The Canterville Ghost By OSCAR WILDE

BACKGROUND VS During the 19° centuary the 2° industrial revolution was developed, which produced an accelerated tecnology out of new products and industries. There was also a technological breakthrought. It caused a great rivalry between England and the United States. VS

Oscar Wilde relates this competition and monks the two countries. He monks England when he writes that the Otis Family comes “home” (England) and by highlighting that Americans are not afraid of the ghost. On the other hand he monks United States when Mr. Otis, who has a lot money, buys the house and he pretends to buy the ghost too.

The Plot of THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

The story begins when Mr Otis and family move to Canterville Chase, despite warnings from Lord Canterville that the house is haunted. Mr Otis says that he will take the furniture as well as the ghost at valuation. The Otis family includes Mr and Mrs Otis, their daughter Virginia, the Otis twins (often referred to as "Stars and Stripes") and their eldest son Washington. The other characters include the Canterville Ghost, the Duke of Cheshire (who wants to marry Virginia), Mrs Umney (the housekeeper), and Rev. August Dampier. At first, none of the Otis family believe in ghosts, but shortly after they move in, none of them can deny the presence of Sir Simon de Canterville (The Canterville Ghost). The family hears clanking chains, they witness reappearing bloodstains "on the floor just by the fireplace", which are removed every time they appear in various forms (colours). But, humorously, none of these scare the Otis family in the least. In fact, upon hearing the clanking noises in the hallway, Mr Otis promptly gets out of bed and pragmatically offers the ghost Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator to oil his chains. Despite Sir Simon's attempts to appear in the most gruesome guises, the family refuses to be frightened, and Sir Simon feels increasingly helpless and humiliated. When Mrs Otis notices a mysterious red mark on the floor, she simply replies that she does "not at all care for blood stains in the sitting room".

When Mrs Umney informs Mrs Otis that the blood stain is indeed evidence of the ghost and cannot be removed, Washington Otis, the eldest son, suggests that the stain will be removed with Pinkerton's Champion Stain Remover and Paragon Detergent: a quick fix, like the Tammany Rising Sun Lubricator, and a practical way of dealing with the problem. The most colourful character in the story is undoubtedly the ghost himself, Sir Simon, who 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, so he taps into his repertoire of tricks. He takes the role of ghostly apparitions such as a Headless Earl, a Strangled Babe, the Blood-Sucker of Bexley Moor, Suicide's Skeleton, and the Corpse-Snatcher of Chertsey Barn, all having succeeded in horrifying previous castle residents over the centuries. But none of them works with these Americans. Wilde describes Mrs Otis as "a very handsome middle-aged woman" who has been "a celebrated New York belle". Her expression of "modern" American culture surfaces when she immediately resorts to using the commercial stain remover to obliterate the bloodstains and when she expresses an interest in joining the Psychical Society to help her understand the ghost. Mrs Otis is given Wilde’s highest praise when he says: "Indeed, in many respects, she was quite English..."

Sir Simon schemes, but even as his costumes become increasingly gruesome, his antics do nothing to scare his house guests, and the Otises beat him every time. He falls victim to trip wires, pea shooters, butter-slides, and falling buckets of water. 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 from Sir Simon's viewpoint, he tells us the complexity of the ghost's emotions: he sees himself brave, frightening, distressed, scared, and finally, depressed and weak. He exposes his vulnerability during an encounter with Virginia, Mr Otis's fifteen-year-old daughter. Virginia is different from everyone else in the family, and Sir Simon recognizes this. He tells her that he has not slept in three hundred years and wants desperately to do so. The ghost reveals to Virginia the tragic tale of his wife, Lady Eleanor de Canterville. Unlike the rest of her family, Virginia does not dismiss the ghost, because she is different from everyone else in the family. She takes him seriously: she listens to him and learns an important lesson, as well as the true meaning behind a riddle. Sir Simon de Canterville says that she must weep for him, for he has no tears; she must pray for him, for he has no faith; and then she must accompany him to the angel of death and beg for Death's mercy upon Sir Simon. She does weep for him and pray for him, and she disappears with Sir Simon through the wainscoting and goes with him to the Garden of Death and bids the ghost farewell.

Then she reappears at midnight, through a panel in the wall, carrying jewels and news that Sir Simon has passed on to the next world and no longer resides in the house. Virginia's ability to accept Sir Simon leads to her enlightenment: Sir Simon, she tells her husband several years later, helped her understand "what Life is, what Death signifies, and why Love is stronger than both". The story ends with Virginia marrying the Duke of Cheshire after they both come of age.

The characters

An American minister and a good father who rent Canterville Chase; Hiram Otis : An American minister and a good father who rent Canterville Chase; He believes that everything can be bought with the money. He doesn’t believe in ghosts because he is rational, practical, pragmatic and determinate too

Mrs. Lucretia Otis: Wife of Hiram Otis, a beautful woman of american middle class and a good motrher,who hangs up from cleaness

Lord Canterville: Lady Canterville: Owner of Canterville Chase and descendant of the ghost Lady Canterville: The Wife of Lord Canterville the owner of the castle

The eldest son who doesn’t speak so much but does a lot of things Washington Otis The eldest son who doesn’t speak so much but does a lot of things

The twins Otis: They are two little boys much naughty and insolent who make play around to the ghost They are called with the nickname “star and stripes” for their speed with which they make their tricks.

Virginia Otis: Is the daughter, a girl of fifteen years old; she is a beautiful girl, who is by nature shy, polite, reserved, generous and helpful.

Sir Simon of Canterville: The ghost Sir Simon of Canterville: is the ghost sinner who killed his wife when she was still alive. He has been haunting Cantrville Chase for ages

Cecil,duke of Chesire: An English noble guy who fall in love with Virginia and becomes her husband

Mrs. Umney the housekeeper of the Canterville Chase, who Otis very terrified by the ghost and tries to warn the Otis Family

Historical background The Victorian Age Historical background

The middle classes loved her because of her moral and religious view. Queen Victoria came to the throne in 1837 and died in 1901 and her reign was the longest of England. The middle classes loved her because of her moral and religious view. The Victorian age was a period of progress, expansions and social reforms. Queen Victoria reigned constitutionally with the help of Parliament. The two most important political parties were Conservatives and Liberals, the last ones promoted liberal trade. In this period there was also another important working-class movement called Chartism.

During this period Britain was the industrial and economical leader in the world and this was symbolized by the Great Exibition where goods of the Empire were sawn. Also we can see the birth of trade unions. Thanks to the industrial development, Britain became a nation full of overcrowded cities. The poor lived segregated in slums, characterised by died, crime, terrible working conditions and epidemics like Colera and TB.

LITERArY PART THE CANTERVILLE GHOST

Oscar Wilde was a perfectionist and it has been shown in his works Oscar Wilde was a perfectionist and it has been shown in his works. He loved beauty and indeed he always loved to run with a rose in his hands and a beautiful hat on his head. He believed in art for art’s sake and he thought that only art "as the cult of beauty " could prevent the murder of the soul…

…by the Victorian culture and the narrow rules of bourgeois morality He was the first to live the condition of Dandy , he used his wit to shock and he was an individualist who demanded absolute freedom but the pleasure of his extreme behavior and his sense of superiority led him to live as a marginalized his condition.

Oscar Wilde Biography and works

Birth Oscar Wilde was born in Dublin in 1854. Education He attended Trinity College and got a degree at Oxford University. Relations In 1883 he married Costance Lloyd who bore him two children but he soon became tired of his marrieg. In 1891 he met Lord Alfred Douglas, with whom he had a homosexual relatioship and Wilde was sent to prison for homosexual offences. Influences He was a disciple of Walter Pater and accepted the teory of Art for Art's Sake. He believed that only Art as the cult of Beauty could prevent the murder of the soul. I believe that only with the worship of the beauty of art you can prevent the death of the soul.

O S C A R W I L D E Personal attitudes Settled in London where he became a fashionable figure for his wit and his way of dressing. Rebel and Dandy Wilde adopted “the aesthetic ideal”. He lived in the double role of rebel and dandy. The Wildean dandy is an aristocratic artist whose elegance is a symbol of the superiority of his spirit. He wanted to shock and demanded absolute freedom. Death When he was released, he was a broken man; and he went into exile in France, where he lived his last years in poverty. He died of meningitis in Paris in 1900. W I L D E

Some Works Short stories: The happy prince and other tales The selfish giant The young king Fiction: The Canterville ghost The picture of Dorioan Gray The portrait of Mr. W.H Plays: A woman of no importance An ideal husband The duchess of Padua The importance to be Earnest Poetry and Essay: The Ballad of Reading Gaol De Profundis

Created by Guarino A Mariani M. La Rosa V, Villani G Zappia M Zicolella K 3F a.s. 2014-2015