Question

Though a story of a ghost, The Canterville Ghost, does not scare the reader but instead there is a comic element permeating it. Comment.

Answer 1

In usual ghost story, there is a scary experience within the audience. But in Canterville's ghost, the ghost story ilhas a comic sense in it. In the first encounter, the ghost was given a bottle by Mr. Washington Otis in order to clean his iron chains which were making noises when he was coming upwards. He felt somewhat disappointed about it and when he leaned on the wall beside the room, he was thinking about his past victories but suddenly he realized that he was attacked by pillows by the Stars and the Stripes which made him more disappointed. With approach of time, he was again attacked by the Stars and the Stripes by scaring him with a fake ghost and another day by spilling water from the jug when he was entering their room silently in the night to scare them.This all instances made him disappointed. When at last he was forced to accept his defeat he decided to accept death and he took the help of Virginia to fulfil his decision of death.So the whole story has a comic in it unlike the other ghost story but still there is a sadness at the end of the story.