Henry Jamess The Turn of the Screw, An Analysis

Henry Jamess The Turn of the Screw, An Analysis Henry Jamess The Turn of the Screw:  Horrors finest work of Ambiguity Classically in many works of literature, especially in horror, one expects to find clear-cut heroes and villains, defined by the timeless juxtaposition of good and evil. Henry Jamess 1898 novella, The Turn of the Screw, plays into this commonality at first. Ambiguity is perhaps this novellas most prominent rhetorical strategy, blurring lines with the actions of the characters, as well as in the language. Jamess twists on characterization, structure, and framing of his writing, leads the audience to ponder on who is really on each side of the boundary of good and evil as they dive deeper into the novella. The establishment of the unreliable narrator in conjunction with the ambiguous framing and story manipulation causes the audience to question the nature of evil in the novella. The Turn of the Screws characters contain the generic surface elements of a majority of other ghost stories, including the characterization of the heroine and the villain. The unnamed governess, the primary narrator, is inducted as the seeming good in the story. James, however, writes into her characterization, questionable behavior. Described as a young 20-year old, intelligent, charming individual to the audience, there are two opposing ways of viewing her character either as a normal, coherent heroine or an insane anti-heroine. The repressed insane state of mind is by far the most popular interpretation of the character for most readers of this ghost story. Edmund Wilson, an influential literary critic presented this psychological perspective in his 1939 essay The Ambiguity of Henry James. In the essay, Wilson carefully lays out a multitude of examples in which he sees signs of Freudian symbolism in the story; the Governess stands out as a neurotic, sexually repressed woman whose hidden desires drive her mad (Shmoop: Governess). Wilson explores more into this idea of how the Governess is telling the story; Observe that there is never any evidence that anybody but the governess sees the ghosts. She believes that the children see them but there is never any proof that they do. The housekeeper insists that she does not see them; it is apparently the governess who frightens them. (Wilson 170) On the other hand, the presumed and traditional way of reading the novella has the Governess be in full control of her mental state, as well as having the supernatural actually happen in reality. This portrayal of the Governess places her in the role of the classical heroine and assumes that she really has good intentions and is just looking out for the children. This view also assumes that Miles and Flora are troublesome children and are in fact, connected to the apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The interpretation that the Governess is a traditional heroine is counteracted in many ways in her characterization, including the fairly apparent obsession with the children, But it was a comfort that there could be no uneasiness in a connexion with anything so beatific as the radiant image of my little girl, the vision of whose angelic beauty had probably moreà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (James 124). The Governess acknowledging Flora as my little girl, as she is just meeting the children, indicates an obsession supporting the interpretation that the governess is an anti-heroine. Yet looking at the character in a practical sense that she is a traditional heroine, the governess is doing her job, looking out for Miles and Flora and combats evil apparitions of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel. The Governess telling us that Miss Jessel is evil, Another person this time; but a figure of quite as unmistakable horror and evil: a woman in black, pale and dreadful with such an air also, and such a face! on the other side of the lake. I was there with the child quiet for the hour; and in the midst of it she came. (James 156) Just objectively looking at the text would indicate that the ghosts are malevolent forces in the story. While on the other side of the spectrum, Edmund convincing uses the example of the final scene where the governess confronts Miles about the ghosts, From her point of view, we see that he must have taken her There, there! as an answer to his own Where? She has finally made him believe either that he has actually seen something or that he is on the point of seeing something. He gives the cry of a creature hurled over an abyss. She has literally frightened him to death. (Wilson 172). The conflict between her actual narration of the story and her actions and dialogue observed by audience creates the two-sided characterization of the Governess that exudes the ambiguity of the true good and evil of the novella. The governess is not the only character that has been manipulated by the hand of Henry James to produce ambiguity. The children of the Bly household, Miles and Flora, have also been in question on where they land on the good and evil spectrum. Progressively throughout the story, the children transition from sweet and innocent to being possessed and evil as described by the governess. The governess initially adored the children (obsessively perhaps), until their innocence was corrupted by the ghosts of Quint and Miss Jessel. This brings the question to the audience: are the children evil through supernatural occurrences, or if the children are just being children. Flora, at first glance of the governess, had been described as angelic, beautiful, well mannered, perfect little girl, until much later into the plot where the governess believes she has been talking to Miss Jessel, the governess accusing and her she retorts, Take me away oh take me away from her! From me? I panted. From yo u from you! she criedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The wretched child had spoken exactly as if she had got from some outside source each of her stabbing little wordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Of course Ive lost you: Ive interfered, and youve seen, under her dictationà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ive done my best, but Ive lost you. Good-bye.' (James 240). The governess herself describes Flora in this passage to be a wretched child, insinuating that she is the evil in the story. Miles as well is introduced by Mrs. Grose as good, beautiful child, Oh miss, most remarkable. If you think well of this one!' (James 125) even if a bit of a troublemaker. I held [Mrs. Grose] tighter. You like them with the spirit to be naughty? Then, keeping pace with her answer, So do I! I eagerly brought out. But not to the degree to contaminate To contaminate? my big word left her at a loss. I explained it. To corrupt. She stared, taking my meaning in; but it produced in her an odd laugh. Are you afraid hell corrupt you?' (James 130) The governesss dialogue here actually makes it seem as if Miles is legitimately bad. However, this is assuming that the audience interprets the governess as the classic heroine, and many believe that both children show what is normally considered as normal childish tendencies. The characterization of the governess and the children are effectively made ambiguous by how James frames his writing. The highly emotional, yet melodramatic narration of the governess holds the audience to her point of view allowing for some room to experience her loss of control, yet at the same time, the writing itself adds to the feeling Governess is losing her sanity. We can look at where Flora leaves after being accused by the governess, Take me away oh take me away from her! From me? I panted. From you from you! she criedà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The wretched child had spoken exactly as if she had got from some outside source each of her stabbing little wordsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (James 240). This is a good example where James frames the dialogue in a way where from the governesss perspective that Flora is conspiring with Miss Jessel, and at the same time showing the audience the governesss unreliability as Flora seemingly did nothing wrong. This creates the ambiguity that clouds the audien ces idea of good and evil. Another way James frames the text to convey ambiguity is Douglas praise that the governess was the most agreeable woman Ive ever known in her position; (James 117) shining a positive light on the governess and yet frames the situation to the audience in that if shes that agreeable, how can we as an audience, not say that this claim by Douglas is biased? This two sided interpretation of the statement is one of the many ways James produces ambiguity through framing. In the literature, the governess perspective of the children makes it seem as if they are corrupted by evil, but from a broader frame, her actions are shown in a different light, creating the ambiguity of whether or not the Governess is actually the body of good. In addition to James frame of the characters, the framing of the ending, suddenly ending and without real resolution, adds more to the ambiguity of the placement of the line between good and evil. Did the ghost just kill Miles; did the g overness just kill Miles? The endings framing make it seem flawed and unfinished, yet it does precisely what James wants: to hold the audience in the state of ambiguous limbo. The Turn of the Screw, as a Henry Jamess piece of work, is uniquely structured to convey ambiguity over benevolence and malevolence. In Donald P. Costellos Modern Language Notes, Costello states that there is, in fact, a two-part structure in the novel. This double effect of The Turn of the Screw is a product of its structure, which is basically a double one: scenes in which the governess represents the action usually result in horror; scenes in which the governess interprets the action usually result in mystification. (Costello 313). Costello is essentially telling us that there are parts of the story where the governess reports to us from her perspective that provides the horror of the reality of the ghosts, and the other part of the plots structure where the audience interprets that part of the story. The theme of good versus evil would be naturally deduced by the reader through interpretation. However the representation of the text through the governess point of view conflicts wi th the interpretation of the audience, producing the ambiguity. For instance, the actual literature and perspective of the narrator induces the idea that the governess is good and the horror stems from the children being possessed as well as the ghosts, while the interpretation and observation of the governess make that opposing portrayal of someone losing their mind, having hallucinations of the whole situation. This discrepancy of representation and interpretation create the blurred line of what is truly good and evil. The creation of illusion and ambiguity are rhetorical strategies that add a unique layer to literature, making the audience take it upon themselves to assess the story determine what is actually occurring. To the Victorian audience that this was written for to the audience reading over a century later, Jamess utilization of ambiguity on the timeless theme of good vs. evil. continues to mystify readers today. Deciding on the good and evil in the story stems from the readers analysis of Jamess characterization, his framing of his text, as well as the structure of the plot. But as much as we can analyze and connect the theme back to real life Victorian age, or now, the idea of ambiguity is that it is supposed to remain that way. Whether the governess or the children are evil or what truly happened in the end, it is up to the audience to decide, and even then, the decisions might differ. Works Cited Costello, Donald P. The Structure of The Turn of the Screw. Modern Language Notes, vol. 75, no. 4, 1960, pp. 312-321. www.jstor.org/stable/3040418. James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw and Other Stories. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. Oxford Worlds Classics. Parkinson, Edward J., Dr. The Turn of the Screw-Chapter V The Influence of Structuralism: 1958-1969. The Turn of the Screw. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Feb. 2017. Shmoop Editorial Team. The Turn of the Screw. Shmoop. Shmoop University, Inc., 11 Nov. 2008. Web. 13 Feb. 2017. The Turn of the Screw. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 13  Feb. 2017. Wilson, Edmund. The Ambiguity of Henry James. Hound and Horn Apr.-May 1934

Based System for Sales, Marketing and Customer Information Essay

We propose a new cloud based system that will compile all of the past sales and marketing information and current customer contacts and needs. This system will allow employees from all areas and locations access to marketing tools and sales data. The components needed to use the new cloud system are Clients which is computer hardware and software that relies on the cloud for application and other Cloud services. The other services could not run without the help of Cloud computing. The second is Services; this is a software system that is designed to support machine-to-machine communication through a network. Next is Application; this helps the Cloud in the software architecture, this often eliminates the need to install and run the application on the costumers own computer. Platform facilitates deployment of applications without the cost of complexity of buying and managing the underlying hardware and software layers. Storage is the delivery of data storage as a service. Then there is infrastructure; this is the delivery of computer infrastructure as a service. All of these components are very important to the new system of cloud we are creating to better Riordan. The data requirements can be simply updated with a downloadable software update that will come with the program to make it simpler to install. The only things that will be needed while using this software are access to the internet and an external hard drive. The hard drive will ensure that it will not take up too much memory from the internal hard drive as it has a large amount of memory. Using the software is simple and easy to learn. It can be a little hard if one does not have proper knowledge of the internet. In order to be able to download this program the proper way without any add-ons of viruses, one would have to have the knowledge of the internet and to be able to download programs. The last thing that will help when using out software, is knowing how to use an external hard drive and how to hook it into the computer. The new cloud system uses more memory then our last version making an external hard drive a little more needed. These requirements will make using the software as simple and will help any company track sales and other financial information. Riordan would be able to manage data, text, and document management as a communication simplicity tool. As in any company, data is an informational asset that brings in earnings, investing in data management. Simply spoken, it helps to raise customer relationship management (CRM), while cutting expenses. This type of database will enable increased speeds for locating the products the customers want. It will reduce, considerably, the unauthorized purchases, and improve the efficiency in the operation, helping to also reduce errors in customer purchases. Part of the restructuring, would involve a need for Riordan implement consolidating software applications for all of the branches. The security of this software and concerns are the same as any software. As long as the company sticks to the policy there should not be any problems. We have made sure that this program is safe and secure. The data will be protected as long as the computers and users are safe with Virus protectors that are installed. So far we have not seen any flaws within the program as long as it is used properly. Any ethical concerns should be addressed to our company so we can make sure they are fixed and made sure that the data is safe and secure. This system can be used with mobile devices such as smart phones and any smart tablet. We have made this possible to help companies who travel a lot and cannot always be around a computer. We added this in to help make tracking a simpler step for all companies who use our system. Because the system as a whole carries far too much data for smart phones and tablets, we have created an app that can be downloaded with a smaller call for storage. This will help to not take up too much storage on smaller devices.

Jack London and His Call of the Wild Essay

â€Å"He was sounding the deeps of his nature, and of the parts of his nature that were deeper than he, going back into the womb of Time. † – Jack London, The Call of the Wild, Ch. 3 (Jack London Quotes). This quote summarizes the success of Jack London’s writing career in one simple sentence. London’s success and inspiration for his naturalist style can be accredited to the way in which he was raised, and his experiences during his lifetime. Jack London, was born John Griffith Chaney on January 12, 1876 near San Francisco, California. His mother was abandoned by London’s real father, William Chaney a traveling astrologer, shortly after it was discovered she was expecting Jack. This later influenced London’s decision to leave his family at a young age. His mother remarried quickly, and Jack took on his stepfather’s name, London. Because of complications, London was primarily raised by Virginia Prentiss, a former slave, until he was around five years of age (Stern 700). The family lived in poverty, and he had many siblings, but was not particularly close with any of them (Jack London Biography). At age 13, he quit school, borrowed money for a boat, and began harvesting oysters in the Pacific Ocean. By the age of 15, Jack was a successful business man, and known around the docks as â€Å"The King of the Oyster Pirates† (Stern 700). He later reflected on this difficult time by stating, â€Å"Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well† (Jack London Quotes). He was later caught in this illegal act and then hired as part of the coast patrol because of his extensive knowledge of the sea. After a voyage to Japan with the patrol, he returned to California in the middle of a recession (London, Jack). After struggling to find a steady job, London joined Coxey’s army, a hobo organization (Jack London Biography). After becoming bored with that, he enrolled in high school and completed a four year degree in just one year. Shortly afterward, London enrolled at the University of California on borrowed money (Jack London). While attending the University he spent large amounts of time in the school’s library reading the vast collection of books. Among these were works from Friedrich Nietzsche, Karl Marx, and most importantly, Charles Darwin. Influenced by his readings, London created his own fusion of socialism, male dominance and white superiority beliefs (London, Jack). In fact, some experts even refer to his books, White Fang, and The Call of the Wild, as fiction versions of Darwin’s Evolution (Stern 700). In the middle of London’s college career, the first Klondike gold rush began. In 1897 alone, over 30,000 men, London among them, rushed to the Yukon territory in search of the precious metal. The majority, like London, returned unsuccessfully. Although he didn’t get rich on gold in the Yukon, he would later be rich on something else from the cold, harsh place; his memories, inspiration for two of his most successful novels, White Fang and Call of the Wild (Yukon). Around the turn of the century, Robber-barons as they were called, monopolized businesses, companies, then entire industries. Jack knew this fact, and believed that writing was his only way out (Jack London). London’s very first writing success Typhoon off the Coast of Japan, inspired by his trip to Japan, came in 1900, the same year he married his first wife, Bess Maddern. Together they had two daughters, Joan and Bess (Jack London Biography). During his first marriage, London published some of his most successful stories, including Call of the Wild (1903) and Sea Wolf (1904) both in which he dramatized â€Å"atavism, adaptability, and the appeal to the wilderness† (Jack London). In 1905, following an affair, London divorced Bess Maddern and married Charmair Kittredge. He later used his second spouse’s character as the protagonist in many of his works. London encouraged Charmair to pursue writing, and with his help, published three books, including a biography over Jack because of his eventful past (Stasz 1). Later that same year, London found his true love, Beauty Ranch. Later in his life he stated, â€Å"I write for no other purpose to add the beauty that now belongs to me. I write a book for no other reason than to add three or four hundred acres to my magnificent estate† (Jack London Quotes). London’s only true love perhaps, was the wilderness, traveling, and the great outdoors. In his later years he was well traveled, visiting Japan, Canada, Cape Horn, Australia, and even Mexico (David 1). London had nearly completed his dream house on Beauty Ranch when it mysteriously burned down; arson was suspected. From then on London’s health slowly but steadily declined. Jack London died on November 22, 1916 due to Kidney failure (Stern 700). Jack London is often considered the first American author to gain international fame through his fiction works alone. Although a very successful author, even in other countries, London’s books also received harsh criticism. His ideas and concept were said to, lack consistency and precision. He also struggled with other thoughts. He wrote and supported women’s suffrage, yet believed in male dominance. London supported white superiority, yet thought it was shameful that, the reckless white men destroyed the cultures of the natives he had seen while searching for gold (Stasz 1). Despite being known for his novels, London also wrote a few non-fiction books, and many short stories, his most famous being To Build a Fire, inspired by his own adventures in the Yukon (London, Jack). Although London went through many adventures, he did not credit these to his inspiration. When asked where he received his inspiration he answered, â€Å"You can’t wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club† (Jack London Quotes). Jack Londons writing’s are some of the most famous works of naturalism of all time. They have been described as, â€Å"works that deal romantically with elemental struggles for survival. He is one of the most extensively translated of American authors† (David 1). Jack London was a go-getter. Although he died at a young age (40), he accomplished much during his lifetime. The proper function of man is to live, not to exist. I shall not waste my days in trying to prolong them. I shall use my time† (Jack London Quotes). London’s success and inspiration for his naturalist style can be accredited to the way in which he was raised, and his experiences during his lifetime. For without these, London would’ve had nothing to write about. Because of the role fate played in his life, London grew to become one of the most successful authors of all time, and his books continue to sell in our modern day and age.

Analysis Of Homer s The Odyssey - 862 Words

The Odyssey is known to be one of the most famous works of literature in history. The protagonist, Odysseus, has gone through many hardships and obstacles to reach his final destination and homeland, Ithaca. Throughout his journey, Odysseus encountered various trials and overcame each one with utmost courage and sportsmanship. One of his most famous encounters is his journey to the Land of the Dead. The most important thing Odysseus learned in this episode is his prophecy from Tiresias, the blind prophet and essential information needed to get home. Odysseus faces many obstacles in this episode, physically and mentally. At this point in the book, he is very confused and clueless as to what he should do next. Circe guides him with specific instructions to find his next step closer to home. To begin with, he must travel to the land of the Cimmerians and dig up a trench as soon as he reaches there and pour an offering to the dead with specific ingredients. He must be careful enough to alert the ghosts and attract them, and at the same time, he must also keep the blood from the pit away from all other â€Å"shades† until he is able to encounter Tiresias. ****INSERT QUOTE HERE. Another obstacle he faces is his encounter with his mother. It is almost a shock for him to see her in the Land of the Dead. He tries to hug his mother three times but he is unable to accept the fact that she is now a ghost and dead. It is a very difficult thing to face people from not only family, but alsoShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Homer s Odyssey By Homer1202 Words   |  5 Pagescoping with the idea of losing his father and letting others to rule Ithaca. It is noticeable from the beginning of The Odyssey, written by Homer that Telemachus finds himself in a complicated situation where his life is seen to be in danger. He is a character of being distance from people. The idea of Telemachus becoming his own father, threatens suitor’s control in Ithaca. 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