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
Ghost discusses his “file” at school, which he compares to a criminal rap sheet. He gets in trouble quite often for fighting with people who make fun of him because his clothes or because he has a bad haircut. Following Coach Brody’s discussion with Terri, Ghost manages to go 17 hours and two minutes without getting into a fight. The first two of those hours are spent watching a romantic film with his mother, the next 10 are spent sleeping, and the rest occur while Ghost is in class.
Despite Coach Brody’s promise, Ghost manages to get into trouble before Coach Brody even gets a chance to have a positive effect on him. The immediacy of the conflict suggests that Ghost gets in trouble often and is not taking his commitment to the Defenders seriously.
Themes
The trouble begins when Ghost enters the cafeteria for lunch. There, he runs into Brandon Simmons, who regularly bullies him. According to Ghost, Brandon is the dumbest person in school; he’s only an effective bully because he is bigger than everyone else on account of having had to repeat a year. Brandon cuts in front of Ghost in the lunch line and makes a snide remark about how Ghost is used to eating school lunch because his mother is a cafeteria worker. Even though Brandon does his best to make Ghost angry, Ghost ignores him for the time being.
Brandon bullies Ghost by pointing out aspects of his appearance that relate to poverty. Presumably, Brandon knows that such comments are a sore spot for Ghost, who does his best to keep his cool. In particular, Ghost is defensive about his mother, so although Ghost does not immediately lash out at Brandon, every comment Brandon makes gets him closer to getting himself in trouble.
Themes
Once Ghost gets his food, he goes to sit with his friends, Dre Anderson and Red Griffin. Ghost and Dre get along well because they both play basketball, and Ghost feels a kinship with Red because he can tell Red had something bad happen to him when he was younger. Ghost and Red never talk about their trauma, which Ghost describes as having “a lot of scream inside.”
Brandon walks over and sits down next to Ghost and his friends. Although everyone tries to ignore him, he makes disparaging remarks about Ghost and Glass Manor. Everyone knows where Ghost grew up—in fact, many kids in the school are from Glass Manor—but Brandon always torments Ghost for it. Still, Ghost manages to keep his temper for most of the lunch period. However, at the very end, he snaps after Brandon takes a chicken wing and throws it at Ghost’s chest. Right before he throws the wing, Brandon sarcastically claims he is doing his good deed for the day by feeding the hungry. When the wing hits Ghost, he snaps and attacks Brandon. In a moment, Ghost has Brandon on the ground, and he repeatedly punches him in the face.
It is unclear why Brandon targets Ghost. Perhaps it is because he can get a reaction out of him. However, Brandon gets far more than he asks for here, as Ghost attacks him viciously and he seems to have no defense. In this moment, Ghost does not care about the Defenders or the promise Coach Brody made to his mother. Rather, he snaps because Brandon pushes him too far. Although neither Ghost nor Terri ever express the sentiment outright, there is an unspoken fear that Ghost might end up like his father because they share anger issues.
Themes
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A teacher pulls Ghost off of Brandon and then he gets sent to the principal’s office, while Brandon goes to the school nurse to get checked out. When Ghost’s principal, Principal Marshall, sees him, he expresses his disappointment. This is the third physical altercation Ghost has been involved with and Principal Marshall is fed up with him. Ghost tries to explain that he only fought Brandon because Brandon was being exceptionally mean and pushed him over the edge. In the middle of explaining himself, he also remembers that he has messed up his opportunity to run for the Defenders.
Here, Ghost demonstrates that he tends to act before he thinks, which is an issue that is getting increasingly hard to explain to Principal Marshall. While Brandon’s behavior was deplorable, Ghost seems to believe that his only option was to resort to physical violence, which is unacceptable in Principal Marshall’s eyes. As Ghost explains himself, he starts to realize the consequences of his actions.
Themes
After hearing Ghost’s explanation, Principal Marshall eases his tone. He knows Ghost has been through a lot and that he likely was not the instigator in the fight. Still, he warns Ghost that he needs to get his act together and tells him he must suspend him for the rest of the day. Then, he asks Ghost to call his mother so she can come pick him up.
Although Principal Marshall has to enforce rules, he seems genuinely as though he wants to help Ghost. However, he is at a loss for how to do so. This points to Ghost’s poor support network, which is thus unable to stop the cycle and help keep Ghost out of trouble.
Themes
The thought of calling his mother terrifies Ghost, so he asks if he can call his uncle instead. Principal Marshall acts confused—he’s never heard of any uncle—but he lets Ghost make the call. Ghost calls Coach Brody’s number instead and asks him if he will come pick him up at school. Although Coach Brody is irritated at first, he quickly figures out what is going on and tells Ghost he will come get him. He also pretends to be Ghost’s uncle when Principal Marshall grabs the phone to make sure everything is in order.
More than anything, Ghost does not like disappointing his mother or putting her in a position where she feels inadequate because of her lack of financial means. As such, Ghost calls the only other adult he can think of and prays that his plan works. Luckily, Coach Brody is serious about his commitment to helping Ghost and decides to play along.
Themes
Coach Brody picks up Ghost and signs him out of school. When he sees Ghost, he gives him a disappointed look and then yells at him once they are in the cab. In particular, he is annoyed that Ghost lied about Coach Brody being his uncle because it means Coach Brody had to lie to the school, which he assumes is illegal. When Ghost explains what happened with Brandon, Coach Brody is unimpressed. He feels Ghost is just trying to act tough, rather than thinking anything through. Ghost wants to tell Coach Brody that Brandon deserved what he got, but he knows that is not what Coach Brody wants to hear.
Although Coach Brody’s past is still obscure at this point in the novel, there is a sense that he has been through a lot of hardship in his life, and he does not care for whatever excuses Ghost wants to make about the conflict. Coach Brody. is disappointed that Ghost will not take responsibility for his actions. However, his decision to come to the school shows that he still has hope for Ghost and does not plan to abandon him at the first sign of trouble.
Themes
Coach Brody drives Ghost to a park and spends the rest of the afternoon getting him caught up on what it means to run for the Defenders. He tells Ghost that they will have to do something about his clothes, as he is wearing a stained t-shirt, baggy jeans, and high-top sneakers. Then, he walks Ghost through stretches and warm-ups, while lecturing him on proper form.
Ghost’s outfit—especially his high-top shoes—is not only suboptimal, but it could lead to injury. However, Ghost is in a difficult spot because he does not have the means to purchase running gear like Lu. Coach Brody does not take this into consideration, which foreshadows a problem that will arise later in the novel.
Themes
When they finish with warm-ups, Ghost tries once again to explain the situation with Brandon. He states that he does not think he is tough for beating up Brandon because Brandon does not scare him. Rather, he just has a hard time controlling his emotions. Coach Brody asks Ghost if he is the type of person who is not scared of anything. Thinking of his father, Ghost assures him that is not the case. Additionally, Ghost says he is scared of his mother and himself. His statement elicits a grunt of agreement from Coach Brody, who warns him he cannot run away from himself.
At this point, Ghost has done some genuine self-reflection and tries to explain himself. Ghost likes Coach Brody and does not want to disappoint him by putting on a façade and acting tough. Instead, Ghost opens up and shows vulnerability to Coach Brody, which Coach Brody finds far more impressive than the tough guy act he saw before. In doing so, Ghost once again positions running as a mechanism for self-defense rather than associating it with the more positive attributes that come with team sports.
Themes
