Humility-a modest view of one's own importance-is another key theme in the novel.

Ultimately, the book shows how Castle gradually sheds his shame by gaining greater confidence in his abilities and through learning to trust that his teammates will not use would-be shameful personal information against him. Castle also acts out by stealing a pair of shoes, bringing shame upon himself in a subconscious act of self-sabotage. Being teased for these manifestations of Castle's poverty lead Castle to feel anger and embarrassment over the lack of respect others show him. Defined as a painful feeling of distress and humiliation resulting from distress at one's own behavior or a lack of respect from others, shame first arises in the novel when Castle comments on how kids at school-particularly the bully Brandon-pick on him at school for wearing ill-fitting hand-me-down clothing and no-name brand shoes, living in Glass Manor, and coming to school with uneven haircuts provided by his unskilled mother. The sound returns him to the night his father shot his gun, prompting Castle to run for his life. Castle's trauma also arises during his first track meet: Used to his coach blowing a whistle, Castle is unprepared for the starter's pistol firing loud blanks to signal the start of races. Charles's store that he and his mother took refuge in the night the attempted shooting occurred. Most notably, Castle's post-traumatic stress is triggered when he gets accidentally locked in the same storage room at Mr. The stress of this event has stayed with Castle, resurfacing several times throughout the book. Reynolds introduces the theme early in the novel when Castle comments on the time his father shot at him and his mother as they fled the home.

From the Greek word for 'wound,' trauma-emotional shock that follows a stressful event-is one of the most important themes in Ghost.

Ghost by jason reynolds