Page 17 - Knowledge Organiser Yr7 24-25

1. Why this book?
Ghost Boys raises awareness of inequalities in the world and strongly reinforces the message that it is everybody's duty to speak about injustice, in whatever form we may encounter it.
3. Characters
Jerome
Narrator (person telling the story) 12-year-old African American boy murdered by police officer.
4. Themes
Racism
Rhodes examines racism from different perspectives (points of view): Jerome’s story shows what life is like on the receiving end of racism. Emmett Till’s story shows the reader what life was
like as a young Black boy in Mississippi
in 1955. Officer Moore’s story is about prejudice. (an unfair feeling or dislike of a person because of age, sex, race, religion etc.) At his trial, the judge suggests that Moore was prejudiced against Jerome, possibly without knowing it, and calls this racial bias. Sarah’s story shows how younger generations must stand up and take action against racism.
Injustice
Fair behaviour or treatment. Jerome,
like the other ghost boys, does not get justice for his death. At the end of the novel, when he has told his story, Jerome calls on the reader to fight for justice saying: “Only the living can make the world better. Live and make it better.”
Bearing witness
Using one’s own personal story or experience to raise awareness of injustice or suffering.
Ma
Pop/James
Mr. Meyers
Carlos
Eddie, Mike and Snap
Jerome’s mother.
Jerome’s father.
Jerome’s teacher.
Jerome’s quick-thinking best friend.
School bullies.
Kim
Jerome’s sister, with whom he walks to school each day.
Grandma
Jerome’s Grandma, who can sense his presence after his death.
2. Plot
Reverend Thornton
The pastor who runs Jerome’s funeral.
Officer Moore
The police officer who kills Jerome.
Sarah
Officer Moore’s 12-year-old daughter, the only living person who can interact with Jerome.
Ms. Penny
The Librarian Sarah seeks to find out more about the ghost boys
5. Ghosts
Many of us may associate ghosts with horror or magic, but in African-American storytelling and spiritual traditions, ghosts are real. What does the reader and the other characters learn from the ghosts throughout the novel?
6. Context: Civil Rights Movement
In 1955, a 14 year old black youth, Emmett Till, was murdered in a racist attack that shocked the nation. This sparked the developing civil rights movement which was an organised effort by Black Americans to end racial discrimination and gain equal rights under the law. It began in the late 1940s and ended in the late 1960s. The movement was mostly nonviolent and resulted in laws to protect every American’s constitutional rights, regardless of colour, race, sex or national origin. In the book, Emmett Till features as a ghost.
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Knowledge Base: Tutor Reading Ghost Boys Year 7