The Turn of the Screw Essays

  • The Turn Of The Screw Sparknotes

    492 Words  | 2 Pages

    writing many essays and articles critiquing American novels. Within this article, Rubin briefly touches upon a Freudian theoretical approach to The Turn of the Screw in the footnotes. However, the main text of the article posits a reader-oriented theoretical approach. Summary The overarching thesis of Rubin’s article is that The Turn of the Screw has an ambiguous narrative, due to the governess’ unreliable narration, and which represents an “allegory of love” (p. 320). This hidden meaning is established

  • Turn Of The Screw Essay

    1418 Words  | 6 Pages

    Turn of the Screw by Henry James provokes many feelings within the reader. While reading this novel James uses cruxes and gaps to make the reader decide on what is occurring at the time. These moments can sometimes cause confusion but also make this novel a great read. From the start to the very end James uses different styles of narrative theory to enhance the book. Douglas, the teller of the story, introduces the governess in the beginning. She is never mentioned to have any previous encounters

  • Turn Of The Screw Essay

    1591 Words  | 7 Pages

    The Turn of the Screw, a book by Henry James, has captivated readers for more than a century with its spooky atmosphere and mysterious plot. The governess, Henry James' main character, has been involved in multiple studies that have explained the story's meaning in different ways. The 1897 novel looks at the characters' complex emotional background and the narrator's lack of clarity. Since the novel was published, commentators have disagreed over its meaning and importance, "These questions and

  • Binaries In The Turn Of The Screw

    1203 Words  | 5 Pages

    The way that Henry James opposes several binaries in his work The Turn Of The Screw is intriguing and riveting. James’ novel opposes several binaries throughout the story. These binaries are used to serve as a form of normalcy in most books, but in this novel it is used to confuse the reader and also lay a solid foundation of the setting in this book. There are several The first of these binaries to oppose each other is the master to servant binary. The master, of course, assumed to be male and

  • Repression In The Turn Of The Screw

    2377 Words  | 10 Pages

    During the late-Victorian era, 19th-century England was largely characterized by a powerful government, a class-conscious society, and sexual-double standards. Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is a haunting and suspenseful story that continues to captivate readers and critics alike. At first glance, the novel tells the story of a governess who is tormented by ghosts while caring for two young children, and she becomes increasingly paranoid and disturbed as a result. However, a closer analysis reveals

  • Examples Of Liminality In The Turn Of The Screw

    1867 Words  | 8 Pages

    The Turn of the Screw incorporates many examples of liminality making it an example of a mediation of binaries. Henry James may have intentionally included these elements because he saw himself as writing from a liminal perspective—living as he did in both Europe and the United States—and because he wanted his novella to be a living work that inspired debate when written and for countless generations thereafter. Henry James uses increasingly complex examples of liminality in The Turn of the Screw

  • Ghosts In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

    443 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screw, the Governess purportedly sees the ghosts of her predecessor and her lover. Critics have been debating whether the Governess was really seeing the ghosts or if they were visual hallucinations ever since the publication of the work. On one side, some argue that it is a simple ghost story and can be easily over-analyzed. The more prevailing opinion is that the “ghosts” are figments of a sexually repressed woman’s imagination. This implication of this

  • The Turn Of The Screw Mental Illness Essay

    734 Words  | 3 Pages

    Henry James’ horror novella The Turn of the Screw is a tale about the haunting of Bly Manor, the ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel remaining behind to stalk the manor after their untimely deaths. At least that is what the narrator of the story within the story, the governess, came to see and believe during her time there. The much more likely alternative, however, is much more mundane while also being horrific to a degree; the governess is mentally ill. Through the self made recounts of her actions

  • Examples Of Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw By Henry James

    709 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, the story revolves around the unchanging ambiguity that constantly questions the reader of the book, do the ghosts exist or is it just a figment of the governess’ imagination. Although obscure at first, to a certain audience, James is able to prove the existence of the occult by creating situations and actions that are considered absurd when questioned, so that the only possible reasoning has to be something impossible that in some way, shape

  • Is The Governess Insane In Henry James The Turn Of The Screw

    1114 Words  | 5 Pages

    Is the Governess Insane or Is She Being Tricked? Henry James created a number of famous stories during his time “The Turn of the Screw” being one of his most iconic ones. James is a very iconic writer for his day and even till this day with the structure of his writing. This short story has been read over, for more than 100 years and will continue to be read. Throughout this story’s time frame, there has been a lot of controversy over certain characters in the story and what is there position

  • Turn Of The Screw

    1591 Words  | 7 Pages

    Characteristics of the apparitions were key in the story Turn of the Screw, not only for the visualization of the story, but also to display a meaning that is only significant when the apparitions had the characteristics that they did. When recalling the first encounter with Miss Jessel, the governess wrote, “Suddenly

  • The Turn Of The Screw

    1720 Words  | 7 Pages

    power over the audience is fundamental and is clearly viewed through the comparison of both The Turn of the Screw, written by Henry James, as well as the Accursed Inhabitants of the House of Bly, written by Joyce Carol Oates. Each novel is written by a different author who chose to share a similar plot with the clear distinction of altering the point of view of the characters. Both The Turn of the Screw as well as the Accursed Inhabitants of the House of Bly share the similar theme of unwavering love

  • Turn Of The Screw Controversy

    2116 Words  | 9 Pages

    One of James' books, The Turn of the Screw, has brought on a great deal of debate among numerous commentators, and each of them having their own understanding. James' novella has been alluded to by numerous researchers as the writer's "most bewildering and questionable work." His exploratory writing made a nearby association between his novel and his audience. Despite the fact that the life of Henry James and the Victorian period influenced his work, The Turn of the Screw can be investigated through

  • Theme Of Rumors In To Kill A Mockingbird

    1285 Words  | 6 Pages

    Rumors are a big part of reality and they are a major theme in To Kill A Mockingbird. The rumors in the story are what makes the story because they are the basis for plot elements such as the personification of the Radley House and Tom Robinson’s trial. Many characters like Scout and Dolphus Raymond are explained through the rumors that go around in the town. Rumors are expressed throughout the novel as a way to teach the reader a lesson about believing what you hear. Harper Lee conveys this theme

  • Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw

    1438 Words  | 6 Pages

    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

  • Prompts In 'Turn Of The Screw'

    258 Words  | 2 Pages

    Another prompt in Turn of the Screw deals with the meditation of writing sex, and death. When it comes to writing, the written words is actually a major symbol in the novel. As I was reading, I noticed that events only became real when they have been written down. An example of this would be the governess writing a letter to her employer. After a long discussion with Mrs. Grose, the governess refuses to tell her employer about the circumstances at Bly in a letter at first. She feels that if she tells

  • Candlelight In 'The Turn Of The Screw'

    423 Words  | 2 Pages

    Within the novella, “The Turn of the Screw,” light is mentioned constantly, what does light symbolize? Throughout the novella, there are constant mentions of light. Candlelight suggests safety in the governess’s narrative, while twilight suggests danger. Candlelight gives off heat as well as light, making it practical for humans who need to stay warm when the heating rays of the sun go down. Additionally, up until the invention of electricity candles were how people got around safely after dark.

  • Interpretation In The Turn Of The Screw

    971 Words  | 4 Pages

    How could the text be read and interpreted differently by two different readers? The Turn of the screw is a novella written by Henry James in 1898. This short ghost story is like no other; as it can be interpreted in more than one way. The main character is the governess. The governess is the narrator in The Turn of the Screw. She is twenty years old, has no worldly experience. Her father is a priest; she has just got a job to be a governess to two children (Miles and Flora). From the start of the

  • Summary: Turn Of The Screw

    848 Words  | 4 Pages

    Sometimes a Cigar is just a Cigar In the novella, Turn of the Screw, hear the story of a young governess who takes on responsibility for an eight-year-old girl, Flora, and her ten-year-old brother, Miles (James, Esch, & Warren 1999). The poor children are orphans with only their bachelor uncle duty-bound to provide for them (James, Esch, & Warren 1999). The children live in the family’s country home, Bly, where they have accommodated with dedicated servants and a fine estate in which to roam (James

  • Ambiguity In The Turn Of The Screw

    1387 Words  | 6 Pages

    The Turn of the Screw, a chilling Gothic novel written by Henry James and published in 1898, takes place in the isolated English rural home, Bly. That centers on the governess hired to look after Miles, and Flora, two small children. But weird events and ghostly apparitions start to haunt the house. James employs Gothic literature to highlight how the governess's experiences mirror the established gender roles and power structures of Victorian society. The novel is renowned for its use of Gothic