Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ghost, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Running and Trauma
Poverty
Friendship
Arrogance and Humility
Summary
Analysis
One day, while Ghost is walking home, he walks by a track team. Ghost is more interested in basketball and does not understand why anyone would care about track. Still, rather than continue on his way home, he decides to sit down and watch the track team. The coach, a middle-age balding man, guides his team through a variety of warm-up exercises. His demeanor and language remind Ghost of an army drill instructor.
Again, it is clear that Ghost would rather do almost anything than go home, including watching a sport he finds boring. The coach’s drill instructor-like behavior implies that the coach takes track very seriously: he drills the kids like one would drill adult soldiers.
Themes
As the coach is giving his team a pep talk, one member of the team, who he addresses as Lu, raises his hand and asks the coach if he ran in the Olympics. Ghost notes Lu’s strange appearance, which looks like that of a Black man’s except his skin is completely white. The coach responds to Lu, telling him and the rest of the team to focus on what they want to accomplish, rather than worrying about him. Then, he asks Lu to line up and prepare to run a 100-meter sprint. Lu is one of the three new members of the team, along with Sunny and Patina. As Lu approaches the line, Ghost notices that he is decked out in new Nikes and a gold chain. When the coach blows his whistle, Lu takes off and impresses Ghost with his speed.
Lu has a condition known as albinism, which means that his skin lacks melanin. This is the first time Ghost has ever seen anyone who looks like Lu before, so he does not know what his condition is called. Lu’s apparel suggests that he is quite wealthy, and his speed implies that this is not the first time he has run track. Additionally, this section introduces a mystery surrounding the coach’s past and whether or not he ran in the Olympics. His decision to avoid directly answering the questions foreshadows a larger reveal later in the book.
Themes
After Lu finishes his sprint, the coach tells Sunny to line up. Unlike Lu, Sunny runs slowly and awkwardly, which elicits laughter from some members of the team. After Sunny is finished, the coach calls Patina to the line. Patina’s dash falls somewhere between Lu and Sunny’s and impresses Ghost, who doesn’t know any girls that can run that fast. Once Lu, Sunny, and Patina are all finished, the coach calls the rest of the team to the line, and they perform the 100-meter sprint one by one. Although many of them are fast, Ghost notices that none of them perform the sprint as quickly as Lu.
There is a ritualistic element to the track meet, which presumably happens every year. As a way to test the rookies, they perform before their veteran teammates and have to deal with whatever reaction they receive. However, Ghost largely ignores to the reactions of the team because he is too caught up in his own impressions to care. In particular, Lu seems to have impressed him, even if Ghost does not want to admit it.
Themes
As Ghost watches everyone fail to surpass Lu’s time, he starts to wonder if he could beat it. After everyone has sprinted once, the coach invites them back to the line to try and beat their initial time. Lu approaches the line in a cocky fashion, which annoys Ghost. Ghost does not like people who think they are unbeatable, so he decides to walk over and line up next to Lu on the grass. The coach sees Ghost and tells him that it is too late for tryouts, but Ghost ignores him. Eventually, the coach decides to let Ghost have one run alongside Lu, who jeers at Ghost and tells him he is going to lose.
Ghost knows that Lu is the fastest on the team, but he still believes he can beat him. Although Lu initially impressed Ghost with his speed, Ghost does not like his arrogance. However, by lining up next to Lu and assuming he can beat him, Ghost is displaying arrogant behavior as well. This suggests that Lu and Ghost are more similar than either might like to believe.
Themes
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When the coach blows his whistle, Ghost takes off running as fast as he can. As he runs, his mind goes blank, and before he knows it, the race is over. When asked, the coach says the race was too close to call. Feeling he has proven his point, Ghost grabs his backpack and turns to leave. However, before he can get far, the coach runs over to him and asks him what track team he is on. Confused, Ghost tells him he does not run for anyone but himself.
Ghost’s mind going blank as he runs is reminiscent of the night where his father attacked him. In that moment, everything similarly seemed to happen in a flash. Although Ghost’s sprint is impressive, it also recalls his past trauma. Similarly, his answer to the coach makes it sound like running is an act of self-preservation more than anything else.
Themes
The coach introduces himself as Coach Brody and asks Ghost if he would like to run for his team, the Defenders. Ghost rejects the offer, claiming he would prefer to play basketball and that his mother would not let him join the team anyway. In response, Coach Brody asks if he can drive Ghost home after practice and have a talk with his mother. Ghost decides to stick around, partially because he wants a ride home and partially because he thinks his mother will never say yes to him joining the team anyway.
The name “The Defenders” stands in stark opposition to Ghost’s answer about running for himself. In the context of a team name, a “defender” suggests someone who is serving a broader group or goal outside of themselves. It is team or group oriented, rather than selfish. Coach Brody clearly sees potential in Ghost and feels confident that he would be a good addition to the team, despite his attitude toward running.
Themes
After practice, Coach Brody takes Ghost to his car, which is a taxicab. Coach Brody explains that, when he isn’t coaching, he is a cab driver. Then, he asks Ghost where he lives. For a moment, Ghost clams up when he hears the question because he feels people judge him when they hear where he is from, which is an impoverished part of town. Still, he answers the question: Glass Manor. Coach Brody responds that he knows where to go without any hint of judgement in his voice.
Coach Brody’s decision to still coach the Defenders even though it does not pay his bills shows that he deeply cares about the team, as does his decision to drive Ghost home and speak to Terri. Meanwhile, Ghost’s embarrassment about where he lives comes from a lifetime of observing the reactions of other people when they hear his neighborhood’s name. Coach Brody’s lack of a reaction suggests that he does not judge Ghost at all for where he lives.
Themes
On the way to Glass Manor, Ghost spots his mother, Terri, walking home from work. He asks Coach Brody to pull over and let her in. As Coach Brody drives them home, he has a conversation with Terri about letting Ghost join the track team. At first, Terri says she does not want Ghost to join the team because he needs to focus on school. Coach Brody says he understands her concern and promises that Ghost will get his work done. In fact, he vows to kick him off the team if he screws up in school even once. After a moment of consideration, Terri decides that Ghost can join the team. If nothing else, she likes that she will know what he is up to after school.
Terri is concerned about Ghost running because she worries that extra responsibilities will lead to a poor performance in school, which appears to already be a problem. However, Coach Brody is suggesting that actually the opposite will be true; because Ghost runs for the Defenders, he will have other people to hold him accountable, including Coach Brody himself. Evidently, Terri trusts Coach Brody and perhaps thinks of him as a potential father figure for Ghost.
Themes
