whats the answer of these questions?/ plz help me i have an exam tmrw!
- sir simon feels utterly humilated and helpless at the hands of otis family. do you agree? give reasons
- . How did the ghost plan his antics to scare the Otis family? Did he succeed in his attempts?
2. 3. How did the twins manage to foil the ghosts attempts to terrify the family?
3. 4. The novel is both a parody of the traditional ghost story and a satire on the American way of life. Prove this statement by giving instances from the story.
4. 5.The ghost assumed a series of dramatic roles to impress and terrify the family but ended up being a comical character. Do you agree with this statement?
5. 6.How did Lord Canterville try to convince Mr.Otis that the house Canterville Chase was a haunted house?
6. 7.On seeing the blood stain on the floor of the library, Washington suggests that the stain be removed with a stain remover and detergent. What does this suggest? (or Is this an example of modern American Consumerism?)
1) The ghost had the enthusiastic egotism of the true artist and went over his most celebrated performances with the elan of a performer. He was not interested in being a scary ghost rather he wanted to play the part of a scary ghost and revel in his performances. He wanted to preserve his impeccable record of success in scaring people and dress for the occasion accordingly. The ghost wasn't evil, he was simply interested in enjoying his performances with the egotistical enjoyment of a born artist. But he felt humiliated and under-appreciated when it came to the Otis family because they just couldn't be scared in anyway.
3)The ghost was scared of the twins and that said a lot about the intelligent and innovative ways in which the twins always managed to stay two steps ahead of the poor apparition. First, the twins brought their pea-shooters on the night of the ghost's first encounter with the family and at once discharged two pellets on him. The accuracy of aim with which they pelted the ghost could only have been attained by long and careful practice of a writing master. They were amused by the apparition and not even a shred of fear was in them when it came to the ghost, they tormented him with the delight of schoolboys having a go at their favourite sport. Once on reaching the room of the twins, he flung the door wide open wishing to make an effective entry when a heavy jug of water fell right down on him, wetting him to the skin and just missing his shoulder by a couple of inches. At the same moment, he heard stifled shrieks of laughter proceed from the four-post bed and the shock to his nervous system was so great that he fled right back to his lair. He was terrified of the twins from then onward. The twins would often lie in wait for him on several occasions and strew the passages with nutshells every night but the ghost was so frightened of the boys that he stopped his appearances. They were always preempting his each and every strike.
4) Wilde played upon the conventional images of how a ghost has been represented in popular imagination and literature to draw his portrait of the ghost. The ghost of Canterville looked like an old man of terrible aspect, his eyes were like red burning coals, long grey hair that fell over his shoulder in matted coils and garments of antique cut, solid and ragged. From his wrists and ankles were hung heavy manacles and rusty gyves. This was the stereotypical picture of the old manorial ghost in a suitably haunted house, playing on key elements from gothic and supernatural stories. The blood stain, the back-story of the ghost and usage of the tropes from this genre add to Wilde's object of stereotyping the ghost. In spite of the fact that the ghost had come to this state by murdering his wife, Wilde did not let the story become macabre or sinister. He maintained the humour by making the ghost an object of humour, the narrative offered by the ghost himself. The ghost was actually quite benevolent as is reflected by his treatment of Virginia. Also, he had been harassed and hassled more than the human beings in the story. As a ghost he is portrayed as ineffectual in scaring the human beings away, instead the human beings force him to beat a hasty retreat. The ghost undergoes a metamorphosis, confiding in a sweet young girl like Virginia who helps him in the attainment of salvation.