Essay on The Night the Ghost Got in (by James Thurber)

Introduction:

                “The Night the Ghost Got in” is a short-story from “My Life and Hard Times” written by James Thurber.  The author is one of the most famous humourists and cartoonists in America. Like Milton, he grew blind in course of his lifetime and spent his last eleven years of life in utter blindness. The humour in his story arises mainly from the odd characters in his story and their inappropriate understanding of what happens around them. In this story, the author’s over imaginative mother, eccentric grandfather, fussing police officers, the dining hall ghost and the helpless author all contribute to the humour of the story.

The Visit of the Dining Hall Ghost in Midnight:

                After taking bath upstairs at 1.15 a.m, the author hears the footsteps of the ghost in the dining hall downstairs. The author knows very well that there is a ghost in his house which entered on the night of November 17, 1915. The ghost now makes a rhythmic walking around the dining table again and again. The author wakes up his brother Herman and comes with him downstairs. The sound of the footsteps now starts running around the table and moves towards them. Herman flees upstairs and slams his door to fall asleep. The author’s mother is awakened by the sound and she imagines that it may be burglars. The phone is downstairs. So she throws a shoe that breaks through the window of the neighbour’s bedroom and informs the angry neighbour Mr.Bodwell to call the police. The mother again tries to throw another shoe out of fancy but is controlled by the author.

The Cops and Their Much Ado About Nothing:

                A Ford saloon with full of cops, two cops on motorcycles, a patrol wagon with eight policemen and a few reporters all arrive at the spot. Flashlights are shot everywhere and the police brake in the glass front door. They make a shot all around and pull down the windows, doors, shelves, the front stairs and the back stairs. Finally they find nobody and think that the burglars would have escaped.  The mother there stops the author from doing anything and he is helplessly standing with just a towel around his waist. He looks ‘hot’ to the police but really ‘cold’ with fear. The way the police make a fuss produces humour in the story.

Grandfather’s Peculiar Treatment of the Police:

                Suddenly all police hear a creaking sound in the attic. During the American Civil War, General Meade’s army made a retreat against the Confederate Army headed by Stonewall Jackson. The grandfather sleeping in the attic sees the police coming to him and thinks that they are the deserters from Meade’s army, now coming to hide away in his attic. He roars “ye, cowardly dogs!” and slapps a policeman to the ground. He takes the gun from a policeman and starts shooting on his shoulder. Usually people will be afraid of police but here the police are afraid of the grandfather and do not dare to go near him. Finally the author informs the reporters that there is a ghost in their house that is the reason for all these.

Conclusion:

                The way the next day the grandfather asks what happened yesterday amuses everyone and the author thus ends the story in a lighthearted manner. The author doesn’t say what happened to the hungry ghost. He rather says, there is a ghost within everyone that makes noise and terrifies others. The writer also plays the comic role by unknowingly putting on one of his mother’s blouses. The way the reporters and cops look at him adds further humour. Thus the story does not care for any results or solution and just makes fun of human eccentricities.