to know the truth. She spoke out at a protest in Khalil’s honor where she said “...Officer Cruise is the criminal. His life mattered. Khalil lived!” (Thomas 412). Starr found her confidence and what she truly believed in. She learned to think for herself from that experience. She found out that she shouldn't listen to anybody and what they told her to do. She followed her heart and spoke out against the officer who shot Khalil which set the truth free. That whole experience changed her. She finally gained her own confidence, beliefs and voice. It showed Starr that she has a say in something no matter what someone tells her.

Star Carter was once a shy kid who never got in trouble and always did as she was told. As she faced challenges, she realized she was capable of so much more. She found that she was restricting herself from her true potential. In a matter of months, the shy sixteen year old soon turned into an activist to speak out against Officer Cruise for murdering her best friend, Khalil.