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Kenya
Starr’s boyfriend, Chris is a wealthy white student at Williamson who bonds with Starr over their shared love of The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, sneakers, and rap music. Starr attempts to hide her Garden Heights world from Chris for much of the story, fearing both Maverick’s reaction to her dating a white boy and Chris’s reaction to her background. Chris is heartbroken when he learns how much of her background Starr has kept from him. Though he makes occasionally ignorant comments about race, Chris is a frequent source of comfort and happiness for Starr. She calls him her “normal,” and his own awareness of racial injustice grows throughout the novel. He stays with Starr all night during the riots following the indictment verdict, a fact that makes Maverick ultimately respect him a little bit more.
Chris Quotes in The Hate U Give
The The Hate U Give quotes below are all either spoken by Chris or refer to Chris. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 17
Quotes
Being two different people is so exhausting. I've taught myself to speak with two different voices and only say certain things around certain people. I've mastered it. As much as I say I don't have to choose which Starr I am with Chris, maybe without realizing it, I have to an extent. Part of me feels like I can't exist around people like him.
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Chapter 21
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Chris and Maya walk through the gate, and my stomach gets all jittery. I should be used to my two worlds colliding, but I never know which Starr I should be. I can use some slang, but not too much slang, some attitude, but not too much attitude, so I'm not a “sassy black girl.” I have to watch what I say and how I say it, but I can't sound “white.”
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Chapter 23
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“Anyway, Chris,” Seven says, “DeVante's got a point. What makes his name or our names any less normal than yours? Who or what defines 'normal' to you? If my pops were here, he'd say you've fallen into the trap of the white standard.”
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