The Turn of the Screw Essay

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

The author uses the concept of good vs. evil to convey the main theme of the novel. The author took over two years to let this story marinate in his mind. He took a lease over of a mansion in London to be able to relate personal experience to his novel. In the novel “The Turn of the Screw”, James uses the main character, the governess, to question the concept of good vs. evil. The governess, through her conflicts with believing to see evil spirits, her relationships with the children, and the question of her sanity provides the reader with the choice to believe whether she is innocent or guilty.

Henry James' novel The Turn of the Screw is twofold. In the first chapter, the story begins at a Christmas party where guests hear the governess' tale of fright and fight. This story is referred to as “two turns” of the screw by an anonymous guest at the Christmas party because the reader asks if they want to hear a story about two children instead of only one (3). In the governess' account, it tells about her duty as caretaker of two wealthy children, Flora and Miles, who live at Bly, a large estate, with their unnamed and unseen uncle and Mrs. Groose, the housekeeper. He is never actually seen in the story because he tells the governess not to bother him.

Henry James’ the Turn of the Screw, written in the Victoria era, tells a ghost story of a governess’s experience with two children in the house. By presenting the story in a symbolic way, the ambiguous narrative of the ghost story suggests an inner conflict of immorality and innocence in the governess. It also seems to imply a loss of insanity and a tragedy as a result of the oppression of desire. This paper will argue that chapter 23 is the most crucial part of the story, because it is the first moment the Governess found the weakness of the ghosts and has a real confrontation with the ghost indirectly through Miles. Miles’ suggestion of going out drives her to the wall, which leads to the tragic end that the only way for governess to

On the other hand, readers are reluctant to rely on her as a narrator because her inner thoughts display her defense mechanisms that alter her reality. While some readers might assume James uses first person narration to heighten the mystery and horror of his Gothic Tale, those who consider the Governess’s narrative in light of Psychoanalytic criticism see that The Turn of the Screw exposes the subjective nature of reality.

In Turn of the Screw the women in the story must follow a specific role. The governess was an important person. Her role as a Victorian female was to symbolize sexual innocence. The governess developed sexual feeling towards Miles a young boy that she is to be watching for the man she thinks is so handsome. Peter Quint and Miss Jessel symbolizes the ¨wickedness¨ that lives within sexual desires. Peter Quint was a very sexual person with all the females.

Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw has led to a great deal of discussion and analysis from scholars and students for over fifty years. James’s novella is a ghost story that is mostly told through the perspective of a young woman, a Governess, who is put in charge of taking care of two children, Miles and Flora, at an estate in Bly. The Governess adores the two children and considers them both charming, beautiful, and perfect, which is understandable given that Miles and Flora are portrayed as well mannered, innocent children; and as the Governess becomes more absorbed in her responsibilities, the children give her little to no trouble. One evening, the Governess takes a walk around the estate, and she begins to think, quite romantically, about her employer, the children’s uncle. This is before she sees an estranged man on top of the house’s tower, who stares down at her for a long moment, intensely. The Governess sees this intruder again; this leads her to discuss her sightings with the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, who tells her that the man she saw is Peter Quint, a former valet for the house who is now dead. Furthermore, while the Governess is out with Flora, watching her play, she feels the appearance of a second intruder, Miss Jessel, who Mrs. Grose says is the Governess’s deceased predecessor. In the context of the whole novella, how the Governess reacts to the ghosts shows three different states of mind that the Governess was possibly in throughout the story. Peter Quint

Jordan McGuire Mrs. Cline AP English March 5th, 2015 The Turn of the Screw Insanity at its Finest The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, is a ghost story set in victorian England at the estate of Bly. The main character is the governess who accepts a job from a wealthy bachelor to be oversee his niece and nephew at the estate. The governess wandering in the courtyard one night while fantasizing about meeting someone sees a man atop a tower.

At first glance, Bly appears to be a rather lonely place. The vividly bleak backdrop for The Turn of the Screw houses a handful of servants, two orphaned children, and ghosts who fade in and out of view. But there are others present who are less obtrusive yet just as influential as Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. Peering into and out of Bly's windows and mirrors, engaging with the text and the lingering trace of author Henry James, a crowd of real and virtual readers hope to catch a glimpse of a specter or to unravel a clever Freudian slipknot that will tell them something: They may be looking for that which they think James intended as the text's truth - a transcendental center - or maybe they subconsciously wish to see a

In the equivocal Victorian novella The Turn of the Screw, author Henry James details events surrounding a tyrannical, oppressive governess as she assumes the care of two seemingly angelic children and subsequently delves deeply into insanity. Purposefully ambiguous, this story is left open to numerous interpretations ranging from viewing it as a frightening ghost story to a tale of manipulative, inherently evil children. In the psychoanalytic perspective, which follows teachings from prominent figureheads such as Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung, analysis of the text reveals that the apparitions were merely hallucinations, viewable only by the protagonist. When reading the novella with this interpretation, it should also be seen in a satirical manner,

This reason is made apparent to the reader from the metaphor ‘Turn of the Screw’, which gives the impression that the story will have a deep emotional impact on them like a screw being forced into a wall. Adding a ‘particular touch’ to the story are the two children, who give the ‘effect of two turns’. This shows the reader that the story will have a deeper impact on them than they originally thought, because the depth of the screw is dictated by the amount of turns forced upon it and also represents the impression made on the reader. Consequently, if the screw is turned twice then the story will have twice the impact. Douglas’ ‘wincing grimace’ at the thought of the story supports the reader’s assumption that ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is a horrific ghost story, but nothing more psychological than that.

There are numerous approaches to view The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James. From being in class talking about the book I seen that there was distinctive comprehension of the book. The Turn of the Screw is a typical representation of the contention in the middle of great and fiendishness. I will translate the phantoms of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel as insidious powers. I perceive that the phantom just seem to the tutor in light of the fact that malice slinks in nuance before it strikes. It is the obligation of the tutor to "identify and avert insidious." She must shield the kids from the horrendous phantoms. The tutor portrays Miles and Flora as wonderful little heavenly attendants whose just blame is their tenderness (James, 18-19). I see the youngsters ' excellence as an "image of the profound flawlessness of which man is competent."

When the credibility of a novel’s narrator has been compromised, the reader questions the reality that is presented to them. In Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw, the story is told through the limited perception of the narrator, a young governess. Left in charge of two young children, she begins to see ghosts of former employees of the estate and seeks to protect the children, while becoming suspicious of their actions as well. Her behavior becomes erratic and the reader is forced to question whether the ghosts are real or if they are fabricated by the governess.

The Turn of the Screw opens with a prologue in which a character called Douglas is introduced. The author uses Douglas as a way to introduce the main story. Douglas captures the interest of the reader the same way he

Henry James constructs an epic novel of romance and mystery, engendering many interpretations of Turn of the Screw. James intentionally creates ambiguity by utilizing an incomplete frame to introduce the atmosphere of a ghost story through its diction, setting, and tone, in order to capture an active reader who must interact with the text. Frames hold a distinct purpose to provide insight and background to the coming story, which James succeeds in, but goes one step farther. James introduces the obvious ambiguity in the prologue through its point of view in order to establish a participating reader to make judgements on their own from the very beginning.