The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

The children In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter play a major role in the Puritan society. With their honest opinions of Hester and Pearl, the children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults. Due to their innocence, children are capable of expressing themselves without constraints; there are no laws or regulations that they are bounded by. As an adolescent go through the stages of life and grow older, they begin to be more conscious of the how they act as they are more aware of society and the things that are occurring in the world, creating a filter for their actions. When they remain as the children, on the other hand, are adventurous; they are still exploring the universe that seems to fill with mysteries that are bound to be solved. They tend to attach to the truth and they are not afraid to speak it freely. Children differ from adults in their potential for expressing these perceptions. With their obliviousness to the things that are actually going on around the town, children therefore react differently compared to the adults, who are more knowledgeable. Perceived to be immature, young children are presented as more perceptive and more honest than adults due to their innocence, how they are unaware of the reality and the crimes that are presented in society by the adults enables them to be blithe and not afraid of saying what they feel like. Due to their naivety, when they express what they perceive to be true, they do not get punished,

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.

     Henry James was one of the famous writers during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. He was known as an innovative and independent novelist. One of James' novels, The Turn of the Screw (1898), has caused a lot of controversy among many critics, and each of them has had a particular interpretation. James' creative writing built a close connection between his novel and his readers. The reactions of the readers toward The Turn of the Screw can be researched psychologically by analyzing how James developed his story using questionable incidents, an unreliable narrator, unexpected changes, an interesting prologue, and effective images and words.

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

The insanity of the governess constantly shows throughout The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The governess believes the ghosts she sees control the children’s behavior. Rather than accepting that their misbehavior might just be childish Mischief, she blames the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel. She also sees ghosts that do not appear to be seen by Mrs. Grose, Miles, and little Flora. The children, especially Flora, ultimately grow to fear the governess. The governess proves her insanity instead of her heroism through many of her actions and beliefs during The Turn of The

As great effect as emotions can have on someone, even greater is the effect of how one reacts to his emotions. Arguably the two most influential of these emotions are guilt and anger. They can drive a man to madness or encourage actions of vindication. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale are subject to this very notion in Nathaniel Hawthorne 's The Scarlet Letter. Hester simply accepted that what she had done was wrong, whereas Dimmesdale, being a man of high regard, did not want to accept the reality of what he did. Similar to Hester and Dimmesdale, Roger Chillingworth allows his emotions to influence his life; however, his influence came as the result of his anger. Throughout the book, Hawthorne documents how Dimmesdale and Hester 's

Why is sin important? It is believed that sin is important to people because their deity places guilt on their wrongdoings to show that those actions are not to be repeated. In contrary to this belief, there are people with religious views that hold no importance with sin. Depending on the individual’s religious views, sin can be a conflict between oneself and a “higher” being or it can not affect the individual at all. In The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Arthur Dimmesdale is an ordained Puritan priest that had committed a grave sin in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. He had committed adultery with a married woman, Hester, the woman that is married to Roger Chillingworth. After Chillingworth has heard about this news, he seeks

The brain is an intricately designed organ that helps in the aid of daily life. It is able to control all other organs and bodily functions and even manages all actions, memories, or feelings that can be experienced. It is essential in the functioning of daily life. However, there are times in which it can be deceitful, sometimes even showing things that are not even there. This causes one to doubt the very nature of things and can even explain why it is that things such as ‘second thoughts’ or ‘fear’ crosses the mind. Henry James, the author of The Turn of the Screw, uses these “defects of the mind” to destroy the barrier between reality and fiction. The Turn of the Screw exists in a reality that is retold more than once and in many instances, it depicts the twisted perception of a protagonist with an "overactive imagination" and even goes as far as to show how the reader perceives the certain perceptions of others. How one is able to view a certain 'reality, ' solely depends on a person 's reaction to certain situations as well as the mental stability during the action or moment. Galileo Galilei even stated that “tastes, odors, colors, and so on resides only in one’s head.” James tries to make us doubt whether reality is all it seems to be by interfering with the mental health of a person, giving way to many theories or conjectures through the use of perception.

Interpreting The Turn of the Screw by Henry James from a Marxist point of view brings about serious social class distinctions and consequences of violation within that code. Miles and the unnamed Governess’ relationship demonstrate the wrongdoing of social and legal norms. The Governess’ indeterminate social status leave her as a forbidden woman in Victorian society taking on the role of primary caretaker to children, while Miles embodies the character of the absent master to whom the Governess feels intimately attracted. Mile’s union with rebellious, symbol of threat, Peter Quint, ultimately possesses him and lead to the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The Governess and Mile’s connection display the

Douglas, the narrator, presents the book in the introduction involving two children to be another turn of the screw. This concept paints a

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.

The picture of Bly painted by the Governess pulsates with men who are not there; their absent presence agitates the Governess's anxiety over her own fragmentation. The master has abandoned her physically and emotionally, Miles has potential but is only a child, and Peter Quint is nothing more than air. Even though they are unavailable to her, the Governess's desire to be what these pseudo-men desire becomes the driving force behind her actions.

The Governess is somewhat shocked when she hears that “her” angelic Miles was bad in the past, according to Mrs. Grose. Mrs. Grose explains that in the past Miles was “bad” and had lied often to cover up his relationship with Peter Quint (192). When she first noticed that “Quint and the boy had been perpetually together” she went straight to Miss Jessel (193). However, instead of Miss Jessel being professional and putting a stop to their relationship she tells Mrs. Grose to “mind her business” (193). Mrs. Grose also mentioned earlier that "It was Quint's own fancy. To play with him, I mean—to spoil him." She paused a moment; then she added: Quint was much too free…too free with everyone!” which exemplifies Quint and Miles’ relationship but also suggests that something inappropriate must be occurring (182). These are some of the quotes that make it so difficult to understand their peculiar relationship. The reader is left wondering what exactly the relationship between Peter Quint and Miles was; and what would Miss Jessel’s reason be for being rude to Mrs. Grose for Miles. If Miles and Peter Quint were simply friends, then Miss Jessel should have had no reason to hide it from Mrs. Grose. The Governess responds with “You reminded him that Quint was only a base menial?” which is odd because instead of her being stunned that there is a chance that Miles might be involved with an older man, she cares more about their

The Turn of the Screw is one of the most controversial works in literature and the text has provoked a variety of critical interpretations from its publication in 1898. In this novel, the governess tells her experience with two apparitions that no one but she could see. And the governess accuses the ghosts of servants for corrupting the children, Miles and Flora. Critics concerning about the truth of the story are divided two basic camps based on their acceptance or rejection of the governess's credibility as a storyteller. Some critics believe that the ghosts are real and the governess is a rational and credible narrator, while the others believe that the ghosts are hallucinations of the governess and regard the governess as an incredible and mentally abnormal narrator. Also, we could speculate the author’s intention on the basis of his life experience and other works of Henry James. This essay will examine the reliability of the governess on the basis of the text and interpret Henry James’s intention on the basis of other sources.

At the outermost layer of all, the title of the text itself, "The Turn of the Screw", imparts an ominous atmosphere. Whether or not the "screw" refers to a sinister thumb-screw for torture purposes, or merely to a simple fastening device, the implication is that a ghost story involving children is a degree more oppressive than one that concerns only adults.3 In the second paragraph of the text, Douglas says, "If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children-?"4