Ghost Runner

Lead Have you ever tried running away from a problem? Castle “Ghost” Crenshaw makes a habit of it. He’s the main character in Ghost by Jason Reynolds. Beginning Paragraph Ghost is fast, but not fast enough to outrun his past. Not until joining a city track team does Ghost learn to put his speed to good use. Thesis Statement Being a part of the Defenders teaches him you cannot chase a better future without first accepting your past.

Topic Sentence Ghost faces more hurdles than your typical seventh-grader. He lives alone with his mother in a small apartment in an impoverished part of the city. Three years earlier, he experienced unthinkable trauma in the very same apartment. Late one night, his dad got drunk and got in a heated argument with his mom. He pulled out a gun and shot at Castle and his mom as they were fleeing out the door. “That was the night I learned to run,” he remembers (7). He's been running from problems ever since.

Middle Paragraphs Not surprisingly, the experience left Ghost “with a lot of scream inside.” The “scream” makes him distrust authority and affection and causes him to think and act with a chip on his shoulder. At school, he gets in fights and does not have many friends. He takes any disparaging comment as a blow to his honor, such as when Brandon, a class bully, pesters him about his ill-fitting clothes. Ghost’s tough exterior helps him cope with his inner turmoil, but it also prevents him from confronting his past and moving on.

Things start to change for Ghost when he joins the Defenders track team, though at first he continues running from his problems. For example, his mom lets him join the team as long as he behaves in school, but he breaks his promise within 17 hours, getting a suspension for fighting. Luckily, his coach covers for him. Then at practice Ghost trips and falls over his ratty high-tops. (He can’t afford real track shoes like the rest of his teammates.) Feeling embarrassed, he cuts off the top portion of the shoes. His classmates notice them the next day and howl with laughter, so Ghost runs out of school, steals a pair of track shoes, and lies about how he got them. All along the way, he fails to heed his coach’s warning: Source Quotation “You can’t run away from yourself” (51). At this point, Ghost is still insecure about himself. He justifies his fighting and stealing and dishonesty by blaming others, when really it’s his own stubborn pride and distrust of people that lead to his poor decisions.

Eventually, the Defenders help Ghost become more comfortable in his own skin and reduce the “scream” inside. His relationships with his coach and teammates make the biggest difference. At the start of the story, Ghost is skeptical of the coach, but by being fair, honest, and reliable, Coach Brody earns respect and trust. He teaches Ghost discipline and instills a work ethic in him, and Ghost eventually opens up about his feelings. This is no small change because sharing his feelings helps Ghost shed his hardened attitude.

Three teammates—Lu, Patty, and Sunny—also teach him valuable lessons. Each of them has unique problems, and Ghost learns he’s not alone in trying to navigate the difficulties of growing up. At a team dinner, he even shares the dark secret about why his father is in jail. “And I felt … good. Different. Like, even though they were all stunned by what I said, I felt like they could see me” (132). Revealing his secret shows Ghost is becoming more accepting of his past and more secure about himself. His courage to expose a painful truth also shows he is becoming more trusting and more aware that he doesn’t always have to deal with problems on his own.

Ending Paragraph Joining the Defenders helps Ghost get out of the rut he's been in ever since the terrible night with his father. By the end of the story, he finally lets his guard down and in the process becomes a better teammate and a happier person. Instead of brooding about his reputation and past experiences, he starts thinking and acting in the best interests of his teammates. In turn, they look out for him. He says, “It felt good to feel like one of the teammates. Like I was there—really, really there—as me, but without as much scream inside” (135). Thematic Details Most importantly, being a part of the track team teaches Ghost that it’s impossible to run from your true self, including the painful experiences that influence who you are. Coach Brody sums up the big lesson of the book when he tells Ghost, “You can’t run away from who you are, but what you can do is run toward who you want to be” (155).