Point of View

Jason Reynolds tells his novel Ghost in the first-person limited-omniscient perspective from the point of view of main character, Ghost. The story being told is that of Ghost and his struggles to avoid becoming like his father, while improving his life in the process through running track. Ghost is allowed to tell his own story in first-person, giving the reader insight into Ghost’s thoughts, feelings, and considerations – all things that are available to no other character. Only rarely does Ghost open up about himself or the things he keeps inside, so the first-person offers readers that privileged understanding of Ghost. Because Ghost is telling the story from the first-person perspective, he does not know everything that is going on at any one time. This adds both a sense of realism and suspense. For example, when Ghost is denied his uniform by Coach, he does...