Ghost

by

Jason Reynolds

Arrogance and Humility Theme Analysis

Themes and Colors
Running and Trauma Theme Icon
Poverty Theme Icon
Friendship Theme Icon
Arrogance and Humility Theme Icon
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Ghost, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Arrogance and Humility Theme Icon

Ghost is obsessed with greatness, which is why he likes to look at his copy of The Guinness Book of World Records in his free time. However, at the beginning of the story, he does not know what it takes to be great. For instance, when Coach Brody tells Ghost how long it took Usain Bolt—the fastest man in the world—to run a 100-meter dash, Ghost is confident that he could beat Bolt’s record. Of course, when Ghost tries to beat the record, he fails miserably; he is a middle school boy wearing high-top sneakers and cannot run anywhere near as fast as Bolt, a professional adult sprinter. However, because he is a young and inexperienced, this is a mistake Ghost regularly makes. Ghost is arrogant in a way that makes him believe he is better and more talented than other people, even when he hardly knows what he is doing or talking about. Over the course of the novel, Coach Brody teaches Ghost humility by allowing him to fail. When Ghost does not live up to one of his arrogant boasts, Coach Brody does not rub it in his face; rather, he lets Ghost comes to terms with his failure on his own. Coach Brody’s method is closely aligned with the message of the novel, which argues that the way to learn humility is through experience—and by learning that failure won’t be punished or ridiculed.

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Arrogance and Humility ThemeTracker

The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of Arrogance and Humility appears in each chapter of Ghost. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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Arrogance and Humility Quotes in Ghost

Below you will find the important quotes in Ghost related to the theme of Arrogance and Humility.
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:
Chapter 3 Quotes

“You wanna tell me what happened, or should I tell you?” Principal Marshall closed his door behind him and took a seat at his desk.

Related Characters: Principal Marshall (speaker), Castle Cranshaw/Ghost, Brandon Simmons
Page Number: 37
Explanation and Analysis:

“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:
Chapter 5 Quotes

I was literally shaking with embarrassment, like my insides had turned into ice. Ice that was cracking.

I wanted to break the desk.

Or flip it over.

Scream. Something. Anything.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Brandon Simmons, Terri Cranshaw
Related Symbols: Shoes
Page Number: 81
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 7 Quotes

Brandon didn’t have too much to say to me. I saw him just before first period, and he walked right past me and Dre. I saw some of the other kids snickering at him as he passed. But I told them all to chill. I don’t know why because he totally deserved to be roasted, but I guess I felt kinda bad for the dude. I been there.

Related Characters: Castle Cranshaw/Ghost (speaker), Brandon Simmons
Page Number: 112
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9 Quotes

“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: