The Turn of the Screw

Written Response- Henry James Turn of the Screw • Which assertion do you find to be most persuasive and why? Harold C. Goddard’s assertive implication (with roots to the Freudian theory) that the governess, the heroine of Turn of the Screw, suffers from psychological fixations and a hallucinatory narrative of ghosts derived from her passion of the employer is a detailed observation of the novels alternate, all be it underlined, narrative of Henry James asking questions and demonstrating themes…

of songs. Just like in Rushdie’s story (the two sides and groups of the moon), even words have a double side: it creates beauty, but it can also destroy it. 3. ‘The Turn of the Screw’ As it was mentioned at the beginning, stories have the power to attract, gather people. A perfect example would be Henry James’ ‘The Turn of the Screw’ short story. An anonymous narrator remembers a Christmas gathering, where he listens to a friend, Douglas, read the manuscript of a former governess. The…

This novella starts off by pulling the audience into the story by a nameless narrator remembering a Christmas Eve get-together at an old home, where everyone is telling ghost stories around a fire. Douglas (an individual from the gathering) brings up a satire tale like no other. A tale about two children, Flora and Miles, and a governess. He reads the tale from a manuscript, then suddenly shifts to the protagonist, the governess, speaking from her point of view. The time set is around the 1840s…

A critical passage can reveal a great deal about a book. In Henry James’s “The Turn of the Screw”, there a quite a few critical passages. One that is particularly critical is the passage where the governess is conversing with Mrs. Grose before the governess meets Miles, Flora’s brother: “You will be carried away by the little gentleman!” “Well, that, I think, is what I came for--to be carried away. I’m afraid, however,” I remember feeling the impulse to add, “I’m rather easily carried away. I…

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…

Richard Y Liu Due January 13th, 2017 English Literature and Composition – Period 7 Short Answer Questions – Turn of the Screw Question 1. Class acts as the driving force behind the disgust for ghosts, and not just fear. “"But if he isn't a gentleman –", "What is he? He's a horror." This declaration emphasizes the impact and connotation of class, especially the extreme views of status. By eliminating Quint from one classification, and defaulting to the other, highlights the narrow views of class…

Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw presents a governess as the central character. For years, literary critics have argued over the sanity of the protagonist. Sanity, the condition of having a healthy mind, versus insanity is a major theme that James addresses throughout the novel. Ultimately however, the governess is sane because she possesses the qualities of courage, self-confidence, and intuition. The governess’ quality of courage displays how she is sane because she is able to do…

The idea of supernatural beings haunting people is nothing new, and it is still expressed in culture today. In Henry James’ Turn of the Screw, Miss Jessel is a minor character, yet she significantly affects the governess by lowering her credibility among others and by playing tricks with her mind. Miss Jessel’s effects on the governess emphasize how insanity can result from mere figments of the imagination. The insanity of the governess results largely from her vivid visions of Miss Jessel’s…

The Sinful Letters of Screwtape "The Screwtape Letters" appeared for its first time in the Guardian newspaper of London. This was during the time of World War II. In the year 1942 the letters were first published in their book format in England. A little known fact is that the book was dedicated to C.S. Lewis dear friend J.R.R. Tolkien. In 1943 the book made its way to America where it was very well received ("The Screwtape Letters"). In "The Screwtape Letters" by C.S.Lewis , he uses Point of…

The Turn of the Screw Do you believe in ghosts? In the Turn of the Screw, the governess sees two ghosts of former Bly employees. The ghosts, Peter Quint and Miss. Jessel, are evil spirits and have come back to communicate with the children, Miles and Flora. The governess sees the ghosts and feels like she must protect the children from them. One night, she hears a noise outside her bedroom door and goes to check on it. “The apparition had reached the landing halfway up and was therefore on the…