How to share your home with a ghost by https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025 en-us 2023-03-21 14:34:41 UTC 2026-01-24 18:21:09 UTC hello@padlet.com josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525521145 Have you ever felt that a feeling is recurring or as if you're stuck with an emotion that you have felt in the past? Did you ever feel as if these feelings and emotions are "haunting" your current self today?

Well this is the theme for the short story, "How to share your home with a ghost." A story about a ghost and a family making compromises for one another as they try and navigate their emotions and feelings while living with one another. Come and join me as we delve deep into the emotions and feelings of the characters and how the so called "ghost" may not be a ghost after all.]]> 2023-03-21 14:43:03 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525521145 josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525532843 The story talks about a family living in a home with a ghost. At first, the family tried multiple ways to get rid of the ghost, such as performing acts of exorcism, but to no avail. Eventually, they (the family) gives up and starts to make compromises with the ghost. At first, it was difficult for both parties as one wants to live their lives the way they wanted too. As the story progressed, they eventually got used to living with one another. One day the neighbor paid the family a visit as there was loud music being blasted from their unit. As he looked inside, there was no one and so he just yelled if it could be toned down a bit. The music stops and baffles the neighbor but just shakes it off and does not think much about it. Eventually, the neighbor and the ghost meet to which they started hanging out and eventually enjoyed each others company. As the story goes on, the family gave the ghost chores to do and at the start, it was a struggle to co-exist and live together but as the story ended, it is implied that they were all able to find that compromise and live together peacefully.]]> 2023-03-21 14:49:31 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525532843 josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525556958 The mood of the story is one filled with sadness, a sense of longing and acceptance and also isolation. This was highlighted especially by the lines. These lines allows us to fully understand who the ghost really is.

“The ghost lives in a home that is haunted, by her feelings of inadequacy, by all of her missed opportunities. The home is swollen with the spirits of all the lives she never lived, the chances she never took.”

“The ghost is a downer ghost, not a rage ghost. She does not throw things, or harm anyone, or raise whirlwinds. She does not open doors to demon worlds. She does not manifest in terrifying forms, or grow extra heads, or have powers, or appear without warning.”

“The ghost, also: radiates feeling, intense, driving feeling. It surrounds her like an aura; it is strong and hungry, a sucking feeling the color of a sob.”

Based from the following descriptions, it can be said that the ghost is someone longing for acceptance and reminiscing lost opportunities in life. As the story unfolds, the mood then shifts to a feeling of acceptance and sense of belonging.


“’I want you to see me’, she says.”“They see each other, over and over again, mother and daughter reflected back and forth in each other’s hard, sweet eyes, brown and green and gray and full of pain and love and room for another, better kind of story.”

In this line, the mood shifts from being lonely or isolated to more off feeling accepted and there is a sense as if "you belong." This is the part where in the family and the ghost tried to co-exist with one another as they try to live out their day-to-day lives.

The mood emphasizes as to how the emotions and feelings of the characters affect their relationship. The key to both parties co-existing was them understanding each others feelings.

In the story, it depicts a Man vs Self conflict. This is because throughout the entire story, the characters are in conflict with what they are feeling and are trying to resolve and process their emotions. Another conflict applicable is a Man vs Man conflict as we see the characters at first, struggling to co-exist with one another.

]]> 2023-03-21 15:02:29 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525556958 josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525578034 The Ghost serves as the protagonist of the story.  The story mainly revolves around her, the family's own endeavors and priorities and also how their presence affects each other as they try to live with one another in their home. The ghost was depicted to be a sad, lonely and is prone to self-pity. It is also implied that the ghost is not a scary one. As described in the story, the mother is scared of the ghost but seeks to comprehend and sympathizes with the ghost. The daughter meanwhile, is passive aggressive towards the ghost. There are times in the story where in she would be angry at the ghost but still has the genuine heart to assist and understand the ghost. The son is the only one wo does not fear the ghost and in fact enjoys its company as well. The neighbor, who I believe is an intricate character, also encounters the ghost as they bonded over their love for music in the story. This character is important because it shows an 'outsider' perspective of the emotions and feelings that one cannot see or feel. Meaning, since the neighbor is not aware of the presence of the ghost, it adheres to the previous sentence where in we do not see the emotions of the people that we interact with on a daily basis]]> 2023-03-21 15:13:18 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2525578034 josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2526513048 It could be implied that the story took place in an apartment complex or condo.  This was seen in the lines, "The apartment is small, and it is difficult to have these discussions out of earshot." The place was described to be a bit bland and boring. This was seen in the lines, "Old brownstone, a fourth-floor walkup with only one washer and dryer in the basement."

]]> 2023-03-22 03:51:56 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2526513048 josephgacula3 https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2526523426 In the story, the ghost was used as a symbol to different emotions and feelings. The feeling of irate but empathetic (mother), anger but understanding (daughter) and the son (enjoys the company of the ghost) are all symbols of the mixed emotions and our feelings during the 2020 global pandemic. The relation of the story to the pandemic is quite interesting as it used a ghost who is feeling isolated and lonely along with the feelings of the family as a way to sum up what people were feeling as the lockdown ensued and we got separated from our friends and family. In these times, we felt a sense of longing and acceptance as these were times of uncertainty. Overall, using the characters and their emotions as symbols to our own feelings is remarkable since the writer was able to convey a message to its readers that what they are feeling is totally normal and that eventually we could once again find ourselves and go back to our norms.]]> 2023-03-22 04:03:57 UTC https://padlet.com/josephgacula3/dsdbecm7jqjnc025/wish/2526523426