Previous
Sarah Moore
Sarah Moore’s father, Officer Moore is a white police officer in Chicago. He has saved lives and been decorated for bravery—but one December, he responds to a 911 call and fatally shoots Jerome Rogers, a 12-year-old Black boy, after mistaking Jerome for an adult and his toy gun for a real firearm. Notably, Officer Moore fails to announce he and his partner are police and shoots Jerome in the back while Jerome is sprinting away. In addition, neither Officer Moore nor his partner attempt to give Jerome first aid while Jerome is dying. When Sarah, who can see Jerome’s ghost, challenges Officer Moore’s characterization of Jerome as threateningly adult-looking, pointing out that Jerome was her own age and height, Officer Moore storms away. During the hearing to determine whether he will be charged for killing Jerome, Officer Moore repeats, over and over, that Jerome put him “in fear for [his] life.” Jerome eventually concludes that Officer Moore is telling the truth about having been afraid of him, despite Jerome’s being a five-foot-tall 12-year-old, illustrating how irrational Officer Moore’s racist fears of Black boys is. After the judge chooses not to press charges against Officer Moore, he falls into a depression and is implied to be drinking too much, perhaps to ignore the guilt he feels at having killed a child. For a while, Sarah stops speaking to her father and even tells Jerome that she hates him. Ultimately, however, Jerome encourages Sarah to talk to her father again and help him overcome his racist fear of Black boys. At the novel’s end, Officer Moore has agreed to help Sarah with her website memorializing children, like Jerome, killed due to bigotry and fear.
Officer Moore Quotes in Ghost Boys
The Ghost Boys quotes below are all either spoken by Officer Moore or refer to Officer Moore. 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:
).
Dead (p. 3–5) Quotes
I’m dead.
I thought I was bigger. Tough. But I’m just a bit of nothing.
My arms are outstretched like I was trying to fly like Superman.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Alive (p. 9–16) Quotes
I’m pudgy, easily teased. But when I’m a grown-up, everybody’s going to be my friend. I might even be president. Like Obama.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Grandma dropped out of elementary school to care for her younger sisters. Ma and Pop finished high school. Me and Kim are supposed to go to college.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Ma always says, “In this neighborhood, getting a child to adulthood is perilous.”
I looked up the word. Perilous. “Risky, dangerous.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dead (p. 21–31) Quotes
“Emmett. Just like Emmett Till,” says Grandma. “He was a Chicago boy, too.”
“This isn’t 1955,” says Reverend, calming.
“Tamir Rice, then,” shouts Pop. “2014. He died in Cleveland. Another boy shot just because he’s black.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Alive (p. 35–44) Quotes
“You’re nothing in Chicago. Say it.” Snap twists Carlos’s arm. “Say it, ‘I’m nothing.’”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dead (p. 49–53) Quotes
“Black lives matter!” someone hollers.
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dead (p. 63–70) Quotes
“We could be friends.”
“That’s the stupidest thing.” I’ve never had a friend like Sarah. A white girl. I laugh, it’s so stupid. Die, and a white girl can be your friend.
“I’m not trying to be funny. Stay.”
She’s pleading. I feel sorry for her. My school doesn’t have any Sarahs.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Who knew THE END wasn’t the end?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Alive (p. 75–80) Quotes
I’m always good. (Teasing Kim doesn’t count.) I say what Grandma wants to hear. Calm her and Ma. Watch out for Kim. Play Minecraft for just an hour. (Okay, sometimes two.) Do my homework. Even act nice when Mr. Myers isn’t asking me (he’s asking the whole class!) to welcome the new kid. Sucker. That’s me. Why can’t I have some fun? Pretend I’m a rebel in Rogue One?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Dead (p. 85–191) Quotes
I read the first line: “All children, except one, grow up.”
I frown. “What happened? Did he die?”
“No.” Sarah’s face reddens. “He doesn’t die. He stays a kid. He wants to stay a kid.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“Maybe you shouldn’t know about it. At least for now. It’s terrible when grown men kill a child.”
“Like my dad?”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Strangely, courtroom benches remind me of church pews. Long, hard, polished wood.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“I was in fear for my life,” he says, more forcefully.
If I were alive, my whole body would be trembling. Officer Moore speaks (I think) a truth he believes. When truth’s a feeling, can it be both? Both true and untrue?
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“An emergency nine-one-one call, a young man with a realistic-looking gun, a concern for public safety, and an officer’s fear for his life are all facts I’ve considered.
“In the opinion of this court, there is not enough evidence to charge Officer Moore with excessive force, manslaughter, or murder.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Emmett’s the leader. The leader of our crew. An unnatural alliance—young, but dead.
Ghost boys.
I understand now. Everything isn’t all about me.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Emmett murmurs, “Bear witness.”
“What’s that mean?”
“Everyone needs their story heard. Felt. We honor each other. Connect across time.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
“I was ashamed.”
“Never be. You’re a good son. Everyone gets scared sometimes. It’s how you handle it that matters.”
Related Characters:
Related Symbols:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Emmett told me that the men who killed him never believed they did wrong. An all-white jury found them innocent.
The judge said there wasn’t enough evidence to charge Officer Moore with a crime. But he’s not celebrating.
Is that progress?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ghost Boys LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Officer Moore Character Timeline in Ghost Boys
The timeline below shows where the character Officer Moore appears in Ghost Boys. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Dead (p. 49–53)
...pink nail polish, announces that the preliminary hearing will determine whether there’s enough evidence for Officer Moore to stand trial for murder, not whether he’s innocent or guilty. Jerome thinks this is...
(full context)
A policeman ( Officer Moore ) sits in the dock, staring at his wife and daughter (Sarah), ignoring the lawyer...
(full context)
The lawyer asks how old Jerome was. When Officer Moore says he thought Jerome was a “man” of at least 25, the lawyer asks whether...
(full context)
...The judge demands order, while security guards advance on Pop and Ma. Journalists yell at Officer Moore , asking whether he’s “sorry.” Jerome wonders what difference it makes whether Officer Moore or...
(full context)
Dead (p. 63–70)
...being dead is lonely, and the girl, blushing, admits she’s lonely too: her dad ( Officer Moore ) and her mom are constantly fighting and “sad.” When Jerome points out that they...
(full context)
...she probably doesn’t hear gunfire near her home. When the girl claims that her father, Officer Moore , is a public servant who helps people because “that’s what policemen do,” Jerome points...
(full context)
The girl (Sarah), crying, asks whether she can help Jerome. Then Officer Moore enters the room with “reddened eyes,” tells “Sarah” it’s bedtime, and hugs her hard. When...
(full context)
Sarah asks Officer Moore —too late—whether he made a mistake. Jerome tells her that it was no mistake. When...
(full context)
...kids bully her—an experience he understands—she tells him that people who disapprove of her dad, Officer Moore , yell things at her, while people who support her dad treat her as if...
(full context)
Sarah announces that she doesn’t want people to like her because her father ( Officer Moore ) shot Jerome to death. Jerome notes that Sarah resembles Officer Moore, which makes it...
(full context)
Dead (p. 85–191)
Preliminary Hearing. Chicago Courthouse. April 18. The lawyer asks whether Officer Moore can’t distinguish between a child and an adult. When Officer Moore stumblingly claims that “it...
(full context)
When the lawyer asks whether Officer Moore has heard that “racial bias” can influence people’s behavior subconsciously, Officer Moore claims he’s “not...
(full context)
...The other ghost reaches out to Jerome and Jerome recoils, wondering what the gesture means. Officer Moore ’s lawyer asks for a break, the judge agrees, and Jerome thinks that the judge...
(full context)
...Sarah hear yelling, door-slamming, and glass breaking downstairs. When Sarah comments that her father ( Officer Moore ) hates “administrative leave,” Jerome says that Pop would probably like a salary “for not...
(full context)
...of sick leave after her appendix burst—is “real.” He wonders whether Pop is aware that Officer Moore is still being paid. Jerome wants to throw a fit, but he knows it won’t...
(full context)
...he wants is to “move on” and escape his family’s suffering. When Sarah insists that Officer Moore ’s motive for killing Jerome matters, Jerome asks whether Sarah thinks so because the motive...
(full context)
...remembering that kindness never helped him, he throws Peter Pan across the room. From downstairs, Officer Moore calls up to ask Sarah whether she’s okay. She calls back that she’s fine, but...
(full context)
...recognizing his ghost from a photo. Sarah says that she’s only seen one photo because Officer Moore and her mother wanted her not to “see it.” When Jerome echoes, “See it?”, Sarah...
(full context)
...play a video of Jerome being shot from a police car. Sarah, horrified, questions why Officer Moore gave Jerome no verbal warning before shooting him. As the video plays, they see Officer...
(full context)
...to Jerome repeatedly and wishes she could hug him and resurrect him. She says that Officer Moore “didn’t really see” Jerome. Jerome, snapping back, asks whether Officer Moore even sees his daughter:...
(full context)
...that would get dull. Sarah laughs—and then blurts that kids in her class are praising Officer Moore for being a “good cop,” praise that can’t be right because her father shot a...
(full context)
Preliminary Hearing. Chicago Courthouse. April 18. Officer Moore , with red eyes and a fallen face, takes the stand. The lawyer asks him...
(full context)
The lawyer—over the defense’s objection—asks whether Officer Moore gave Jerome any medical help or called 911. The judge sustains the objection, but Officer...
(full context)
...trying to shield her from the truth, not knowing she already understands Jerome more than Officer Moore did. Emmett Till appears, and his presence seems to give Grandma subconscious comfort.
(full context)
When Officer Moore takes the stand, the lawyer asks why Jerome was shot “in the back.” Reporters and...
(full context)
...a horrible, regrettable event—but given the difficulties inherent to policing, Jerome’s “realistic-looking” toy gun, and Officer Moore ’s “fear for his life,” the judge has decided not to charge Officer Moore.
(full context)
Silence. Sarah has stopped talking to Officer Moore and has removed all the pink items in her room—developments that worry Jerome. She’s on...
(full context)
...about him, he asks her to stop. She retorts that she’s helping him. Jerome—thinking of Officer Moore drinking downstairs, and Sarah’s mom, who has started sleeping throughout the day—tells her that she...
(full context)
...and the entire rest of world seem so sad. He suggests that Sarah talk to Officer Moore . Sarah insists that she hates him and asks whether Jerome does too. Jerome thinks...
(full context)
In his mind, Jerome compares the terrible mistake that Officer Moore made to the terrible bullying that Eddie, Mike, and Snap inflicted on him and Carlos...
(full context)
...and thinks that people may remember him. He again suggests that Sarah should talk to Officer Moore : “Something inside him isn’t right.” When Sarah agrees with Jerome’s insight, saying her father...
(full context)
Sarah nervously admits to Jerome that in a way, she’s happy Officer Moore won’t be tried for murder, because she loves him and knows his actions were a...
(full context)
Jerome tells Sarah again that she should talk to Officer Moore . She admits she’s afraid. Jerome tells her that everyone is—though he realizes that he...
(full context)
Jerome, outside Sarah’s house, hears Sarah call to Officer Moore . She runs downstairs and finds him looking discombobulated and miserable on the sofa. He...
(full context)
