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
Friday is an excellent day for Ghost. He is excited for the weekend because it means two days off of school, which he is planning to spend with his mother, his Aunt Sophie, and his cousin, King. His mother has to go to nursing classes in the morning on Saturday, but after that she is free to have fun, which usually means playing cards. Additionally, Ghost does not have to go to practice because the track team does not meet on Fridays, and Coach Brody is taking the rookies out to dinner instead.
Other than his mother, Dre, and Red, Aunt Sophie and King are the only people Ghost feels close to. He values the time that he spends with them, as well as the additional time he gets with his mother, who is typically swamped with work during the week. Although Ghost’s previous few days have been filled with hardship, things are beginning to look up for the foreseeable future.
Themes
School on Friday is also better than it has been for Ghost in a long time. Although Brandon Simmons returns from his suspension, he ignores Ghost. In fact, everyone else in school starts making fun of him instead. Although Ghost still does not like Brandon, he tells everyone else to stop because he feels bad for him. Additionally, Shamika apologizes to Ghost for laughing at him on Thursday. She also sits with Ghost and his friends at lunch and tells him a story where she did something similar. Together, all of them share a big laugh.
Here, Ghost behaves quite admirably. He could easily join in with the bullying behavior that everyone else exhibits toward Brandon. However, he makes a thought-out and well-intentioned decision to be the bigger person and leave Brandon alone. Additionally, Ghost’s lunch with Shamika allows them to bury the hatchet from the shoe incident, which Shamika feels bad for inciting.
Themes
After school, Ghost goes to Mr. Charles’s store for sunflower seeds as always. Mr. Charles asks Ghost if he is okay after what happened the day before. Ghost is slightly annoyed that Mr. Charles brought up the previous day, but he knows that Mr. Charles means well. He tells Mr. Charles that everything is okay now, even though being stuck in the store has had him thinking more about his father than he would like.
Although Ghost considers Mr. Charles a friend, he does not feel comfortable talking about what happened with his father, even though Mr. Charles was present for the incident. In fact, Ghost does not feel comfortable discussing that part of his life with anyone, which is a big part of his problem: he won’t acknowledge his past trauma and so can't heal from it.
Themes
Then, Ghost hangs out at the bus stop for a bit before walking down the street to a basketball court where he often spends time. He watches people play pick-up games for a while but leaves when a fight starts to break out. Finally, he goes home and gets ready for his dinner with Coach Brody and the rest of the rookies.
As usual, Ghost avoids his home because it reminds him too much of his past. He would rather spend time anywhere else, and he only goes home because he is excited about the dinner with Coach Brody.
Themes
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Outside his home, Ghost hears Coach Brody lay on the horn. When Ghost goes outside, he sees Coach Brody has already picked up Lu and Patty. Patty and Lu both tell Ghost that they have been near his house before. Lu even says that his dad plays on the basketball courts up the street. Then, Coach Brody drives across town to a much wealthier area to pick up Sunny. Ghost and Lu try to convince Patty to sit in the back of the cab with them, so that Sunny does not have to squeeze in. Ghost, in particular, is not looking forward to being crammed in the middle. However, Patty decides against giving up her front seat, so Sunny sits in the back.
Although he does not say anything, Ghost presumably does not like that Coach Brody brought Lu and Patty to his home, even though they may already know Ghost is from Glass Manor. However, like Coach Brody, Lu and Patty try to make it seem as though Glass Manor is just like any other place, so Ghost does not feel self-conscious. It seems that Ghost and Lu are finally starting to get along and, in general, the rookies have begun to bond.
Themes
