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Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw

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Ambiguity in Henry James’ The Turn of The Screw
The governess was either truly seeing ghosts or merely having hallucinations caused by the carbon monoxide emitted from gas burning lanterns used for light. There are guesses to the truth for explanations of Victorian era ghost stories, and it is a stretch of the imagination that unsettles the nerves. A dreadful story filled with uncertainty, The Turn of The Screw opens more doors than it closes. When writing with ambiguity, the reader is given a puzzle that they innately want to solve. Henry James does just that in his short story, yet his puzzle is borderless and forces the reader to scrutinize words and movements. The Turn of The Screw will absorb its reader and make them a character questioning their surroundings; it will drive them to think. Using ambiguity through tone and diction, Henry James invites the reader into the complex puzzle to interpret the story and fit the pieces together to see the final picture.
Just try and recall why Miles was expelled from school. No one knows exactly why! To explain, before Miles returns home from school, the governess receives a letter stating his expulsion. The letter from Miles’ school offers no explanation, and “at this, [Mrs. Grose] raised her eyes, which …show more content…

Grose, for every vibe the governess gets is usually upsetting. And Mrs. Grose’s face is described as fresh by James even though she must be old due to the length of time of her service. The reader can almost hear her determination and relief when she ultimately declares her belief in Mrs. Grose’s support in saying she “couldn’t have borne the strain alone” (James 72). The governess is compelling us to believe her too. James shows us both sides of the governess. On one side, she is brave and not afraid of her troubles. The other side, she is doubting and tired. These are expressed through her words and

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