The tone of a novel is defined as a way for the author to express his/her attitude toward such story elements as characters, setting, or situation. Tone is present in every novel any author’s writes, as it is this literary device that sets the mood of the story for the reader. Henry James uses tone very effectively in the novel, The Turn of the Screw. The story begins with a joyful and dreamy mood to frightening and furious in the middle and finishes with sorrow and mournful in the end. The shifts in tone are caused by the changes in attitude and actions by the governess.
In the beginning of The Turn of The Screw, the tone is very joyful and dreamy. The story begins with Douglas and friends all telling each other scary stories. It is very peaceful and everyone is enjoying the stories being told. The tone is very joyful as represented by “Is n’t anybody going? It was almost the tone of hope. Everyone will stay!” (James, 6). This shows that everybody is having fun telling each other scary stories and are willing to stay and wait to here the story from Douglas. It was very hopeful as the stories being told were pleasant for the people around the campfire. The tone remains positive at the beginning of the governess’s story. The governess arrives at the house and sees this beautiful girl who is very polite and is too good for her own self. The governess is very happy that she was able to get the position for the job and to experience all of it that she believes that it is almost a dream. This is shown when she says such a place as would somehow, for diversion of the you idea, take all colour out of story-books and fairy-tales”(James, 16). This proves that the governess believes that everything such as Bly, the place in which they are s...
... middle of paper ...
...clusion, the mood represents that the governess has truly given up on the children and is very sad that nothing else can be done to help them and get rid of the ghosts that are haunting them.
In conclusion, the shifts in actions and attitudes of the governess cause the tone to shift throughout the novel. The tone begins with being joyful and dreamy to furious in the middle and mournful in the end. This all concludes, that the literary device tone is very effective in portraying the mood of the story through the characters actions to the reader. Tone is perhaps one of the most important literary devices author’s use to connect the mood of the story to a reader’s heart and really makes them feel for the characters and what they go through.
Works Cited
James, Henry. The turn of the screw and other short fiction. Bantam classic ed. Toronto: Bantam Books, 1983. Print.
Emotion and attitude that the author reveals through syntax, narrative pace, and characters. Tone influences a reader’s understanding of a novel.
The tone in a document changes how we feel about it and generates a reaction in a certain way. I feel the author uses different tones to try to change people’s feelings and reaction to the problem they are facing. First, the author attitude is passionate and full of confidence; therefore, the reader is convinced and agrees with the arguments presented. He also wrote the document to command
Literary devices are tools used by the author to help the reader understand a given literary work. Writers use different literary devices depending on their style and what they wish their reader to get out of their work. One important literary device that is essential for a successful literary work is theme. Theme is the general insight into life that the author shares with the reader. There are a number of different methods from which an author can choose to present his/her theme. One common strategy is to communicate the theme through the use of mood; the overall feeling or emotion conjured within the reader. In Edgar Allan Poe's short story, "The Cask of Amontillado," and in Saki's short story, "The Interlopers," the mood evoked within the reader is used to communicate the short story's overall theme.
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...
The existence of the ghosts in The Turn of the Screw has always been in debate. Instead of directly discussing whether the ghosts are real or not, this essay will focus on the reliability of the governess, the narrator of the story. After making a close examination of her state of mind while she is at Bly, readers of The Turn of the Screw will have many more clues to ponder again and to decide to what extent the governess can be believed. While critics like Heilman argue that there are problems with the interpretation that the governess was psychopathic, textual evidence incorporated with scientific research show that the governess did go through a period of psychical disorder that caused her insomnia, out of which she created hallucinations.
and tries to protect them. In the classic novel, The Turn of the Screw, the governess and the
Peter Quint and Miss Jessel symbolize the indistinguishable nature of both the governess and Miles’s sexuality in Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw. Whether or not these ghosts actually exist in the literal sense, Quint’s presence evokes what could be construed as sexual desires in the governess while also reminding her of her social status. Similarly, Quint forces the reader to question Miles’s sexuality because of the implication that their past relationship was of a sexual nature. Miss Jessel, on the other hand, serves as the governess’s only reminder of the wickedness of her desire for a sexual self and ultimately, prevents her from acting upon those desires. These developments emphasize the mysteriousness of the connection between Miles and the governess and lead to a deeper sense of dismay about the true nature of their bond.
Tone and mood are two essential parts to writing or telling a story. Mood is the the atmosphere, climate, or feeling of a text while tone is the attitude and or feelings of the person presenting the story. “Adam” by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. and “Why soldiers won't talk” by John Steinbeck have two different moods and tones. Mood and Tone affects the way that the reader feels while reading the story.Sometimes all it takes to state the mood and tone is one sentence. While the tones of both stories are vastly different, there are similarities in there too.
The author creates tone, which changes from
...t want to be the only one who does. It is another feeble attempt to prove her sanity to herself and to others. However, because she “is so easily carried away”, she soon believes that the children do in fact see the ghosts by reading into their every remark and behavior. By piecing all of this together, the governess proves to herself that she is not insane. The governess in The Turn of the Screw, is a highly unreliable narrator. From the beginning of the story, her energetic imagination is displayed to the reader. With this knowledge alone, it would not be irrational to conclude that she had imagined the appearances of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. However, these facts in addition to her unsubstantiated inferences allow the reader to intelligently label the governess as an unreliable narrator. Works Cited Poupard, Dennis. “Henry James.” Twentieth-Century Literary Criticism: Volume 24. Ed. Paula Kepos. Detroit: Gale research.; 1990. 313-315.
In his 1948 essay, Robert Heilman explores the suggestion that The Turn of the Screw is a symbolic representation of the conflict between good and evil. Heilman interprets the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel as evil forces. He explains that the ghosts only appear to the governess because evil lurks in subtlety before it strikes. It is the duty of the governess to "detect and ward off evil." She must protect the children from the awful ghosts. The governess describes Miles and Flora as beautiful little cherubs whose only fault is their gentleness (James, 18-19). Heilman views the children's beauty as a "symbol of the spiritual perfection of which man is capable." Heilman explains the ghosts' attempts to reach the children by explaining that evil forces will always try to conquer and possess the human soul. Heilman continues to draw from the descriptions of Miles and Flora to support his theories. He points out that the two children are described as having an "angelic beauty" and a "positive fragrance of purity" (James 9, 13). The governess describes them as if they are perfect and beautiful in every way. This repeated vision of beauty, radiance, and innocence parallels the image of Eden. The house at Bly also resembles this image, "I remember the lawn and the bright flowers..." (James 7). The governess makes mention of the "golden sky" and of Flora's "hair of gold," which Heilman believes connects Bly and Flora with these images of golden hues (James 7, 9).
Interpreting The Turn of the Screw by Henry James from a Marxist point of view brings about serious social class distinctions and consequences of violation within that code. Miles and the unnamed Governess’ relationship demonstrate the wrongdoing of social and legal norms. The Governess’ indeterminate social status leave her as a forbidden woman in Victorian society taking on the role of primary caretaker to children, while Miles embodies the character of the absent master to whom the Governess feels intimately attracted. Mile’s union with rebellious, symbol of threat, Peter Quint, ultimately possesses him and lead to the breakdown of the social hierarchy. The Governess and Mile’s connection display the inappropriate boundary crossed between professional duties and desirable futures as a sexually active individual. Through the two characters moments alone, the rising apprehensions end in the governess’s infringement of social status as she employs to a mysterious sexual relationship with Miles.
One example of tone that is displayed in White’s essay is nostalgia: “It seemed to me, as I kept remembering all this, that those ties and those summers have been infinitely precious and worth saving.” This passage describes as if White is longing to relive the sacred summer still close to his heart, but something still remains missing. Another example of tone that is exemplified is peace: “This seemed an utterly enchanted sea, this lake you could leave to its own devices for a few hours and come back to, and find that it had not stirred, this constant and trustworthy body of water.” This passage sets the tone thoroughly. As White describes how the lake is trustworthy and persistent, he is portraying the idea of the memories he once experienced remain unchanged. The change of tone helps connect both positive and negative emotions
Henry James's Turn of the Screw was written in a time when open sexuality was looked down upon. On the surface, the story is simply about a governess taking care of two children who are haunted by two ghosts. However, the subtext of the story is about the governess focusing on the children's innocence, and the governess trying to find her own sexual identity. Priscilla L. Walton wrote a gender criticism themed essay about the Turn of the Screw, which retells certain parts of the story and touches on the significance they provide for the sexually explicit theme. Walton's essay is accurate because James purposely put an undertone of sexuality and identity confusion in the Turn of the Screw.
In The turn of the Screw, the characters often communicated very indirectly with one another, hinting toward certain situations but never explaining them fully. At the beginning of this story, one of the first vague quotes, “he had been left, by the death of their parents in India, guardian to a small nephew and a small niece” depicts that Miles and Flora’s parents died in India (James 158). However, the details around their death are unknown and mysterious.