Eulogy for a Ghost and Other Somber Incidents

Eulogy for a Ghost and Other Somber Incidents features short stories about family life and social relationships, as well as the social conventions that give structure to those relationships. But in these stories, those conventions also function as a veneer to cover over violent impulses, impulses kept in check to some degree by those same conventions and caring relationships. Each of these stories alludes, in some way, to the antisocial impulses that can disrupt the safety and care of loving interactions. In the short story “Eulogy for a Ghost,” Don is convinced that the gun his brother just used to kill himself is an antique. He wants the police to give him the gun because he believes “Antique Road Show” would find it valuable. His wife says that even if the gun is valuable, the police wouldn’t release it to him because they need it for evidence. Plus, he needs to practice what he’s going to say at his brother’s funeral service that afternoon. Don doesn’t listen to his wife and goes to the police station to get the gun back. They refuse and an argument escalates until he hits one of the police officers and is arrested. After his bail is posted, and he finishes delivering his rambling statement in the church, Don believes he sees his dead brother coming up the aisle.