Ghost

by

Jason Reynolds

Otis Brody Character Analysis

Otis Brody is the head coach of the Defenders, the team for whom Ghost, Lu, Sunny, Patty, and many others, run. Otis is serious when discussing running, but he generally has a good sense of humor and does a great job connecting with those he coaches. Like Ghost, Otis grew up in Glass Manor and has problems with his father, who physically abused him and sold an Olympic medal Otis won for drugs. Otis initially turned to running as an outlet to help him deal with his feelings for his father. When Otis meets Ghost, he thinks that running could be similarly beneficial for him. Although Otis tries to keep the mood light when dealing with his team, he is not afraid to express anger when he feels it is necessary. For instance, when he discovers that Ghost stole a pair of Nikes, he yells at Ghost and is openly disappointed. Over the course of the book, Otis becomes Ghost’s most important mentor as well as a father figure.

Otis Brody Quotes in Ghost

The Ghost quotes below are all either spoken by Otis Brody or refer to Otis Brody. 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:
Running and Trauma Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

It was three years ago when my dad lost it. When the liquor made him meaner than he’d ever been. Every other night he would become a different person, like he’d morph into someone crazy, but this one night my mother decided to finally fight back.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

And the coach kept saying stuff like, “Lu’s still the one to beat,” which was kinda pissing me off because . . . I don’t know. It just made me think about this kid Brandon at school, who always . . . ALWAYS picked on me. Not even just me, though. He picked on a lot of people, and didn’t nobody ever do nothing about it. They just said stupid stuff like, Can’t nobody beat him. Same kind of rah-rah this bowling-ball-head coach was kicking about this kid, Lu. It's just . . . ugh. I mean, he was fast, but honestly, he wasn’t that fast.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Brandon Simmons
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:

“Who you run for?” he asked. What? Who did I run for? What kind of question was that?

“I run for me. Who else?” I replied.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker), Lu, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:

Where I live. Where I live. When anyone ever asks about where I live, I get weird because people always treat you funny when they find out you stay in a certain kind of neighborhood. But I was used to people treating me funny. When your clothes are two sizes too big, and you got on no-name sneakers, and your mother cuts your hair and it looks like your mother cuts your hair, you get used to people treating you funny.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“I ain’t saying that. I’ve definitely been scared of somebody before. Real scared,” I added, thinking about how loud a gun sounds when it’s fired in a small room. “That’s how come I know how to run so fast. But now, the only person I’m scared of, other than my mother . . . I mean, like I do things, I know ain’t cool, but even though I know they ain’t cool, like beating on Brandon, all of a sudden I’m doing it anyway, y’know? So I guess . . . I guess the only other person I’m really scared of, maybe . . . is me.”

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Brandon Simmons, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Usain ran a nine-five-eight,” Coach said. […]

“But that ain’t even that fast,” I said. Plus it just didn’t seem like one hundred meters was all that long. I mean, I had just run it the day before in what had to be six or seven seconds. Couldn’t have been more than eight.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker)
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:

“You know who’s really tired, son? Your principal.” Coach put his hands up, palms facing me as if to stop me from even thinking about responding. Then he continued, “No, no. You know who’s really, really tired? Your mother. She’s so tired. So tired. And she’s gonna be even more exhausted when she hears about your suspension.”

Related Characters: Otis Brody (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost, Brandon Simmons, Terri Cranshaw, Principal Marshall, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:

“And as of yesterday, this kid. Castle Cran—”

“Ghost,” I cut him off before he could even get the shaw out. “Just call me Ghost.”

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker)
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

I just told him that my mother had gotten them for me as a way to encourage me to do the right thing and stay out of trouble. Just saying it turned my stomach, because here I was, a boy who was suspended for busting somebody in the face at school one day, and skipped half the day the next because I was laughed at. Then I swiped shoes!

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“I been around here before,” Patty said, skipping the hello. “I can’t remember when. But I know I been around here.”

“Me too,” Lu said. “Not really these parts, but my pops plays ball sometimes at the court down the street.”

Related Characters: Lu (speaker), Patina/Patty (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost, Otis Brody
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“My dad’s in jail for trying to shoot me and my mother,” I blurted. And before anyone could say anything, I held my hands out for my utensils.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Sunny, Patina/Patty, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 132-133
Explanation and Analysis:

And 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.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Sunny, Patina/Patty
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

My tongue had suddenly turned into a stone in my mouth. I couldn’t breathe, like I had just finished running ladders, like I was going to yak up every sunflower I had ever eaten, and if there was a sunflower growing in me, it was definitely dying right then.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:

“Because that’s where we lived. That’s where I grew up. So don’t tell me what I know and don’t know, Ghost.”

Related Characters: Otis Brody (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Ghost LitChart as a printable PDF.
Ghost PDF

Otis Brody Quotes in Ghost

The Ghost quotes below are all either spoken by Otis Brody or refer to Otis Brody. 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:
Running and Trauma Theme Icon
).
Chapter 1 Quotes

It was three years ago when my dad lost it. When the liquor made him meaner than he’d ever been. Every other night he would become a different person, like he’d morph into someone crazy, but this one night my mother decided to finally fight back.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 5
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 2 Quotes

And the coach kept saying stuff like, “Lu’s still the one to beat,” which was kinda pissing me off because . . . I don’t know. It just made me think about this kid Brandon at school, who always . . . ALWAYS picked on me. Not even just me, though. He picked on a lot of people, and didn’t nobody ever do nothing about it. They just said stupid stuff like, Can’t nobody beat him. Same kind of rah-rah this bowling-ball-head coach was kicking about this kid, Lu. It's just . . . ugh. I mean, he was fast, but honestly, he wasn’t that fast.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Brandon Simmons
Page Number: 15
Explanation and Analysis:

“Who you run for?” he asked. What? Who did I run for? What kind of question was that?

“I run for me. Who else?” I replied.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker), Lu, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 19
Explanation and Analysis:

Where I live. Where I live. When anyone ever asks about where I live, I get weird because people always treat you funny when they find out you stay in a certain kind of neighborhood. But I was used to people treating me funny. When your clothes are two sizes too big, and you got on no-name sneakers, and your mother cuts your hair and it looks like your mother cuts your hair, you get used to people treating you funny.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw
Page Number: 24
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“I ain’t saying that. I’ve definitely been scared of somebody before. Real scared,” I added, thinking about how loud a gun sounds when it’s fired in a small room. “That’s how come I know how to run so fast. But now, the only person I’m scared of, other than my mother . . . I mean, like I do things, I know ain’t cool, but even though I know they ain’t cool, like beating on Brandon, all of a sudden I’m doing it anyway, y’know? So I guess . . . I guess the only other person I’m really scared of, maybe . . . is me.”

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Brandon Simmons, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 51
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4 Quotes

“Usain ran a nine-five-eight,” Coach said. […]

“But that ain’t even that fast,” I said. Plus it just didn’t seem like one hundred meters was all that long. I mean, I had just run it the day before in what had to be six or seven seconds. Couldn’t have been more than eight.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker)
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:

“You know who’s really tired, son? Your principal.” Coach put his hands up, palms facing me as if to stop me from even thinking about responding. Then he continued, “No, no. You know who’s really, really tired? Your mother. She’s so tired. So tired. And she’s gonna be even more exhausted when she hears about your suspension.”

Related Characters: Otis Brody (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost, Brandon Simmons, Terri Cranshaw, Principal Marshall, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 54
Explanation and Analysis:

“And as of yesterday, this kid. Castle Cran—”

“Ghost,” I cut him off before he could even get the shaw out. “Just call me Ghost.”

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody (speaker)
Related Symbols: Gunshots
Page Number: 60
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 6 Quotes

I just told him that my mother had gotten them for me as a way to encourage me to do the right thing and stay out of trouble. Just saying it turned my stomach, because here I was, a boy who was suspended for busting somebody in the face at school one day, and skipped half the day the next because I was laughed at. Then I swiped shoes!

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Terri Cranshaw
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 109
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

“I been around here before,” Patty said, skipping the hello. “I can’t remember when. But I know I been around here.”

“Me too,” Lu said. “Not really these parts, but my pops plays ball sometimes at the court down the street.”

Related Characters: Lu (speaker), Patina/Patty (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost, Otis Brody
Page Number: 118
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8 Quotes

“My dad’s in jail for trying to shoot me and my mother,” I blurted. And before anyone could say anything, I held my hands out for my utensils.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Sunny, Patina/Patty, Terri Cranshaw, Ghost’s Father
Page Number: 132-133
Explanation and Analysis:

And 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.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Lu, Sunny, Patina/Patty
Page Number: 135
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

My tongue had suddenly turned into a stone in my mouth. I couldn’t breathe, like I had just finished running ladders, like I was going to yak up every sunflower I had ever eaten, and if there was a sunflower growing in me, it was definitely dying right then.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Otis Brody, Ghost’s Father
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 147
Explanation and Analysis:

“Because that’s where we lived. That’s where I grew up. So don’t tell me what I know and don’t know, Ghost.”

Related Characters: Otis Brody (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost
Page Number: 154
Explanation and Analysis: