Henry James

In America’s most important document, Patrick Henry and James Madison played two key roles in the development of the Constitution. These two men had different views on how America should be governed. Patrick Henry who was against the new Constitution and sided with the Anti-Federalists. James Madison was the architect of the Constitution and felt a powerful government was needed in order for the colonies to not fall apart. After the Revolutionary War the colonies needed some help with the low…

American by Henry James are both amazing pieces of literature that share the same author yet differ stylistically and rhetorically. Both The American and The Turn of the Screw are written in a style unique to Henry James, but have certain rhetorical devices and style choices that differ from the other. The Turn of the Screw and The American are often considered different on account of their unique content and use of rhetorical devices, yet they still share the same voice of Henry James, the…

The battle between the humble governess and the evil Quint in The Turn of The Screw rages on. The author of the ambiguous novella, Henry James, includes few vague details while writing his book. While reading his book, it is important to make predictions about what is happening. Throughout the book, the governess tries to protect the two innocent children from the ghost of Peter Quint. A group could argue all day about what happened in this book. Different characters play the different roles of…

When assuming that the Governess is in fact sane and the ghosts are real, it can be argued that, in The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, the Governess is a traditional gothic novel heroine. She is portrayed as an ambitious, strong-willed, innocent and intelligent young woman who, similar to any heroine, is placed in a helpless situation in which she has to protect the children from supernatural forces. Similarly, it can be argued that Catherine Morland, the main protagonist in Jane Austen’s…

individual experience does not exist for everyone, especially for women and children. Many authors attempt to tackle the lack of independent society, with none being greater than Emily Dickinson, Henry James, and Kate Chopin. In Emily Dickinson’s “In Much Madness is Divinest Sense” and “This was a Poet”, Henry James’s Daisy Miller: A Study, and Kate Chopin’s “A Story of an Hour”, all the authors depict independent thought as a positive trait. In her poems “Much Madness is Divinest Sense” and…

Moreen’s relationship with Morgan is not common for a mother and her son. She treats him like a mere object and considers him to be worthless as he “fetch[es] her fan”. Readers can also infer that Mrs. Moreen speaks harshly of him because Pemberton is able to note that a “boy of eleven shouldn’t catch” the things she says. Nevertheless, she still has the caring heart of a parent and the reader can assume that she chose Pemberton because he was the most intelligent and wants the finest tutor for…

The short story “Daisy Miller” by Henry James is about a young girl who flirts with several of the guys in her town and who does not hold herself up like the typical lady. In the time period when the story was written, women were very proper and were known to cater to their father’s or husband’s every whim. That is not the case with Daisy. Daisy did not like to be held down; she liked to be able to prove that she was able to get through life on her own and to make her life decisions by herself.…

Techniques and the Horror of The Turn of the Screw One purpose of Henry James’ gothic novella The Turn of the Screw is to instill fear in the reader. There are several features of this work that make the story horror inducing; first, James’ deals with the idea of the corruption of innocence of children. In the story’s opening chapter, the observation is made that the corruption of a child in a ghost story “adds a particular touch” (James 115). Fear is also associated with the novella because…

In The Turn of the Screw, a short horror story by Henry James, a nameless woman narrates her experiences with two ghosts as a governess in Bly. Her beliefs and actions regarding the two ghosts, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint, have caused controversy about her sanity. The governess is insane because she sees things that other characters cannot see, experiences paranoia due to harmless ghosts, and designates her thoughts regarding the ghosts as more important over the welfare of the children, Miles…

The novella Turn of the Screw was written by Henry James and originally published in 1898. The story is a ghost tale, involving a Governess and two children. There is much debate to whether the Governess in this story is sane or insane. According to Oxford Dictionaries, insanity is a “state of mind that prevents normal perception, behavior, and social interaction” (Oxford Dictionaries). The Governess can be considered insane since she has disturbed perceptions, exhibits abnormal behavior, and…