Whilst reading the story, it made me feel sort of conscious. Conscious of reality and while it may seem to talk about “ghosts” nothing felt supernatural at all. It felt as if it was talking about a somewhat “normal” dysfunctional family. The overall mood was melancholy and morbidly true. Just like “Cry for me”, it didn’t really come off as one mood, it sort of shifted. Like how the song may shift from upbeat to a sort of depressed tone, the story did shift as well. 

The story was more of an episodic one. It wasn’t focused on one story too much. Unlike the HOO books which had literal continuity, this one was sort of  like Rick and morty, or those comedy shows which suffice to say don’t overarch. 

I’d say that the primary conflict would be mainly Man vs Man, though this is mostly only with the ghost and the family. The family had to deal with a “ghost” and its unruly-esq behavior.It mainly showed the ghost and family tackling , however, this was mostly resolved in the first page wherein the family decided to just give the ghost chores to do. And this really helped resolve this issue, seeing as the ghost enjoyed the tasks as well. So it was mostly a win-win situation.

The story, set in modern times, mentions that the daughter was having a tea party with Jack Skellington, Rapunzel and Elsa, all of which are modern Disney characters. It was also mentioned that they’ve already watched Stranger Things,  which is a great show made in 2016.

The first detail I could think of, that proves that the ghost is actually not a ghost, is that she has soft and oatmeal-colored socks, sheets and pillowcases. It was also shown that the ghost climbed into the bed with the mother. These  details seem to imply that the ghost is actually a part of the family, and since she has these things that imply she lives with said family.

In most mentions of ghosts or spirits in any culture, the one defining trait they have is that they are bound to the vessel or place that they “live” or stay in. However, this ghost doesn’t seem to be bound to the apartment. The ghost seems to have chores related to the home and outside it. Another detail is that she can go to places like the old movie theater or the playground. She seems to be able to do as she pleases like a normal human being.

Ghosts don’t usually look like normal people as well, and so, just by the fact that the neighbor answered “of course I can” to the ghost when asked with “you can see me”, proves that the ghost is in fact a human being. The little son is also mentioned to have been scared of the ghost, so it doesn’t really make sense that the son would be able to casually talk to the ghost, kiss her feet or do anything like that.

(picture represents the fine line between the ghost being a ghost or a living person)

This is usually a sign of overwork since I myself have never remotely fallen asleep while doing something. The fact that the mother cries and locks herself in the bathroom also seems to point out her stress.

The daughter and son give typical little sibling tropes. The daughter is usually in her own world, while the song emulates his surroundings. While I myself have no siblings, I’ve seen this firsthand with my cousins and friends.

The neighbor seems to have played a sort of background character role. He didn’t really play any significance into the story, but he was sort of a kindred spirit with the daughter. They seem to have similar tastes in music and fashion. They both like staying indoors, and have “awful” taste in fashion. The neighbor seems to serve as the safe space of the ghost, while the family is just a “home space” He also seems to be depressed due to his circumstances such as a  failed marriage.

(radio symbolizes the music the neighbor and ghost like)

There was a point in the story where the mother just gave up after, and just like parents, when their child gets a little too unruly, there’s just this breaking point, and they give up. While I may not be unruly, I believe that my parents have given up as well in a way. They see that I am already independent and that I don’t need their help as much. Sort of like a transition from a child to an independent person, they slowly give up their control the more they see that I can already support myself in certain situations. In the context of the story, the mother seems to be giving up on the ghost and just focuses all her attention on the other children.

The ghost also seems to have felt inadequacy which I believe may symbolize what teenagers feel, especially with Pressure from peers and parents. This makes teenagers feel that they aren’t enough and that they have to keep pushing themselves until they break. While not all teenagers may experience this, the ghost seemed to have been broken. She doesn’t enjoy the things she seems to have enjoyed and that she felt and gave an aura of sadness. Mentions of her gray life seem to prove this even more. 

Overall, I believe that the story seems to be representing the teenagers and their struggle to become “fully fledged adults”. In our society, teenagers are never really seen as adults, yet are expected to act like them. Teenagers are in the gray line, wherein the extremes are put upon them. Simply not agreeing can be seen as being rude or rebelling while doing nothing shows us to be lazy. Like Greta Thunburg, while she does fight for the earth, she isn’t taken seriously due to her age, and to the point of being called disrespectful due to her saying “how dare you”.

This story ultimately  calls out for a change in the status quo. To treat teenagers more seriously, and not like mere children. To stop the paradox of being treated like children yet being expected to act like adults. After all, teenagers are the closest to being adults.

(the picture symbolizes the devils that plague teenagers, and the pressure from the outside world and themselves as well.)