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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Ghost’s mother do early on Saturday mornings?

2. What does Ghost say is the response to Lu’s secret?

3. What does Ghost call the people on the Stairmaster treadmills?

4. What secret does Lu tell at the Chinese restaurant, to start his meal?

5. What would Ghost’s mother do before taking him to Aunt Sophie’s house?

Short Essay Questions

1. What goes on at the basketball court when Ghost goes there after school on Friday?

2. How does Shamika atone for embarrassing Ghost the day before?

3. How does Mr. Charles make Ghost feel better for having been laughed at?

4. How does Ghost describe his Saturday routine with his mother?

5. What secret does Patty tell at the restaurant?

6. What is the Thursday exercise for the Defenders?

7. What is Sunny’s house like, when Coach Brody and the others go to pick him up?

8. What does Ghost tell Coach Brody when Coach Brody asks him where he got the shoes?

9. How does Ghost say lying made him feel?

10. Why does Ghost hide his cut-up shoes from his mother?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In a number of places, key characters behave really admirably toward Ghost, helping him stay on track and excel. How are these characters different from the characters you might meet in typical stories of young black men whose fathers are gone or in prison? Describe what makes Ghost different. Pick a scene and say how a stereotypical story would go.

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the ending of Ghost. Does it ring true to you? Does it successfully resolve the problems and tensions that preceded it? What would you change, if anything? What are you left wishing for closure on, if anything? Does it make you want to read the sequel?

Essay Topic 3

Evaluate Ghost as a bildungsroman, a coming-of-age narrative. What are the challenges Ghost faces in rites of passage in this novel? How does he overcome these challenges, and what does he learn at each stage? How is Ghost a different person at the end of the novel?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 787 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample