Book Club- The Hate U Give: Archetype Characters




When I started to dive into The Hate U Give by Angie Thomas, I quickly noticed that there were a few characters that really stood out. This novel talks about a 16 year old girl named Starr Carter who lives in two separate worlds. On one hand, she lives in a poor black community, but on the other hand, she attends to a fancy rich suburbian prep school. Her world is quickly turned upside down when she witnesses the killing of her childhood best friend, Khalil, by a police officer. Starr eventually finds herself in the middle of a battle between telling what really happened that night and knowing what she decides to say may hurt her community. Starr, her mother Lisa, and her father Maverick will be the focus on today’s blog post as we talk about the different archetypes of the novel.

The Archetypal Hero- Starr Carter
I consider Starr the archetypal hero in this novel because I feel that many of the characteristics of the archetypal hero are very fitting with Starr. Starr goes through both a physical and emotional journey after she first handedly witnessed the killing of Khalil, her childhood best friend. From what I have read so far, she has already been struggling with keeping herself together. After witnessing Khalil being killed right in front of her, she is unable to sleep. She falls asleep, only to be awakened by the nightmares over and over again. I expect her to go through even more obstacles throughout the novel, and I do believe that once she reaches the end of this journey, she will be a different person than she was in the beginning.


The Mother Archetype- Lisa Carter

When Lisa and Maverick meet Starr at the scene of the crime, Starr is immediately embraced by Lisa in a tight hug. Lisa constantly told Starr that it will be alright. Even when driving home, Starr was so traumatized that she needed to get out the car to puke. Lisa was the first one to run to her, hold her hair back and tell Starr that she was sorry. This nurturing continues as she helps Starr get undressed and into a hot bath when they get home. It is clearly evident that Lisa is very caring towards her daughter, possessing the characteristics of the mother archetype. Lisa even knows that Starr has a white boyfriend, but Starr is hesitant to tell her dad. This shows that Lisa is supportive and approachable enough for Starr to let her know that her boyfriend is white. I very much expect her to support Starr throughout her journey throughout the novel.




The Wise Old Man- Maverick Carter

 Right as I read the beginning of the second chapter, I thought that Starr’s father, Maverick Carter would be the wise old man archetype within the novel. Starr explains that when she was 12, her father told her what to do if she was ever stopped by the police. He told her to do whatever they tell Starr to do, to keep her hands visible at all times, to not make any sudden moves, and to only speak when spoken to. This part of the chapter really stuck out to me because Maverick seems to have a very big idea of what it means to be an African-American, the minority facing mistreatment and injustice. He understands that being part of the black community in a white city will not be easy and that there is the idea that there are just certain unspoken rules that needed to be followed. He is not afraid to share these “rules” with Starr. I believe that Maverick play a big part in trying to give Starr the strength to speak out and to stand up for herself.

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