Paintings are a language that can help us appreciate everything around us. Understanding what lies around determines actively our ability to analyze any work of art. In The Ghost - A Christmas Frolic, we can observe small details and gradually look at the bigger picture to find what is happening. We can combine the title of the story with its coloring to seek how is it involved in the story, and lastly; we can see through the biggest picture, as a person how to do we see the painting and what can it brings that written texts cannot. 

As Sherlock Holmes did, we can identify what does the painting depicts. Paintings, mounted trophies, and a pendulum clock decorates the room that the The Ghost - A Christmas Frolic sets in. By observing outfits that each of the male and female are wearing, and the shattered glass with bottles of wine, it is safe to say that there was a well-dressed party, for a high class of men and women, ruined by the apparent of the ghost. If we look closely to the ghost, we see him holding a candle with right hand and stretching the left. We see both his hand, but we do not see his legs. He has an upper body of a human, but a lower body made from wood. This shows a scarier concept assuming that he neither human nor a non-living thing. However, if we look to what is behind the ghost, we see a small boy with a big smile on his face. It shows as if this child is the one who is holding this so-called ghost. 

If we stand far away from the artwork and look at it in a very quick way, we do not see this boy, but we see people who are in panic and scared. It shows how people react and judge before even seeing the whole picture. Even though it is a bad joke, it led people to react in such a behavior that some of them fell into the ground and hurt themselves. We feel panic looking at this picture and how people react to something extraordinary. We also see how this little boy made the biggest joke of making this ghost appear at a casual party. An art medium usually does not need text to explain it. It explains everything by itself. However, to help a viewer have a background to the story and give him a beacon of light, titles of the paintings are usually introduced. 

The title of the painting combined with the coloring of it completes the story and the morale of the painting. A Christmas Frolic demands us to find the frolic, or thriller, that is in the painting. It makes us look closely to what we might not see from the first sight. It shows that the story sets in time of Christmas and, for fun, this little boy decided to ruin a Christmas party by bringing up a ghost that caused everyone to panic. The cream color in dark place while wearing a white cloth will definitely strike fear and horror. This color strikes a clam yet soft feeling that pure white does not bring. It is sort of color that comes along quietness and sense of paranoia. In this case, this color fits the picture completely and having a monochromic painting makes the viewer focus on the color and let it be felt by his heart rather deeply. Usually, ghosts are considered invisible and can be penetrated. Nevertheless, this ghost actually carries the light source that attracts everyone's attention ad starts to open his arms making everyone screams in fear and panic. 

The angle at which we see this painting is like a "third-eyed view." We see in an angle that sees everything happening and not being involved. It is like standing on the corner while this event is going on and observing what is happening without interacting. This gives the "bigger picture" advantage. We could see from these angle details, reality to what is going on, and people who are in the scene cannot see it such as the little boy is architects of this scene. In addition, we get the advantage to assume what will happen next. We can see on the top of the staircase is an old man, who looks like the host and most likely a parent to the little boy, looking at his party in chaos in astonishment. We can predict that later he finds out that this little boy is in charge of this chaos; he might scold him or punish him in another way. This shows how this angle can give person opportunities to looks and observe elements that a person involved would not see. 

Paintings differ from written texts. It gives dimensions and penetrates the barrier of "leaving it to the imagination". If this painting were a written text, it would not deliver the same emotion as the painting does. First, we have to picture it and see it in our own way. This will change from a person to a person and therefore, there cannot be a discussion of the event in a clear way. As for painting and visual artworks, it is the opposite. We all have different minds, but looking at the same thing and thinking about it differently I much better than looking at differently and thinking it differently too. It makes an easier approach to the audience and brings out emotion that is moved by the colors in an artwork or the way it shows. Taking The Ghost - A Christmas Frolic, for example, observing the patterns of people running and the fact that the only light source attracts us is held by a ghost strike a mixture of feelings toward this artwork. It plays a powerful role in the emotion side of a person which written text can bring but in a more gradual, slow way, that takes away the element of surprise. Written texts imply to the brain whereas visual texts imply to the heart. 

We can assume that first impression is overrated. We judge at everything by the first glance and not take other possibilities. This leads to disastrous mistakes often, but most importantly, as the painting shows, it leads to a very sarcastic trick made by a little boy. 

The ghost  --  a Christmas frolic  --  le revenant. John Massey Wright. London: Pub. by Hassel & Richards, 1814 Decr.24. Forms part of: British Cartoon Prints Collections (Library of Congress).
