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Is the title of the story The Canterville Ghost justified? Why/Why not? Explain your view by examining the plot in detail.
Answer:
Stories, novels and plays have two kinds of titles — the first reflects the main or central event on which the literary piece is based; the second one is either the name or the title of the hero or the chief protagonist, around whom all the actions depicted in the piece revolve. The Canterville Ghost obviously belongs to the second category. The ghost of Sir Simon de Canterville is the axis of all the incidents and situations because the Ghost is always at the center of the action - it is due to and because of him that the actions take place.
The Ghost’s efforts to terrorize the Otis family members and his humiliation at the hands of the latter constitute the first part of the story. The second and last part consists of the Ghost’s loneliness and dejection, his yearning for eternal rest and attainment of salvation with the help of the compassionate Virginia. The author’s focus is always on the Ghost. Even when he talks of the Otis family members doing something, the Ghost’s role in it is obvious, e.g. Virginia’s disappearance and the frantic search for her undertaken by the Otises. All the time they are searching, Virginia is with the Ghost, praying for his salvation. The title The Canterville Ghost therefore, is totally justified to the story of Oscar Wilde.