Chapter 1Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 1 Summary
Stay True opens with an ode to friendship. Hua describes cruising around San Francisco in his Volvo with his college friends, characterizing driving as “the cool, generous thing to do” (4) and dropping people off at the airport as “the ultimate gesture of friendship” (4). Driving provided Hua with opportunities to observe his friends’ quirks, from incessant lighter flicking to staring silently out the passenger window. Preppy, confident Ken was among the friends who rode in Hua’s car. In addition to cruising, the two listened to music, drank alcohol, and laughed until all hours, moments Hua describes as both mundane and intense. The chapter ends with Hua’s thoughts on memory, forgetting, and the role of photography in remembering.
Chapter 1 Analysis
Chapter 1 introduces friendship as the central theme of Hua’s memoir. With evocative imagery and immersive prose, Hua describes the bonds he formed during his years at Berkeley, focusing on his close relationship with Ken. Hua paints a vivid picture of Ken and their unlikely friendship, describing him as someone who was “always overdressed” (5) in clothes Hua “would never wear” (5).
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