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Symbols
The hairbrush represents both the blinding power and senselessness of racism. One-Fifteen alleges that he shot Khalil because he mistook his hairbrush for a gun. Maverick says One-Fifteen made this assumption not simply because the hairbrush handle was “black enough” to have looked like a gun, but because Khalil himself was “black enough” to have been carrying one; racist assumptions about the criminality of black youth contributed to One-Fifteen seeing a weapon where there was none. The public latches on to this fact, leading to the chant of “a hairbrush is not a gun” in the riots following the indictment verdict. The fact that an object meant for grooming contributes to Khalil’s death further suggests that black individuals can do everything to adhere to societal expectations of propriety and still be targeted simply because of the color of their skin.
Khalil’s Hairbrush Quotes in The Hate U Give
The The Hate U Give quotes below all refer to the symbol of Khalil’s Hairbrush. 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 12
Quotes
“That's the so-called gun,” Ms. Ofrah explains. “Officer Cruise claims he saw it in the car door, and he assumed Khalil was reaching for it. The handle was thick enough, black enough, for him to assume it was a gun.”
“And Khalil was black enough,” Daddy adds.
A hairbrush. Khalil died over a fucking hairbrush.
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Chapter 14
Quotes
“I knew that boy. Watched him grow up with you. He was more than any bad decision he made,” he says. “I hate that I let myself fall into that mind-set of trying to rationalize his death. And at the end of the day, you don’t kill someone for opening a car door. If you do, you shouldn't be a cop.”
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Khalil’s Hairbrush Symbol Timeline in The Hate U Give
The timeline below shows where the symbol Khalil’s Hairbrush appears in The Hate U Give. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
Khalil reaches for his hairbrush and combs his hair while noting that a fight between rival gangs—the King Lords and...
(full context)
Chapter 3
...rummage through his car and she doesn’t want them to touch his things, including his hairbrush. When an officer finally puts a sheet over Khalil, Starr worries he “can’t breathe” under...
(full context)
Chapter 12
...Ofrah reveals that the “gun” the media has been mentioning was nothing more than Khalil’s hairbrush. In the darkness, the handle looked thick enough—and, Maverick adds, Khalil was black enough—that One-Fifteen...
(full context)
Chapter 24
...that they have reached the street where Khalil was shot. People there are chanting “a hairbrush is not a gun.” This is Starr’s first time at the street since the shooting,...
(full context)
