Henry James’ the Turn of the Screw Essay - 861 Words

Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw is written with one clear and true ending where Miles dies and the readers are left to guess the rest for themselves. Or is it? Right from the prologue, a reader may assume that Miles and Douglas are indeed the same person, but when the reader sees, â€Å"and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped.† P.403 one dismisses that theory as lost, but it isn’t. Perhaps one ignore the idea because of many unclear allusions to discrepancies. James’ use of deliberate vagueness was intended to create a second plausible ending. One may ask, how is it possible that Douglas and Miles are the same person if Miles died? James described that Miles’ heart had stopped. But there are two ways to interpret this, that Miles†¦show more content†¦304), and the governess the age of twenty, â€Å"the youngest of several daughters of a poor country parson, had, at the age of twenty, on taking service for the first time in the s choolroom, come up to London.†(P. 295) And its already apparent that they were ten years apart. There are many details about both Miles and Douglas, and all it takes is a bit of incentive to connect the two. Douglas clearly cares about the governess, and maintains personal connection to the story even though it’s been sitting in a drawer for twenty years. Douglas feels attached to the story because he lived the story so many years ago.(as Miles) â€Å"Nobody but me, till now, has ever heard. Its quite too horrible.†(p. 292) This shows that the manuscript isn’t just a good ghost story for him to tell people because he’s never shared it before. He also finds that Douglas’s audience is more perceptive than he appears ready. They make inferences about he and his love, and Douglas reveals bits and pieces about her. â€Å"I liked her extremely and am glad to this day to think she liked me, too. If she hadnt she wouldnt have told me.(p. 293) In th e story, she mentions several times that Miles was the most beautiful boy that she had ever laid eyes on, and over infatuation with the boy like that would easily lead Miles to believe he was the object of her utmost affection. To add to the fact that the woman he was in love with was the governess was when one of the guests mentions thatShow MoreRelatedThe Turn Of The Screw By Henry James1479 Words   |  6 PagesI. Henry James’s â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† a young Governess is hired by a wealthy man who is the uncle to two children that live in Bly, the estate and setting in which the story takes place. In the ghastly tale by James, the Governess begins to notice things that are out of place. The old manor is home to a host of souls that have perished previous to her arrival, which leaves the governess on edge as she becomes more and more aware of the odd happenings in Bly. The story focuses on the hauntingRead MoreThe Turn Of The Screw By Henry James1379 Words   |  6 Pages A Screw Loose During the course of the novella, â€Å"The Turn of the Screw†, by Henry James, the governess continuously encounters ghosts that seemingly only appear to her. As the story progresses, the governess starts postulating a relationship between Miles, Flora, and the supposed corruptive ghosts. However, due to the fact that the ghosts are not seen when others are present at the time of the sightings indicate that they fail to exist. Moreover, through the evidence presented in the text, theRead MoreThe Turn Of The Screw By Henry James2418 Words   |  10 PagesThroughout the Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, we are introduced to four main characters; the Governess, Mrs. Grose, Miles, and Flora. 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However, this paper will demonstrate that this narrative is in essence a love story regardless of supernatural events. Through the analysis of the frame, it is easy to accept that the Turn of theRead MoreThe Turn Of The Screw By Henry James1077 Words   |  5 Pagesthat has power over them. Henry James wrote â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† during the Victorian Era; the Victorians which was known as the age of children. The idea of innocence was place on a child at an early age. Books that were publish in the Era of Victorian that focus on youth of a child. Children are supposed to enjoy life and being joy into it. They were the pictures of innocence but Miles and Flora had painted themselves differently. 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It doesn’t matter what he originally intended, James’ â€Å"The Turn of the Screw† is a main topic of debates when it comes to literacy. They all have that one question: Are the ghosts real or is it just the governess’ imagination of twisted apparitions and illusions. There are critics who have come up with their own arguments with a lotRead MoreEssay on The Turn of the Screw by Henry James1925 Words   |  8 PagesHow far does The Turn of the Screw conform to the conventions of the Victorian ghost story genre? What alternative interpretations does it lend itself to? ‘The Turn of the Screw’ was written by Henry James in the nineteenth century, when the belief that living people were in contact with the dead was prevalent. In the Victorian era the advance of science was undermining religious beliefs, because evolutionists were saying that the world had not been created in 4004BC, as the bible suggests