Deconstructing Henry James's The Turn of the Screw
To those readers uninitiated to the infinite guises of critical literary theory, Henry James's The Turn of the Screw might be interpreted as a textbook case of an anxiety-ridden Governess fleeing an unpromising reality and running right into the vaporous arms of her imaginary ghosts. But to the seriously literate, the text is more than the story does or does not tell; it can be read in light of many - not just one - literary theories.
Modern in the sense that ambiguity seems to be the text's organizing principle (a conventional, formalist reading), the text also contains numerous binary oppositions that structuralists might point out as defining the langue of gothic ghost stories or of Jamesian novels or the parole of excitable young ladies. But strict formal and structural readings of this text are incomplete in and of themselves because they do not question their own premises or conventions. No reading of the text would be adequate without at least a nod to deconstructionism.
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The Turn of the Screw by Henry James continues to stir up an immense amount of controversy for such a short novel. Making a definite, educated decision on the actual truth considering the countless inquiries that develop while reading this story proves more difficult than winning a presidential election. That being understood, taking one particular side on any argument from a close reading of the story seems impossible, because the counter argument appears just as conceivable. Any side of the controversy remains equally disputable considerably supported by textual evidence from the novel. One issue which, like the rest, can be answered in more than one ways is why Mrs. Grose believes the Governess when she tells her about her ghost encounters. Usually one would second-guess such outlandish stories as the ones that the governess shares throughout the story, yet Mrs. Grose is very quick to believe our borderline-insane narrator. One of the explanations for such behavior could be the underlying fact that Mrs. Grose and the governess have a similar socio-economic background, therefore making them somewhat equals even if the governess does not always seem to think that way. This fact makes them susceptible to trusting and believing each other, and to believing that the ghosts are there, for the people that the ghosts are presenting used to be servants and therefore from a similar socio-economic background. To add on to that, Bruce Robbins proposes in his Marxist criticism of The Turn of the Screw that the idea of a ghost is synonymous to that of a servant, subconsciously making the two lower-class workers of Bly more vulnerable to believe that the ghosts were real; in other words, servants we...
Bravery is a very important theme in To Kill A Mockingbird. Many of the main characters show bravery in many different situations. These characters aren't always brave in the same ways, for example Atticus does the right thing even if he knows it won’t work out, Scout does scary things, while Calpurnia is courageous in general. This novel shows how important courage is in real life as well.
Dictionary- reference defines courage as “the quality of mind or spirit that enables a person to face difficulty, danger, pain, etc., without fear; bravery” In the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, Harper Lee expresses courage in many ways through the novel. In the novel, nearly every character display courage in their life. Courage is the inner desire to succeed and to do what is right, no matter what consequences of your decision. Throughout the novel, Atticus define courage as "I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what.” One of the central topics of the novel is that a man of courage is a man who doesn’t run away but fight against his enemy even though they know they going to lose.
Literature comes in all types of styles and one type is Southern Gothic. But what makes a story develop into this type of Southern Gothic style? There are many characteristics that are apparent in literature, so what conditions are distinct that would give them the term Southern Gothic literature? What kind of elements do we call for when trying to find this type of literature?
First, it’s important to understand the definition of “gothic literature.” At its most basic level, gothic literature is a genre that incorporates themes that are important to the human condition (relationships, gender, patriarchy, nostalgia, and the supernatural) and tend to look from the present back into the past (Gothic Literature, 2007). Gothic literature is known for their mysterious or sensational plots. It’s also important to note that the terms “gothic literature” and “gothic horror” are used somewhat interchangeably among people (Gothic Literature, 2007).
In the beginning of the late seventeenth century a sense of fear and panic was sweeping throughout the colonies of North America this fear began in a small town in Massachusetts called Salem and would lead to the death of nineteen people. This fear was caused by young Puritan girls who started randomly convulsing and accusing people of being witches many of the accused were women many single or widowed who owned land and this event was titled The Salem Witch Trails, but another smaller very significant event also took place during this period of time that event is the attempted hanging of Mary Webster. Both of these events are very significant in the fact that they would become a basis of American literature and would bring about a very big theme even in today`s literature that theme being “A majority does not always make the right decision.” Both of these events would lead to the writing of two significant pieces
As Americans, we all have rights of our own like freedom of speech, laws to abide by, and a nation that stands together. Sometimes we do not come to an arrangement with others and what we say or do does not matter to anyone. In society, we have some people who are supposed to be important to us, to protect us, and to give us the right rules to live by but who do not care, and does not want to listen to anybody. In this essay, there are two documents that explain how the nation went from a sheltered nation to an independent country. On July 4, 1776 Thomas Jefferson wrote the Declaration of Independence, which was adopted by Second Continental Congress. The purpose of the pamphlet was to achieve independence and a gain of respect. Jefferson and the colonists did not have any authority nor did the things that they tried to get British to agree with was overlooked. The King of Great Britain (King George III) did not care about what the colonists wanted, or what type of rights they were looking forward to agree with Britain It was not anything that did not matter to the King of what happened during the time of the American Revolution. The colonies suffered twenty-seven wrong doings because of King George III. The king forced taxes on the colonists without their consent. He came in between the colonists’ rights to self-government and a judicial system. He did not want any of his governors to pass a law that was important and for none to be elected as ruler. While the governments tried to come together to an agreement with Great Britain, King George continued to ignore them. Nobody was protected of wars because the war was heading toward the colonists, this King George stated in the Declaration of Independence. The town...
Guerin, Wilfred L., Earle Labor, Lee Morgan, Jeanne C. Reesman, and John R. Willingham. A Handbook of Critical Approaches to Literature. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. 125-156.
Courage exists in several forms in Harper Lee’s novel, To Kill a Mockingbird. As defined by Atticus Finch, real courage "…when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what” (149). The novel explores the how this real courage can be shown in different ways through the lives of many characters in Maycomb, particularly, Tom Robinson, Mrs. Dubose, and Atticus. Their courage is evident through their lifestyle, actions, and beliefs.
"Courage is when you know you're licked before you begin, but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what" According to Atticus Finch, an honest lawyer in Harper Lee's novel "To Kill a Mockingbird" courage is not a man with a gun in his hand. "Real courage" is when you fight for what is right regardless of whether you win or lose. Atticus fits into this definition of what "real courage" is and demonstrates it several times throughout the novel.
Word by word, gothic literature is bound to be an immaculate read. Examining this genre for what it is could be essential to understanding it. “Gothic” is relating to the extinct East Germanic language, people of which known as the Goths. “Literature” is defined as a written work, usually with lasting “artistic merit.” Together, gothic literature combines the use of horror, death, and sometimes romance. Edgar Allan Poe, often honored with being called the king of horror and gothic poetry, published “The Fall of House Usher” in September of 1839. This story, along with many other works produced by Poe, is a classic in gothic literature. In paragraph nine in this story, one of our main characters by the name of Roderick Usher,
Heroism can show itself in many shapes and forms from ordinary people to heroic and courageous people something to think about is that anyone can show heroism. A lot of people have shown heroism just by doing the right thing such as just helping someone or not acting mean towards others. heroism can show itself in many different forms but sadly some ordinary people don’t get recognized for the heroic acts that they do. Many different people just don’t recognize heroism from ordinary people as they just think of superheroes and supervillains. In reality anyone can achieve heroism as long as they strive for it. While ordinary people can sometimes not be recognized for acts of heroism, these heroes are courageous and can defeat all of the challenges
...als these events within their novels. Sometimes leaving the reader scared, frightened or mysterious. Southern Gothic literature is a group of words bonded together to set a mood, message, plot, etc. Overall Southern Gothic Literature can be interesting and creepy at the same time, its style has been practiced for many years by southern writers which are located in the American South. Its popular writings have grew from generation to generation and is now a world wide genre.
James, Henry. "The turn of the screw." The turn of the screw and other tales. Ed. Kimberly C.
Have you ever known what being heroic is like? Well if you don't, you’ll want to find out, If you’ve ever watched a movie with a hero in it you should have a good idea of what being heroic should be but there are a lot more characteristics to a hero. Superman flies and saves people with his super strength but his weakness is kryptonite, Superman is kind, brave, and fearless. If you know spiderman he is fearless to so it is a thing that is pretty common with heroes and that's why ordinary people are heroes to it's just that they don't get noticed as they should. Although many acts of heroism don’t always have a happy ending and most heroic deeds go unnoticed, a hero is selfless for the protection of others and doesn’t