Jill+R+Essay

Jill Robb Shadows Essay 12/6/10   L.A. 4 Although I believe in ghost the short story __Shadows__ by Richard Peck explained the story of a young girl who saw ghost that she thought could have been a young boy about her age. This ghost or human was different because he grew around the same time she did. Sneaked tobacco in her room to smoke and learned not like any other ghost she had seen before. First of all, the ghost she saw has a name and that is Seth. On a dark cold night in Baton Rouge she saw that he ghost/ boy grew a little taller than her. Usually, if you see a ghost it stays the same size this one didn't. On page seven it says “ I grew, so did seth. His hand’s were wider and so were his knees”. This was shocking to read. I thought that ghost stayed the same size forever and don’t grow. Seth growing was a major mind changer on whether he was a boy or a ghost and I said he is a boy. All in all for a young girl in Barton Rouge seeing that a ghost grew must have been scary it is offaly odd that Seth grew being a so called ghost.

The Next clue that Seth is a boy was her aunt’s found pieces of burned tobacco in her room that weren't hers. First things first, how on earth can a ghost hold tobacco? They do not have hands. Ghost would move with the tobacco and not smoke it. . Also he was a gentlemen for not smoking in front of her and what ghost would be that sweet to a young girl. Another reason is he smoked at night when she was asleep and he snuck it. On page seven it says “ He’d smoked only when I slept. Treated like a lady”. This was a clue that he is a human because a ghost would not care if someone saw him smoke. Clearly for these main reasons he is a boy because he can’t hold the tobacco,smoke it, or treat her like a lady.

Lastly, seth got much smarter and he learned every day. Like the author said earlier in this book he said he was different and he was. He learned the alphabet fast and how to spell. On page six it talked all about how he learned. what he and she All through out third and fourth grade and so on she taught him whatever she learned during that day. He and she did lesson’s every night for many years. Seth and her bond became much stronger and closer. School for him was important and she was glad to help. In conclusion this was one big outcome in this book about him being a ghost.

To summarize this essay the short story __Shadows__ by Richard Peck explained the story of a young girl that saw a ghost that was probably a real boy. Seth the ghost/human was like a regular boy because he grew, sneaked smokes,and learned. Overall Seth had to be a boy to do all of these boy like features.