martes, 19 de octubre de 2010

The story of the Canterville Ghost .

The story of the Canterville Ghost takes place in an old English country house, Canterville Chase, which has all the accoutrements of a traditional haunted house. Typical of the style of the English Decadents, the gothic atmosphere reveals the author
The story begins when Hiram B. Otis and his family move into Canterville Chase, despite warnings from Lord Canterville that the house is haunted. The Otis family includes Mr. and Mrs. Otis, their daughter Virginia, twin boys and their eldest son Washington.
Wilde describes Mrs. Otis as a fine-looking middle-aged woman, and in many ways she looked like an English lady. Mr. Otis was an ambassador. Washington, one of their sons, was a fair-haired, rather good-looking young man. He was famous as an excellent dancer. Miss Virginia E. Otis was a lovely girl of fifteen, with large blue eyes. She was a good sportswoman, and loved to ride horses. The twins were two happy little boys who laughed and shouted a lot. They liked to play tricks on people and were often punished for them.
The most colourful character in the story is undoubtedly the ghost himself, Sir Simon, whose eyes were as red as fire, and he had long grey hair which fell over his shoulder. His clothes were in the style of an earlier century, and they were dirty and full of holes. Heavy, rusty chains hung from his arms and legs. He goes about his duties with theatrical panache and flair. He assumes a series of dramatic roles in his failed attempts to impress and terrify the Otises, making it easy to imagine him as a comical character in a stage play. The ghost has the ability to change forms. He takes the role of ghostly apparitions, all having succeeded in horrifying previous castle residents over the centuries. But none of them works with these Americans. Sir Simon antics do nothing to scare his house guests, and the Otises succeed in foiling him every time. In a particularly comical scene, he is frightened by the sight of a “ghost,” rigged up by the mischievous twins.
During the course of the story, as narrated by Sir Simon, we come to understand the complexity of the ghost
s fascination with the macabre. Yet he mixes the macabre with comedy, juxtaposing devices from traditional English ghost stories. Wildes gothic setting helps emphasize the contrast between cultures. “The Canterville Ghost” is a study in contrasts. Wilde takes an American family, places them in a British setting, then, through a series of mishaps, pits one culture against the other. He creates stereotypical characters that represent both England and the United States, and he presents each of these characters as comical figures, satirizing both the unrefined tastes of Americans and the determination of the British to guard their traditions. Though Wilde tells a humorous tale, it appears that he also has a message. This is certainly not the first time an author has used the traditional ghost story and the theme of life and death to examine the issue of forgiveness.s emotions. We see him brave, frightening, distressed, scared, and finally, depressed and weak. Another character was Mrs. Umney, the housekeeper

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