GHOST
CONNIE JAY MARAAN ABOUT THE AUTHOR: CONNIE JAY MARAAN was/is written works: o “The Boundary” o "Transient and other short stories” o “The Children’s Hour: Stories on Childhood.” professor in De a Salle !niersity an o#s$ure writer% not so well antholo&i'ed.(Dr. )oy$e *rriola +Depart,ent of iterature% -a$ulty of *rts and etters and the raduate S$hool of the !niersity of Santo To,as ahe $urrent author presents herself as a prose writer whose story “host” has #een in$luded in the !ST te0t#ook. was no,inated for an award for an annual fellowship who is $o,pletin& a work in any of the followin& &enres: poetry% fi$tion% dra,a% and $reatie nonfi$tion a #ionote on her is #ein& $onstru$ted #ut is not yet ready on a we#site a#out her.
SETTINGS: • •
Tayu,an flash#a$ #a$k of the 122 1223 $rash ash and the prota&onists life
•
•
stole a red #anana for the &host when he / she was still alie had a weakness for fa,ily and friends &atherin&
SUMMARY/ANALYSIS (1): The story is all a#out a &host who died when the Tayu,an 8T Station suddenly $ollapsed and the train $a,e fallin& down on his fa$e. * re$ently dead ,an re$alls how he $a,e to #e in the afterlife and a$$ordin& to hi,% he has seen Christ #e$ause of that in$ident.
9n Connie )an araan’s story entitled “host”% she applied arious sy,#ols to e0press what happened in the a$$ident% a$$ident% used rhetori$al rhetori$al dei$es to ,ake the story ,ore $olorful and depi$ted the possi#le eents that ,ay happen after dea death. araan is an interestin& writer who uses liely des$riptions and lan&ua&e in depi$tin& the realities presented in the story. ry. She
helps elps the reader ders
attain
a
&ood
understandi understandin& n& of the possi#le possi#le #eauty in what $ould
CHARACTERS: 1. The host &enderless • no sense of feelin& • 4. The Cr Creator flat $hara$ter • no #eard • hardly looks fatherly • andro&ynous in appearan$e • 5. -riend tau&ht the art of hand(holdin& • pleasantly rotund #ut $rude in • $onersation 6. His His / Her Her Bet Bette ter( r(hal half f had an ar&u,ent with the &host’s past life • in the su,,er of 1276
otherwise #e ,or#idity in its ery notion. Death is presented and ta$kled in the ,ost a$$epta#le ter,s like like ,aki ,akin& n& any anythin thin& & poss possi# i#le le #e$a #e$aus usee of the the a#sen$e of feelin&.
*naly'in& the story usin& sy,#oli$al *pproa$h% we would
pro#a#ly
#e
askin&
ourseles
what
sy,#oli'es the train and statues or ,edallions in the story% or if it is possi#le for a dead person to still lie in our world% and if it is possi#le for hi, to re,e,#er his life #efore death. Death is the ,ain
idea that the story is presentin&. ;e know that if a
#ein& alie. She ,isses feelin& thin&s. “;hile 9
,an dies% he/she will either &o to heaen or hell.
know 9 hae lied throu&h the,% knowin& is not
But in araan’s story the spirit% she presented tha t if
feelin&.” Sin$e she is already dead% she no lon&er
a pers person on dies dies%% he/s he/she he will will #e re,a re,ain in in anot anothe her r
has the senses of a liin& person. Si&ht% tou$h% taste%
persons’ heads and an d will stay as a ,e,ory. )ust like
hearin&. She also ,issed the feelin& of loe and her
reli&ious reli&ious statues or ,edallions ,edallions that re,inds re,inds us that
loed one. “ay#e% so,eday% Tayu,an will reward
od is with us all the ti,e. ;e $an $on$lude that
you with a &li,pse of ,y &host.” This state,ent of
the story is tellin& us not to disre&ard our de$eased
hers was addressed her loed one.
loed ones% to always let the, re,ain in our hearts hearts and ,ake their ,e,ory lie with us always. alwa ys. *s what the story was tellin&% she was tryin& to #uy a fi&urine fro, Tayu,an and sla#s of $on$rete fell ;hen ;hen people people think think of trains trains and their their fun$ti fun$tions ons%%
on the,% whi$h what $aused her death. 9n a #itter
they si,ply iew the, as ,odes of transportation.
sweet way% she’s like sayin& that if her loer would
9n this story% this is not solely the $ase. ;hile it is
so,eday isit Tayu,an% she wanted that her loer
true that trains are in$luded in the settin&% the trains
would re,e,#er her% the spot where she died and
,ay #e present for underlyin& reasons.
the ,o,ent the a$$ident happened. 9 think in this part she is &ettin& e,otional. She had so ,any unfinished thin&s in life% restless with her death #ut
*s Connie uses train as a sy,#ol% 9t has #een used as a pla$e where the prota&onists a$$identally ,eet% &o their separate ways with her loe ones% take the ti,e
to
think%
work
on
so,ethin&
or
$ont $onte, e,pl plat atin in&% &% and and een een as a pla$e pla$e of rest rest and rela0a rela0atio tion. n. *s the prota& prota&oni onist st
yet opt opti,isti$
in
a
way: ay:
re,e, e,e,# #erin&
and
hi&hli&htin& on the thin&s that were spe$ial to her and senti,ental. *s the sy,#ols point it% the ,ain $hara$ter of the story
forth in his ,e,ory in the train it helps hi, reliee his his dou#t dou#t and and ,ake ,ake hi, hi, real reali' i'ee that that thin thin&s &s had had happened and that he is dead. *s a ,oral% people should lie their lies as if it’s 9n the story% the ,ain $hara$ter doesn’t want to die
our our last last to pre preent ent e0pe e0peri rien en$i $in& n& what what the the ,ain ,ain
or een to a$$ep a$$eptt that that she she is dead. dead. She She alway alwayss
$hara$ter did. ;e should let our loed ones feel that
re,inis$ed so ,any thin&s that she left that needed
we loe the, eery day% so that when our day
to done. “9 ,iss ,y senses% or rather $an’t &et use to
$o,es% we won’t #e re&rettin& anythin& we didn’t
hain& the,.” This state,ent shows that she ,isses
do when it’s already too late to $han&e.
ANALYSIS ANALYSIS (2): ( 2): 9n Connie )an araan’s story entitled “host”% she applied arious sy,#ols to e0press what happened in the a$$ident% a$$ident% used rhetori$al rhetori$al dei$es to ,ake the story story ,ore ,ore $olou $olourf rful ul and and depi depi$t $ted ed the the possi possi#l #lee eents that ,ay happen after death. araan is an interestin& writer who uses liely des$riptions and lan&ua&e in depi$tin& the realities presented in the story ory. She She
help elps
the
reader ders
attain ain
a
&ood ood
understandin understandin& & of the possi#le possi#le #eauty in what $ould otherwise #e ,or#idity in its ery notion. Death is presented and ta$kled in the ,ost a$$epta#le ter,s like like ,aki ,akin& n& anyth anythin in& & poss possi# i#le le #e$au #e$ause se of the the a#sen$e of feelin&.
*nalysin& the story usin& i,eti$ *pproa$h% we would pro#a#ly #e askin& ourseles if it is possi#le for a dead person to still lie in our world% if it is possi#le for hi, to re,e,#er his life #efore death. Death is the ,ain idea that the story is presentin&. ;e know that if a ,an dies% he/she will either &o to heaen or hell. But in araan’s story the spirit% she presented that if a person dies he/she will #e re,ain in other persons’ heads and will stay as a ,e,ory. ;e $an $on$lude that the story is tellin& us not to disre&ard our de$eased loed ones% to always let the, re,ain in our hearts and ,ake their ,e,ory lie with us always.
