Our out of class assignment Turn of the Screw, is a book that never ceases to confuse me ever so deeply. In fact, I had to read over it three times just to get what was happening in the book just to know what was happening. I wondered why though. Was it because of the I’s that were used every sentence that you couldn’t tell who the person was because they would never state it ninety percent of the time or was it because of the type of style that Henry James uses? What helped me out was the presentation of the point of views. The point of views gave a greater clarity to who was the I in the story. The point of view was a limited first person because, the author composed the character so we can see what their thinking at that time period but, we cannot know what the other characters are thinking during the time of the discussion. This helped me by trying to go in depth by just inferences of the characters actions and how they act towards the situation.
An example of this would be in chapter three in The Turn of the Screw. This is where the main character of the story and Mrs. Grose are having a conversation. The governess states at first that the punishment was grotesque for Miles and Mrs. Grose agreed. The governess then changes her view on Miles and says that she’ll do nothing towards the situation of Miles’ suspension which, to the reader may seem hypocritical for the governess to do. What even shocks us more is that Mrs. Grose goes along and accepts the governess’s decision and consoles her with a hug but during the hug the governess thinks of Mrs. Grose as a “friendly creature”. Just annotating this we can see that Mrs. Grose is attached to the governess and tries to follow her but the governess thinks of Mrs. Grose below a humane level sort of like a dog. The question is from annotating this is when will Mrs. Grose revolt against the ways of the governess and how will the governess change once the revolt is implemented? Any guesses or any other ways Henry James uses connotation in his story of turn of the screw can go here!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
7 comments:
Brian Reuland:
I'd have to say that I disagree with your point about the point of view. It never shifts other than the prologue. In the prologue, the "I" is Douglas, adn we are supposed to immerse ourselves in his thoughts and actions. Throughout the actual story, however, the "I" is the governess. However, I do see how this could be confusing, as the whole novel is confusing. Personally the area I have had the most trouble with concerns the ambiguity. The conversation that the governess has with Mrs. Grose where they keep filling in each other's sentences in chapter three is a good example. It is probable that here even the characters don't know what is going on. Also, the many instances where the reader is left to fill in the blanks are annoying. However, I do see how they contribute to the effectiveness of James' glorified ghost story.
Well i agree with you about the book never ceasing to confuse, however in relation to the "I" throughout the book, I think its pretty clear who is the "I", as Brian already said, it is Douglas in the prologue and then the governess for the rest of the book. However, I can see how being confused about that could greatly impact ones understanding of the novel. My own major issue with understanding is the straight stream of consciousness coming out of the governess' mind. Realizing this may be an intentional effect as Decker said in class, Henry James wrote the book with the intent of it being hard to read, it still makes the book much harder to comprehend. At the same time it helps the story be told, if the novel were written from another characters point of view, it probably would have gotten to the point of annoyance and ridiculousness rather quickly with the insane women (the governess) running around screaming about ghosts and whatnot.
In addition to the point of view which has already been addressed by Brian and Michael, I would have to say I disagree with you in that you said the governess thinks of Mrs. Gross as a lower animalistic life form. Throughout the entire story, instead of alienating Mrs. Grose as you suggest, the governess attempts to resolve the conflict with the guidance of Mrs. Grose. The governess even pleads Mrs. Grose to see Mrs. Jessel when they are at the lake. As far as filling in the blanks, I believe it was actually a clever move on James' part. He allows the reader to imagine the worst things possible, thus adding to the horror of the story.
As stated by our classmates in the comments above, the "I" in the governess' story is, in fact, the governess herself. Douglas is the "I" in the prologue only. In the actual story, the point of view is told by the governess, whose eyes we, the readers, see through. We mainly view the governess' thoughts and perceptions through her conversations with Mrs. Grose, and those conversations reflect the governess' thoughts and ideas about what's happening at Bly and the fears she has for the children. The point of view in "Turn of the Screw" definitely adds to the mystery of the story and the way the plot progresses.
As the other students have said Mrs. Grose isn't even implied to be a lower-level life form. While she isn't exactly a dynamic character who keeps the plot moving, she seems holds up her part nicely.
I also understand your logic behind point of view shifts, but as said by our classmates, the prologue is the only area where it is changed and it is very noticeable.
For a fact i have never really stated who was narrating this novel in this blog post. I just said the author and that is all not any special names or anything. Sure, I may have said in class Douglas in class because there are some strong points once you bring up the term of a narrator.
Mrs. Gross can also be considered a lower life form in this novel because of the balance of power as we have seen countless times where the Governess is always above in leadership over Mrs. Gross thus making her a “lower life form” to the Governess.
comments closed
Post a Comment