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Are the ghosts real in the turn of the screw essay
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How 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.
Therefore, the possibility of contacting the spirits restored some
faith in the non-material world. The era it was written in does
suggest that ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is merely a classic ghost story,
but Henry James has integrated sufficient evidence to make the reader
believe otherwise. The author has cleverly entwined a wide range of
possible interpretations into one storyline to make any reader unsure
of the real reason that the Governess is seeing ghosts. The only thing
the reader can be sure of is this; Henry James wanted the nation to be
debating their thoughts and opinions of the novel for centuries after
it was written. His wish has certainly been achieved.
By opening his novel with a prologue, Henry James has built tension
because the reader is informed of the sinister settings in which the
story ‘The Turn of the Screw’ is revealed, leading them to believe
that an ordinary ghost story is about to be shared. These settings fit
in perfectly with Victorian ghost story conventions, because ‘The Turn
of the Screw’ is told ‘round the fire’ on ‘Christmas Eve in an old
house’, which is exactly where ghost stories were traditionally told.
Furthermore, an air of mystery is created when the reader is told that
th...
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...tating effects of one mentally unstable person
and how they can corrupt and even end innocent lives.
In conclusion, there is more evidence suggesting that the Governess
was suffering from hysteria than there is to prove that it is a ghost
story. Henry James has created this novel in defence of his own
sister, who was prone to violent outbursts of hysteria. He wanted to
show the sceptical Victorian nation how real the images could seem to
the person seeing them, and therefore included pathetic fallacy and
other various methods to demonstrate this and make the tale more
believable. No matter how big the contrast is between two
interpretations of ‘The Turn of the Screw’ the one thing all readers
can agree on is this: Henry James has succeeded in manipulating the
reader into believing anything he wants them to believe, which is
indeed an great achievement.
In The Crucible by Arthur Miller, both pride and excessive pride influence the characters throughout the play. Pride is a sense of one's dignity and worth. Excessive pride is being overly confident of one's own self worth. Throughout, pride influences the actions, reactions, and emotions of the characters in such ways to establish the outcome of the story. Three characters are impelled by their pride. Hale, who takes pride in his ability to detect witchcraft; Elizabeth Proctor, whose pride makes forgiving her husband difficult; Proctor, whose excessive pride causes him to overlook reality and the truth.
Gender Criticism and The Turn of the Screw 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 said, 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.
likelihood of victory is small.” It is a person’s mental or moral strength to resist extreme
the last third of the 18th century and the first two decades of the 19th
Harper Lee has incorporated the representation of her most meaningful statement in the title of her novel, To Kill A Mockingbird. The many points of discussion which surface in Lee's book would certainly have partially submerged the parallel she created between Tom Robinson and the mockingbird.
The story 'A View From The Bridge', is set in the 1940's in Red hook
Rodolfo, "I'm not a baby, I know a lot more than people think I know."
Is it acceptable to neglect one’s crimes and move on, or is it better to openly confess yourself in front of your peers? In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter, the main character, Arthur Dimmesdale, experiences both ends of the question. From initially disregarding the need to repent for his sin, his figure and character drastically change. By repenting in the wrong ways, Dimmesdale’s character continues to worsen until he finally publicly atones for his mistakes. Hawthorne’s views on the theme of repentance are embodied within the tragic and symbolic character of Dimmesdale, which he uses to demonstrate how repenting leads to a strong-willed and free being.
Not very many children are born in prison, nor do many live in prison for the first three months of their lives. It was almost probable that the child might turn out rather eccentric, which Pearl, in a way, did. And it is definitely strange that she was born as a result of a sin. Thus, her mother named her Pearl, “as being of great price, —purchased with all she had, —her mother’s only treasure!” She has very capricious emotions and is impish sometimes. Pearl is an eerily intelligent and devilish child who has a strange connection with the scarlet “A”.
During the nineteenth century, Nathaniel Hawthorne graced America with The Scarlet Letter. Out of all of his works, the commended author’s most enduring and well-known novel is The Scarlet Letter. The narrative was set in the 1600s around the same time as the historical Salem Witch Trials. Over the years, this classic story has been reviewed by numerous essayists. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s most popular novel reflects the injustice of the Salem Witch Trials and received notable analyses from major literary critics.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter, the guilt bestowed upon two passionate lovers committing adultery reveals the corrupt and over-radical beliefs of a strict Puritanical society. Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale face life-changing consequences after submitting to their emotions and committing sin. The narrator’s forgiving tone presents the society as being very strict in living by their social and religious codes. The administrative, or authoritarian, imagery conjured up by various scenarios with the scaffold, magistrates, and the mayor in hid castle supports the tense mood as Hester and Dimmesdale try to mysteriously elude the laws of their community. Hawthorne employs allegory to the names of many characters in the novel to suggest their vulnerable personalities as they, in many cases, become shaped by the Puritanical views. Most importantly, the abundance of symbolism, such as the scarlet letter “A” itself, hammers home the effects of the Puritanical moral values on the characters in the novel.
James begins his proposition with a hypothetical example. There would be a poll for all of the US citizens to take part in. They would vote to either keep the Civil War in our history, or to expunge it entirely and replace that time with a period of peace. He claims that only a “handful of eccentrics” would opt to get rid of it. I find this to be a very valid point, however it does have a fundamental flaw in it. Knowing the consequences and events that resulted from the Civil War allows us to decide whether or not the war was worth the pain and suffering it caused.
Scout Finch is not the stereotypical girl from the 1930’s. Agents the wishes of everyone around her, she grows up in overalls instead of dresses. Scout plays in the dirt and sand, instead of in the kitchen. In the novel To Kill a Mocking Bird, by Harper Lee, Scout is the wild spirited narrator, growing up in the small town of Maycomb. As she gets older, she learns mostly from her father Atticus how to interact with people. Scout learns to show dignity and respect to everyone, under any circumstances.
The Magus, by John Fowles, is a six-hundred-and-five page book, which I have read all of. It was copyrighted in 1965 by Little, Brown & Company (Canada) Limited, and was dedicated to Astarte. John Fowles has written many other books, such as: A Maggot, Daniel Martin, Land, The Tree, poems, and literally dozens of others. The critiques of these books state they are all fiction, but are in a wide variety of areas.
The Scarlet Letter is a blend of realism, symbolism, and allegory. Nathaniel Hawthorne uses historical settings for this fictional novel and even gives historical background information for the inspiration of the story of Hester Prynne in the introduction of The Scarlet Letter, ‘The Custom-House’. The psychological exploration of the characters and the author’s use of realistic dialogue only add to the realism of the novel. The most obvious symbol of the novel is the actual scarlet letter ‘A’ that Hester wears on her chest every day, but Hawthorne also uses Hester’s daughter Pearl and their surroundings as symbols as well. Allegory is present as well in The Scarlet Letter and is created through the character types of several characters in the novel.