The Last Turn of the Crew: A “Battle” between the Governess and Miles

The Nineteenth letter opens many doors in learning the true characteristics of Screwtape. Up until this point he has written his letters in a stern, friendly, and affectionate mentoring tone trying to influence his protégé Wormwood to do to his “patient” as Screwtape has done to his in the past. But now in the nineteenth letter the readers are now enlightened to how synthetic his exchanges have been thus far. This chapter reveals the true malicious nature of both Screwtape and Wormwood, neither of them have any sense of loyalty to one another. Screwtape is especially vengeful not

Henry James's Turn of the Screw was written in a time when open sexuality was looked down upon. On the surface, the story is simply about a governess taking care of two children who are haunted by two ghosts. However, the subtext of the story is about the governess focusing on the children's innocence, and the governess trying to find her own sexual identity. Priscilla L. Walton wrote a gender criticism themed essay about the Turn of the Screw, which retells certain parts of the story and touches on the significance they provide for the sexually explicit theme. Walton's essay is accurate because James purposely put an undertone of sexuality and identity confusion in the Turn of the Screw.

Readers might wonder with whom she was in love. Then the Master told the Governess about the previous governess and her death (James 296). The readers probably want to know the reason of the previous governess' death. When the Master talked about the duties of the Governess, he required her not to contact him in any way (James 297). We do not know why he made that requirement. As the story continues, the readers have many more unsolved questions such as why Miles was dismissed from school, why the Governess could describe Peter Quint exactly though she never meet him, and why the Governess thought that ghosts wanted to catch the two children. Ned Lukacher thinks that "[the way James] has said something also becomes a way of not having said something else" (132). For instance, James revealed some hints regarding the reason Miles was dismissed. We know that "[Miles]'s an injury to the others" (304) and Mrs. Grose thought Miles was "no boy for [her]" (305). However, these hints do not help the readers to completely understand why Miles was sent away from his school. Instead, more questions are posed, such as how such a ten-year-old boy could injure other students and why Mrs. Grose thought about Miles that way. The readers can not easily find the specific and reasonable answers in the story, so they have to guess the answers based on their own

The second visitation of the ghost of Peter Quint also occurs while the governess is by herself. As the governess, the children, and Mrs. Grouse are preparing for church, the governess goes back into the house to retrieve gloves she sees a visage of the same man she saw at the tower. When Mrs. Grose sees her face she immediately asks what is wrong. The governess goes on to describe the man that she has seen in an odd mixture of attraction and revulsion. This adds question to the reader on the subject of the validity of the testimony of the visitations

One of the most critically discussed works in twentieth-century American literature, The Turn of the Screw has inspired a variety of critical interpretations since its publication in 1898. Until 1934, the book was considered a traditional ghost story. Edmund Wilson, however, soon challenged that view with his assertions that The Turn of the Screw is a psychological study of the unstable governess whose visions of ghosts are merely delusions. Wilson’s essay initiated a critical debate concerning the interpretation of the novel, which continues even today (Poupard 313). Speculation considering the truth of the events occurring in The Turn of the Screw depends greatly on the reader’s assessment of the reliability of the governess as a

Hischak (253) states referring to the 2009 BBC version of The Turn of the Screw. And scenes like Miles revealing to the governess that the children indeed can see the ghosts (The Turn of the Screw 1:02:32), the literal corruption of the children becoming obvious even to Mrs. Grose by Flora´s swearing (1:11:20), Miles actually being taught depravity by the living Peter Quint and Miss Jessel having sex in the boy´s presence (1:12:10), Dr. Fisher hearing ghostly voices and spotting the apparition of Quint on a photo of the tower, Miles being dismissed from school because he was really spoiled by Quint (1:19:40) , and in fact the whole ending (1:25:56) proof him right.

The Glass Castle is a 2005 memoir by Jeannette Walls. The book is about how her family lived in the 1950s in poverty. The title resembles the false promises and commitments her father Rex Walls made to her specifically or her family, he always talked about building a glass castle for the family once they were finally financially stable along with many other projects. The book also shadows the idea of the “American Dream”. Eventually Jeannette and her siblings move away from their parents and go to New York city and have a successful life.

“He did stand there- but high up, beyond the lawn and at the very top of the tower to which, on that first morning, little Flora had conducted me” (James 27). When the governess first saw Quint, he was at the tower and since that moment she started to become slightly paranoid about the house she was staying at. Then, Quint decided to make yet another appearance to the slightly shaken governess. “The day was grey enough, but the afternoon light still lingered, and it enabled me, on crossing the threshold, not only to recognize on a chair near the wide window, then closed, the articles I wanted, but to become aware of a person on the other side of the window and looking straight in” (James 34). After the second time the governess saw Quint, she confronted Ms. Grose about it and soon realized that the man she thought she was seeing constantly was actually dead.

Miles represents a socially and sexually corrupt figure by the ghost of Peter Quint who violated status on two occasions. His being “too free” with Miles leads to controversy as well as his love affair with the previous governess. The governess’s knowledge on the history behind Quint and Miles changes drastically as she learns more information to discover truth. Her rejection of the idea that Miles could be “bad” transforms into an obsession noting his every action in hopes to reveal that the children are being possessed by ghosts. Despite the connotation of Quint’s clash of class boundaries, the text also suggests the potential homosexual nature of his association with Miles. Therefore, the ghost of Quint stands for everything the Governess is afraid of, and his sense of menace dictates Miles living through his identity.

Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw has been described as one of the best ghost stories of all time. However, there is clear evidence that the main character, the governess, suffers from delusions. The strange events that occur throughout the story happen in the estate of Bly. The anomalies, described as horrors or ghosts, only come to light after the governess arrives. These events are due to creations of the governess ' mind, her controlling intent to protect and overrule the children, and her unstable mental state. In this way, her thoughts and her actions are the cause of the strange events at Bly.

Through the author's use of the old house and the bringing up of ghosts the reader can understand the mystery

Henry James’ arrays of characters helps to tie the reality of social conflict in this fictional horror story. His characters each have various economic backgrounds and interact differently with each other. This diversity brings these social conflicts to light and helps readers understand the root of these conflicts. In The Turn of the Screw, Henry James uses characterization and conflict to reveal the horrors of social class in American society.

Rumors of ghosts filled the ears of the local high school, the decrepit warehouse was the most recent ‘haunted’ place. Xiomara scoffed at the thought of the dead lingering in such a run down building. Many of their other students urged them to believe, in fear of the repercussions of the seemingly rash actions Xio may go to in order to prove their point. That is one of the reasons why they found themself staring at the open window into the warehouse. Another was that Xiomara had to prove themself to the ‘native’ white people.

The Turn of the screw by Henry James is regarded as one of the most fascinating psychological thrillers of all time. Published in the late nineteenth century, this novella sets up a narrative story of a young lady who appears to have seen the ghost of the former dead employers of the place where she was working. In this novella Henry James combined drama, suspense, and mystery to make it one of the most preferred stories among the readers of all generations. The Turn of the Screw raises many questions, however: Is the governess going crazy? Is she really seeing the phantoms of those dead former state workers? Is she innocent? Is she the villain or the heroine of

Throughout The turn of the Screw by Henry James, the theme of ambiguous issues is constantly leaving the reader on their own. The ambiguity and uncertainty within this text causes the readers to come up with their own theories as to what the text really means. The ghost story perspective only adds to the infuriating vagueness. The title itself is about all of the twists within this story and basically foreshadows the confusion that the text will cause.