The end of the book surprised me very much. The governess seemed to constantly know everything that was going on throughout the book even though she acted very dumb towards the kids. Also, the last sentence of the book stated that "We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped". I may be wrong but with the dispossessed being in this sentence did that mean all along Miles had been possessed by the Devil? It seemed as though Peter had been making Miles do certain things but the book never made it seem like Peter had possessed Miles.
For the essay i want to write about the sense of corruption that the children are under by Peter, Miss Jessel, and even the Governess.
The ending of the book seemed planned out from the beginning. I had a feeling that somebody was going to die, but i did not believe it would have been one of the children. I also found it quite unclear, becasue you could basically stick any type of ending of how Miles died. The book didn't give you a lot of absolute details, more or less gave you the oportunity to believe what you wanted.
My Thesis Statement - The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, is a tale of good versus evil, told through the eyes of a young governess who is thrust into the role of savior of her two charges' souls.
The end of the book was very shocking. Throughout the book i thought that both Flora and Miles were possessed by the ghosts, especially when the governess began to describe Flora as looking like an old woman. Also the governess thought that Flora could only be removed of her sickness if she was taken away from Bly, as if her sickness could only be ridded if she was taken away from Miss Jesell. Overall, it seems to insinuate that the children were possessed by the ghosts or at least being influenced by them. For my thesis i would like to explore this.
In my essay I would like to talk about the power of sin. I found that as the book ended i was constantly thinking "the truth shall set you free". In the end it was as if Miles would be set free if he told the truth about the letter, and Flora would be set free if she had been honest about seeing miss Jessel. I want my paper to explore the cause of sin and truth in the book.
The novel's conclusion was excellent, and the 'climax' was definitely a page-turner. Throughout the novel I was torn between the two ideas that the governess was insane and the idea that there were actually ghosts attempting to possess the children. The ending left a lot of questions unanswered, but it thoroughly convinced me that the governess was hallucinating the whole ordeal. I was hoping to develop a thesis around the idea that the governess was just crazy and there were never ghosts at Bly (the idea of saving the children's innocence overwhelmed her and instead she lost her innocence... with the ending literally being a climax that is). I was also considering tying into my thesis what the title represents overall for the novel and how it relates to the governess (a screw loose in her head perhaps...) Molly Riegel
I really enjoyed The Turn of the Screw and I felt the ending was strong because it left the reader wondering what really happened. Throughout the whole book the reader has to be the one to decide what happened and what didn't since most things are only hinted at or inferred. I felt like the ending was interesting and closed the book in the same way that it had been written the whole time because each reader must decide what he or she feels the ending meant. If the ending had told us what exactly had happened and cleared up all the confusion throughout the book it wouldn't have followed in line with how the book was written throughout.
For my essay I want to write about how eyes and eyesight are used in the book as sources of the mind, where we see only what we wish to see, and as sources that show our inner desires and fears.
I was not surprised by the ending of the book. It is clear that, although something about the children was strange, she was that one who jumped to conclusions without the wisdom of any professional and she was the cause of Miles dying. The governess, even in the event that what she said was 'real' she still reacted in a negative manor and the situation that could have been assessed and then solved was taken way out of context. --Kristy Cottle
As I have already previously stated in class, this ending is very similar to all of the other endings of the previous books that we have read in this class: someone dies. boo. I think that the Governess freaked out and that she suffocated Miles without realizing it. During many different situations during the book, the Governess allows her emotions to take over her actions, so this would not be a surprising move for her.
I am thinking that for this essay I will write about how the Governss sometimes loses control of her actions due to her religous beliefs and her fears that the chlidren may be corrupted by the two ghosts.
The end of the book has surprised me in that Miles dies, because at the beginning of the book when Douglas speaks of a boy that has a sister whose was once taken care by the governess, I come to conclude that the boy was Miles. After Douglas had received the letter which Miles mailed to him, Miles dies. If Miles dies at the age of ten, who was the boy that Douglas described? Was that Miles, and that maybe Miles did not passed away when he was ten, and that it could have been the governess hallucination to instead believe that the ghost has possessed him. We don't know for a certain that every things had happened the way it did, or if every things were the perspects of the governess. Henry James is very good at keeping the book to show the many potential interpretations on how readers perceive the book. I think my thesis statement will be:
In "The Turn of the Screw," Henry James writes about many things that shows different potential interpretations readers can perceive the book, one of which is the way the Governess hallucinates the ghost as a source of corruption on the human soul.
I expected something horrible to happen in the end of the book but I didn't think it would be the death of one of the children. I think the author left a lot of questions unanswered, like whether or not the ghosts are simply hallucinations of the governess or actually real. Because it is not known whether the governess was sane or not in the end of this book, I am going to explore the topic in my thesis.
My thesis is about whether or not the governess was a hero. If the ghosts were real and Miles did indeed need to be rid of the evil then the governess would have saved him. I am not sure which side I am going to write about yet.
I think that the ending was very surprising because I was not sure if the governess smothered Miles/ killed him in general or if he really died because of the Peter Quint. I think that is the whole point of the book however, to leave the reader guessing. I think that Miles is homosexual and I think there are several places that can back that up.
For my thesis I need to look into Henry James' background but I think I will write a paper on Henry James possible being homosexual and writing about it in The Turn of The Screw.
I was a little surprised about the ending of the book. It left some unanswered questions such as what happened to Flora and Mrs.Grose as well as what the ghosts actually wanted. I was also unsure about Mrs. Groses character. She seemed to know more than she let on but the reader was unable to tell what she knew about the past and how it could explain the experiences of the Governess.
For the essay, my thesis will be focused on the Governess and how she became corrupted herself as she became more and more paranoid about the ghosts who she believed were corrupting the children.
I thought that the ending of the book seemed reasonable that someone would die, but i didn't expect it to be Miles getting smothered by the governess. I thought that Quint or Jessel would cause some sort of crazy hysteria to the governess that she would kill herself or something along those lines. The ending kind of showed me that the ghosts seemed to have some sort an influence on the kids that made them do what they did.
For my thesis im thinking of writing something along the lines of how the governess is just cuckoo and that what she thinks about how the ghost are corrupting the children is just something she played in her head.
The end of the book was surprising because throughout the entire book I had believed the governess when she assumed that the children could see the ghosts. The governess thought that the ghosts were corrupting the children and the children appeared to be plotting against her in order to communicate with the ghosts. However, in the end of the book, Miles appears to not be able to see Peter Quint, at first guessing that Miss Jessel was in the room. The fact that Miles died, possibly from the actions of the governess also leads me to think that the governess was not a “good” force in the book, as much as she tried to keep the children from being corrupted by Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.
For my thesis, I want to write about how the governess was incorrect in assuming that she could save the children from corruption by herself. She is young and inexperienced and although she tries to be a hero/savior to the children, the book ends with Flora becoming ill and Miles dying.
I felt that the ending was not as predictable as I thought it was going to be. I thought that the governess was going to become increasingly and increasingly crazy and then be the one character to die at the end of the book. Furthermore, I did not like how Miles was described as his " little heart, dispossessed, had stopped." (42) Did he really die or was he in a coma? I did not like how the ending was a kind of cliff hanger waiting for a sequel.
Thesis: In Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" the governess' use of religious connotations to show she has been conditioned through her strict Christian background to see the world though biblical terms.
The ending was really where the climax of the book seemed to occur. It seemed to me like Miles was posessed by a spirit and the Governess was trying to defeat the spirit inside of him by assuming beast like quality herself. Throughout the novel the governess keeps saying how she must "save the children" and save them from the contamination that she thinks they're infected by.
For my essay I want to write about how Miss Jessel and Peter Quint are figments of the governess' imagination and how she uses them as an excuse to "save the children".
The end of novel was predictable in one sense, but surprising in another. While approaching the end, I automatically assumed that there would be a traumatic death, due to the many encounters with ghosts Jessel and Quint. I did not, however, foreshadow the death of Miles. I figured that the character to die would either be Flora or the governess. It was interesting to discover that Miles had not been able to see the ghosts the entire time.
My ideas for the essay include writing about the governess and her negative impact on both children due to her continued attempts on protecting Miles and Flora from corruption.
I found the ending of the book sudden and and surprising. I wasn't expecting Miles to die, especially not during the course of what seemd to be an exorcism. What I thought was really interesting was the fact that in the last few chapters it seemed to reveal that neither of the children could see the ghosts, and were terrifed by the governess, a woman claiming to be tryign to protect them.
My Thesis: In Henry James' The Turn of the Screw the governess' changing perception of the children demonstrates the battle between good and evil. James uses a contrast in the language to describe them, switching between positve and negative.
I was really surprised by the end of the book. The whole time we were focused on how the governess was constantly trying to free the children of the ghosts, and instead got carried away with it. I believe that the children were both possessed by Miss Jessel and Peter, but neither of them really knew that that's what was happening. Miles death was really unexpected. I had a feeling someone was going to die, but Miles was the last person I would have expected to die.
For my essay i want to write about how Miss Jessel and Peter are both invisible to the children yet the governess see everything that they are doing while possessing the children.
The ending of the book was really interesting. I thought the governess was going to die because of her fear of corruption and the "ghosts".. not that she would eventually kill one of the children because of her obsessions. It was a good ending.. I especially enjoyed how you can continue to argue the two sides, that the governess is imagining the ghosts or that the children are plotting against her.. until the very last scene.
For my thesis paper I am thinking of writing about the influence the master has on the governess seeing the ghosts. It can be argued that many aspects of the book have sexual/Freudian undertones and I want to address whether the governesses "love" of the master and need for a relationship became so powerful that she began to imagine the ghosts.
The book ended with a bang, but left me unsatisfied. After I finished reading I was craving a resolution that the conclusion of the book did not give. I think that it is great to leave the reader guessing and interpreting the book to their desire as they read. However, leaving nearly everything up in the air left me frustrated. The ambiguity of the book was nice at the beginining, because it allowed the reader to become interested in the story. I would have liked it to come to some sort of concrete answer. This book does however, allow for great discussion.
For my essay I plan to write about the governess discovering and exploring her own sexuality and pushing this sin onto the children. This book is laced with sexual references. This inexperienced Christian girl allows her curiousity of the sexual sort to overtake her love for the children and force her to see this corruption fabrically portrayed onto the children.
I was not at all surprised by the ending of the book. It seems like in any book we read in school these days, someone dies in the end. I would have guessed it was going to be the governess but I was incorrect in the end.
The thesis for my essay is going to be tied around the idea that the governess has a secret relationship with the children�s uncle which she felt guilty about, and Henry James never directly says in his book. There are sexual inferences which we can make throughout the book by the governess' words. Because of the guilt the governess feels for keeping the children isolated from their uncle, she begins to imagine the ghosts and her subconscious makes her believe that the children are after her as well, which makes her send Flora away and kill Miles in the end.
I enjoyed the end of the book very much and how the ambiguity of it left the novel open to several different interpretations about what really happened. I thought it was very odd that there were many references to sexual tension between Miles and the governess at the end of the book considering Miles is only 10 years old.
I want to write my thesis statement on the idea that the ghosts are real and that they either control or influence every member of the household at Bly, and that everyone at Bly was actively working with the ghosts to remove the governess from the house.
My thesis statement is about the “forbidden” matters that are never discussed in depth or addressed by the character in the novel. You hear many times the governess mention these matters but when she tries to talk to Mrs. Gross about them or the children all of the characters who live in the house seem to leave the manner unattended. I feel like these unspoken topics and concerns make the novel confusing and hard to understand characters points or the plot of the novel. Although the book did a very good job of discussing how the governess was crazy I feel that the reason she seemed crazy was because she always had to come up with a conclusion for the questions that she had. But don’t get me wrong that woman was beyond crazy.
The ending of the book seemed pretty inevitable to me. From the beginning, I thought that the governess had a few loose screws in her head, and as she continued to try and "save" the children from corruption, she would somehow do something to harm them. As many other people have said, I didn't really expect it to be Miles, I thought that she may have ended up doing something to herself or to Flora.
For my thesis I want to talk about the governess' constant struggle to keep the children's innocense, and her battle between good and evil. I'm not sure of the actual wording of the thesis, but there's a lot of evidence in the book about the struggle between good and evil.
From the way the book came across, it leaves the ending of how exactly Miles died open to interpretation depening on how you want to look at the text. On one hand he could have died due to the governess strangling him, or he could have died from the evil spirit of Peter Quint leaving him etc. At least this book ended with a real ending, because I hate movies/books that end in a way that just sets it up for another one. When you look at the movie though, it definitely seems to favor the explanation of the governess killing him.
My thesis is:
In the Turn of the Screw, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint are mere representations of the Governess's frustrations and needs of not being able to fall in love with the Master because of her repression of her own social status in their current Victorian Times.
This book confuses me. It's not the language or writing style, its the sense that so many events are inconsistent. Miles and his ambitions are very misunderstood by the governess, and as we are reading her account, the portrayal of all the characters is bound to be skewed.
Also, the appearances of the ghosts is hard to believe because she must be lying to either the reader or those she interacts with at the time. For example, the meeting of the governess and miss jessel in the classroom upstairs. Miss jessel says nothing, but the governess proceeds to tell Mrs. Grose that the spirits are haunting her and that she wants Flora.
I have a few theories regarding the turn out of the book. My most positive one is that the chaos that occurs at the mansion, the eventual distrust of the governess by flora, and miles's death are all caused by the governess's lack of mental welfare caused by oppression of her sexuality.
The ending of the book was definetly the most exciting part of the book. The ending seems to answer or at least narrow down other ambiguity's in the book such as to why miles got kicked out of school; but then it leaves us with the new question of how did miles die. I would have preffered a little more of a concrete or defined ending.
My paper is probaly going to be about how the ghosts represents the governess's insecurties and repressions; from her sexually repressed mind to her social inequality to the Bachelor.
The conclusion of the book was relatively surprising because I hadn't expected Miles to end up dying. I did really like that the ending carried through the previously established theme of ambiguity within the book. The reader was never told whether the governess accidentally killed Miles or if he died while having Peter exorcised out of his body. This leaves much of the conclusion up to the reader and can be portrayed very differently by each individual.
Thesis: Throughout the book The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Freudian theory is used to show the governess' repression, and the battle between her tripartite mind (id, super-ego,ego).
the ending was a little confusing and based on how you look at it, the ending scene can be interpeted differently. Also in a book like this, you expect someone to die. If anyone was to die, Miles seems the best because he seemed more corrupted than Flora.
My thesis will be something about miss jessel and the kids being playing with her mind and making her seem crazy
Like a lot of people the end of TOTS suprised me. One part I really enjoyed about the ending was that everyone interpreted it in a different way, which led us to have a great class discussion in 6th period about the ending of the book. It really makes you wonder in the end if Miles could see Peter Quint because when the Governess tells him to look and Peter is right in front of him Miles says "Where?" like he can't see him.
For my thesis I want to write about if Ms. Gross knew about the ghosts or not.
I liked the ending of the book because some of the things Miles said really did make you wonder. When he said "Peter Quint you devil" it was hard to tell if he was calling Peter Quint a devil or the governess. Also the whole sexual undertone to the whole scene was kind of creepy considering that he's only 10. Also the book ended unfullfilled because you never find out what happens to Flora.
One possible idea I have for my thesis would be on how the location of the manor and how its seclusion contributed to the visions of ghosts
In a way the end of the book made sense because something big had to happen after all that lead up to it. At first I didn't really know what to think about the idea that the governess killed Miles, but now after looking back I think it was the governess who was mentally unstable, not the children. After all that the governess goes through while caring for the children, it makes sense that by the end of the book she goes over the edge and can no longer control herself. One thing I wonder about is what happens to Ms Gross and Flora.
This leads me to my idea for my thesis. I want to write about how the governess is the one that is hallucinating and the possible reasons that she sees the ghosts.
The end of this book was exiting to me and also left me in the dark at the same time. For instance, Miles was kicked out of school for saying "things" and Mile's heart "stops". Throughout the book there are inferences like this that make the reader think and leave them creeped out. The ending was also surprising because I thought for sure that the governess was going to end up dead or leaving because of the combination of the children and the ghosts.
For the essay, I want to write about how the children are trying to play mind games with the governess and how it enables them to do things that the governess would not approve.
I thought the end of the book was a great way to prove beyond a doubt how crazy the governess was. It was really unclear how Miles actually died and if the governess killed him out of frustration, by accident or to save him. Or if the governess even killed him at all. The ending also brought out the evil of the ghosts to the governess.
For my thesis I plan to talk about how the ghosts were projections of the governess's frustrations with the children and her sexual repression trying to get out
The end of the book was surprising as i read it, however, the book seemed to foreshadow a death. I believe that the governess was too consumed in herself to realize her actions to others or their feelings. Thus, for example, i dont think she even realized that she killed little miles. Therefore, for my thesis i am going to focus on the governess and how she fabricated and controlled behaviors and situations within bly to meet her own desires.
This book really confused me a lot, I was unsure as to what happened. I also disliked how the readers were forced to make their own conclusions about the book. There are so many different ways to interrupt what happened its ridicules. I don’t really see how the Governess could be Sexual repressed like Mr. S was saying and explaining. Like I can see it after he said it, but I just don’t think it’s really there.
I am thinking of writing my paper on no matter whether the governess was seeing things or not, that little Miles would have died anyways. Or I was also thinking that maybe proving that it was the Governess that drove Flora mad, and Miles dead. I’m not really sure; I’m going to talk to Mr. S on Monday.
I hated the end of the book. What a dead end. James killed this book like the people killed his last play. But then I re-read the end with thought in mind that this was not a simple book, but the journal of a psychopathic, Victorian-esque demon lady. She spent the whole book, in my opinion, repressing her sexuality, her own desires, her lust for the "Master", and in the end I believe she killed the boy. Why is debatable. But for my thesis I want to explore the true demise of Miles and Flora (for they seemed to me to be one, in the way that Peter and Jessel were one) and the thing that sealed their doom. My main idea so far: the repression forced onto the governess by her upbringing. Her sociatal bonds were piano strings, pulled too tight until they snapped and cut down those around her...
It is my belief that the governess killed the boy, as there didn't really seem to be any other way he could have died, I think this she used the story of the ghosts as a way to get away with her deed, I don't think she had always planned to kill Miles, but when she could not "cleanse" him she had to beat the evil out of him some way. There is no actual writing of the master's/other's reaction to Miles death, save that the governess went on with the rest of her life assumabley normally, hence her writing the story.
And this is what I intendto investigate deeper for my essay, that it was the governess who killed Miles, and only through her intense emotions was she able to convince others that she could really see ghosts, and it was they who had a hand in Miles' death.
i thought that the end of the book was very interesting. To me it seemed that Henry James pointed out that Miles could possibly be a homosexual. This leads me to believe that Peter Quint could have done something or influenced him in this lifestyle. I wish that he would have been more factual on Miles death at the end because you don't know for sure how he died but you have a couple different possibilities.
In my essay I want to write about how at the end of the book the governess saves miles through an exorcism and which in turn kills him.
I found the end of the book very strange, I kind of saw it coming but I did not think that the story would end their. It is almost like I felt empty after I finished the book, I expected there to be more that explained what happened after Mile’s heart stopped, like if something happened to Flora or the Governess or some closure that I just didn’t exactly get when I read this book. This exposes me to a new type of ending that I have not necessarily read before. Anyways, back to what I though about the ending…I was a little bit confused at first but after analyzing the text on the last page I think that the children might have been possessed by the devil because it says “his little heart, dispossessed..” This however, makes me wonder if Flora was dispossessed after she left the house, if the ghosts only stay with them when they were at the house or if the ghosts are even possessing them. I am still have not made up my mind with how I want to interpret the ending, let alone the whole book.
For my thesis I think that I will do something along the lines of the conflict between good and evil in this book and how Peter Quint and Miss Jessel possess the children throughout the novel. (I think this will be along the lines of my thesis but I indecisive with this idea and another one)
I thought that the end of the book was rather surprising but ended in a way that I thought was rather unfitting for the rest of the novel. Throughout it, the dialogue and the actions of the governess make it seem as though she is going crazy, when, in the end, it could be that she wasn't going crazy at all, but the children were simply playing games with her mind. For my essay, I want to write about the effect of the paranoia of the ghosts and the devil possessing the children that could, and in my opinion does, lead to the death of Miles. The ending sentence about the dispossession of Miles' heart helps to support this thesis, as does the opinion of the maker of the film version of the novel.
I thought it was very weird that Miles would just die at the end of the book the way he did. It was a very overwhelming thing but it just seems unreasonable for him to just die. Although the movie is very one sided i think that it makes the end of the story seem more true when the governess kills miles.
I might write about how the governess could be crazy even though i dont necessarily believe that.
The ending of the book finished oddly close to what I had guessed earlier in the book. The part about miles being a brat and how he was playing with the governess the whole time was as I suspected. The part that I did not expect was when miles was killed by releasing the devil within him. If I were to have a say in it, I would think that releasing the inner devil would not kill a person but bring a new life. I would think it would be like a second wind or something. Also, what suprised me was the fact that the author lead me to believe that miles was being controled or bewitched by Peter Quint in some way. I never fealt this at all when I was reading the book. I thaught that he was just a realy creapy manipulative little boy.
For my thesis I am planning to write about how the governess progresses in craziness throughout the book and how she becomes so parinoide when she seamed so normal in the beginning of the book.
Threw out this book, the reader was constantly left to make their own assumptions about the actions of the characters… this is why the ending did not surprise me in the since of not knowing weather or not miles died. Depending on how the reader interprets different parts of the book, there are different spins to the story. Some people may say that the governess was crazy and everything that went on was in her head, others will say that there were reasons behind everything that happened. By letting the reader interpret their own views on the book, other things are able to be looked further into. - such as the ghosts, the possible affairs, the sexual oppression… This helps me come up with my thesis statement.
My idea for my thesis essay is something along the lines of the governess (and her background, and looking at weather she was crazy. Also if there was anything sexually related to her actions)
The end of the book did not really surprise me. I felt it was obvious throughout the book the governess was misleading in the way she narrated the book. It sounded like she played herself to be a very innocent character but I feel like she had been corrupting the children the whole time.
For the essay I plan to discuss the relationship between good and evil and how the governess was worried that the ghosts corrupted the children.
The ending of the book was much like I had expected it to be. I knew a death was to occur (in fact I think they stated something about a death in the very beginning of the book). The governess' controlling manner and her constant suspicion of them results in the last straw, that is, Miles' death.
For my analytical essay of the book, I will write about how the governess uses her own sexual naiivety and imposes her extremely incorrect assumptions upon both Flora and Miles', ulimately leading to their ruin.
I was not shocked by the end of the book. I was put back by the reality of Miles dying but I wasn't surprised . I think that the governess is crazy. If anyone was possessed it was definitely her. After processing the last paragraph, I was almost sure that Miles had died because he was saved from the evil spirit of Peter Quint. But now having watched the movie I think that the governess broke Miles' neck when she was holding on to him so tightly. The biggest lingering question that I have is was Miles really possessed? I want to write my essay about the analysis of this...was the governess right or was she just out of her mind?
I thought the end of the book turned out very different than I anticipated. Basically it was a suprise to me that we were almost told directly that the governess had gone crazy. I also think that the end of the book left us hanging on what happened with Flora and if she ever would find out that her brother died or was killed depending what way we look at it.
For my essay I am interested in writing on the fact that the governess is crazy and how I do not believe that Flora and Miles could not see the ghosts of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint.
Being that the story was a tragedy i knew that someone was going to die. I thought however that it was going to be Miss. Gross because of the way she was short with the governess when she asked about the ghosts. The book didnt even cleary mention that Miles died it just implied it so that confused me a little too.
My Thesis Statement- The Turn of the Screw is meant to be read as a ghost story due to miss Jessel and Peter Quint leading the governess to insanity.
Being that the story was a tragedy i knew that someone was going to die. I thought however that it was going to be Miss. Gross because of the way she was short with the governess when she asked about the ghosts. The book didnt even cleary mention that Miles died it just implied it so that confused me a little too.
My Thesis Statement- The Turn of the Screw is meant to be read as a ghost story due to miss Jessel and Peter Quint leading the governess to insanity.
50 comments:
The end of the book surprised me very much. The governess seemed to constantly know everything that was going on throughout the book even though she acted very dumb towards the kids.
Also, the last sentence of the book stated that "We were alone with the quiet day, and his little heart, dispossessed, had stopped". I may be wrong but with the dispossessed being in this sentence did that mean all along Miles had been possessed by the Devil? It seemed as though Peter had been making Miles do certain things but the book never made it seem like Peter had possessed Miles.
For the essay i want to write about the sense of corruption that the children are under by Peter, Miss Jessel, and even the Governess.
The ending of the book seemed planned out from the beginning. I had a feeling that somebody was going to die, but i did not believe it would have been one of the children. I also found it quite unclear, becasue you could basically stick any type of ending of how Miles died. The book didn't give you a lot of absolute details, more or less gave you the oportunity to believe what you wanted.
My Thesis Statement -
The Turn of the Screw, by Henry James, is a tale of good versus evil, told through the eyes of a young governess who is thrust into the role of savior of her two charges' souls.
The end of the book was very shocking. Throughout the book i thought that both Flora and Miles were possessed by the ghosts, especially when the governess began to describe Flora as looking like an old woman. Also the governess thought that Flora could only be removed of her sickness if she was taken away from Bly, as if her sickness could only be ridded if she was taken away from Miss Jesell. Overall, it seems to insinuate that the children were possessed by the ghosts or at least being influenced by them. For my thesis i would like to explore this.
In my essay I would like to talk about the power of sin. I found that as the book ended i was constantly thinking "the truth shall set you free". In the end it was as if Miles would be set free if he told the truth about the letter, and Flora would be set free if she had been honest about seeing miss Jessel. I want my paper to explore the cause of sin and truth in the book.
The novel's conclusion was excellent, and the 'climax' was definitely a page-turner. Throughout the novel I was torn between the two ideas that the governess was insane and the idea that there were actually ghosts attempting to possess the children. The ending left a lot of questions unanswered, but it thoroughly convinced me that the governess was hallucinating the whole ordeal.
I was hoping to develop a thesis around the idea that the governess was just crazy and there were never ghosts at Bly (the idea of saving the children's innocence overwhelmed her and instead she lost her innocence... with the ending literally being a climax that is). I was also considering tying into my thesis what the title represents overall for the novel and how it relates to the governess (a screw loose in her head perhaps...)
Molly Riegel
I really enjoyed The Turn of the Screw and I felt the ending was strong because it left the reader wondering what really happened. Throughout the whole book the reader has to be the one to decide what happened and what didn't since most things are only hinted at or inferred. I felt like the ending was interesting and closed the book in the same way that it had been written the whole time because each reader must decide what he or she feels the ending meant. If the ending had told us what exactly had happened and cleared up all the confusion throughout the book it wouldn't have followed in line with how the book was written throughout.
For my essay I want to write about how eyes and eyesight are used in the book as sources of the mind, where we see only what we wish to see, and as sources that show our inner desires and fears.
I was not surprised by the ending of the book. It is clear that, although something about the children was strange, she was that one who jumped to conclusions without the wisdom of any professional and she was the cause of Miles dying. The governess, even in the event that what she said was 'real' she still reacted in a negative manor and the situation that could have been assessed and then solved was taken way out of context.
--Kristy Cottle
As I have already previously stated in class, this ending is very similar to all of the other endings of the previous books that we have read in this class: someone dies. boo. I think that the Governess freaked out and that she suffocated Miles without realizing it. During many different situations during the book, the Governess allows her emotions to take over her actions, so this would not be a surprising move for her.
I am thinking that for this essay I will write about how the Governss sometimes loses control of her actions due to her religous beliefs and her fears that the chlidren may be corrupted by the two ghosts.
The end of the book has surprised me in that Miles dies, because at the beginning of the book when Douglas speaks of a boy that has a sister whose was once taken care by the governess, I come to conclude that the boy was Miles. After Douglas had received the letter which Miles mailed to him, Miles dies. If Miles dies at the age of ten, who was the boy that Douglas described? Was that Miles, and that maybe Miles did not passed away when he was ten, and that it could have been the governess hallucination to instead believe that the ghost has possessed him. We don't know for a certain that every things had happened the way it did, or if every things were the perspects of the governess.
Henry James is very good at keeping the book to show the many potential interpretations on how readers perceive the book.
I think my thesis statement will be:
In "The Turn of the Screw," Henry James writes about many things that shows different potential interpretations readers can perceive the book, one of which is the way the Governess hallucinates the ghost as a source of corruption on the human soul.
I expected something horrible to happen in the end of the book but I didn't think it would be the death of one of the children. I think the author left a lot of questions unanswered, like whether or not the ghosts are simply hallucinations of the governess or actually real. Because it is not known whether the governess was sane or not in the end of this book, I am going to explore the topic in my thesis.
My thesis is about whether or not the governess was a hero. If the ghosts were real and Miles did indeed need to be rid of the evil then the governess would have saved him. I am not sure which side I am going to write about yet.
I think that the ending was very surprising because I was not sure if the governess smothered Miles/ killed him in general or if he really died because of the Peter Quint. I think that is the whole point of the book however, to leave the reader guessing. I think that Miles is homosexual and I think there are several places that can back that up.
For my thesis I need to look into Henry James' background but I think I will write a paper on Henry James possible being homosexual and writing about it in The Turn of The Screw.
I was a little surprised about the ending of the book. It left some unanswered questions such as what happened to Flora and Mrs.Grose as well as what the ghosts actually wanted. I was also unsure about Mrs. Groses character. She seemed to know more than she let on but the reader was unable to tell what she knew about the past and how it could explain the experiences of the Governess.
For the essay, my thesis will be focused on the Governess and how she became corrupted herself as she became more and more paranoid about the ghosts who she believed were corrupting the children.
I thought that the ending of the book seemed reasonable that someone would die, but i didn't expect it to be Miles getting smothered by the governess. I thought that Quint or Jessel would cause some sort of crazy hysteria to the governess that she would kill herself or something along those lines. The ending kind of showed me that the ghosts seemed to have some sort an influence on the kids that made them do what they did.
For my thesis im thinking of writing something along the lines of how the governess is just cuckoo and that what she thinks about how the ghost are corrupting the children is just something she played in her head.
The end of the book was surprising because throughout the entire book I had believed the governess when she assumed that the children could see the ghosts. The governess thought that the ghosts were corrupting the children and the children appeared to be plotting against her in order to communicate with the ghosts. However, in the end of the book, Miles appears to not be able to see Peter Quint, at first guessing that Miss Jessel was in the room. The fact that Miles died, possibly from the actions of the governess also leads me to think that the governess was not a “good” force in the book, as much as she tried to keep the children from being corrupted by Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.
For my thesis, I want to write about how the governess was incorrect in assuming that she could save the children from corruption by herself. She is young and inexperienced and although she tries to be a hero/savior to the children, the book ends with Flora becoming ill and Miles dying.
I felt that the ending was not as predictable as I thought it was going to be. I thought that the governess was going to become increasingly and increasingly crazy and then be the one character to die at the end of the book. Furthermore, I did not like how Miles was described as his " little heart, dispossessed, had stopped." (42) Did he really die or was he in a coma? I did not like how the ending was a kind of cliff hanger waiting for a sequel.
Thesis:
In Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw" the governess' use of religious connotations to show she has been conditioned through her strict Christian background to see the world though biblical terms.
The ending was really where the climax of the book seemed to occur. It seemed to me like Miles was posessed by a spirit and the Governess was trying to defeat the spirit inside of him by assuming beast like quality herself. Throughout the novel the governess keeps saying how she must "save the children" and save them from the contamination that she thinks they're infected by.
For my essay I want to write about how Miss Jessel and Peter Quint are figments of the governess' imagination and how she uses them as an excuse to "save the children".
The end of novel was predictable in one sense, but surprising in another. While approaching the end, I automatically assumed that there would be a traumatic death, due to the many encounters with ghosts Jessel and Quint. I did not, however, foreshadow the death of Miles. I figured that the character to die would either be Flora or the governess. It was interesting to discover that Miles had not been able to see the ghosts the entire time.
My ideas for the essay include writing about the governess and her negative impact on both children due to her continued attempts on protecting Miles and Flora from corruption.
I found the ending of the book sudden and and surprising. I wasn't expecting Miles to die, especially not during the course of what seemd to be an exorcism. What I thought was really interesting was the fact that in the last few chapters it seemed to reveal that neither of the children could see the ghosts, and were terrifed by the governess, a woman claiming to be tryign to protect them.
My Thesis:
In Henry James' The Turn of the Screw the governess' changing perception of the children demonstrates the battle between good and evil. James uses a contrast in the language to describe them, switching between positve and negative.
I was really surprised by the end of the book. The whole time we were focused on how the governess was constantly trying to free the children of the ghosts, and instead got carried away with it. I believe that the children were both possessed by Miss Jessel and Peter, but neither of them really knew that that's what was happening. Miles death was really unexpected. I had a feeling someone was going to die, but Miles was the last person I would have expected to die.
For my essay i want to write about how Miss Jessel and Peter are both invisible to the children yet the governess see everything that they are doing while possessing the children.
The ending of the book was really interesting. I thought the governess was going to die because of her fear of corruption and the "ghosts".. not that she would eventually kill one of the children because of her obsessions. It was a good ending.. I especially enjoyed how you can continue to argue the two sides, that the governess is imagining the ghosts or that the children are plotting against her.. until the very last scene.
For my thesis paper I am thinking of writing about the influence the master has on the governess seeing the ghosts. It can be argued that many aspects of the book have sexual/Freudian undertones and I want to address whether the governesses "love" of the master and need for a relationship became so powerful that she began to imagine the ghosts.
The book ended with a bang, but left me unsatisfied. After I finished reading I was craving a resolution that the conclusion of the book did not give. I think that it is great to leave the reader guessing and interpreting the book to their desire as they read. However, leaving nearly everything up in the air left me frustrated. The ambiguity of the book was nice at the beginining, because it allowed the reader to become interested in the story. I would have liked it to come to some sort of concrete answer. This book does however, allow for great discussion.
For my essay I plan to write about the governess discovering and exploring her own sexuality and pushing this sin onto the children. This book is laced with sexual references. This inexperienced Christian girl allows her curiousity of the sexual sort to overtake her love for the children and force her to see this corruption fabrically portrayed onto the children.
I was not at all surprised by the ending of the book. It seems like in any book we read in school these days, someone dies in the end. I would have guessed it was going to be the governess but I was incorrect in the end.
The thesis for my essay is going to be tied around the idea that the governess has a secret relationship with the children�s uncle which she felt guilty about, and Henry James never directly says in his book. There are sexual inferences which we can make throughout the book by the governess' words. Because of the guilt the governess feels for keeping the children isolated from their uncle, she begins to imagine the ghosts and her subconscious makes her believe that the children are after her as well, which makes her send Flora away and kill Miles in the end.
I enjoyed the end of the book very much and how the ambiguity of it left the novel open to several different interpretations about what really happened. I thought it was very odd that there were many references to sexual tension between Miles and the governess at the end of the book considering Miles is only 10 years old.
I want to write my thesis statement on the idea that the ghosts are real and that they either control or influence every member of the household at Bly, and that everyone at Bly was actively working with the ghosts to remove the governess from the house.
My thesis statement is about the “forbidden” matters that are never discussed in depth or addressed by the character in the novel. You hear many times the governess mention these matters but when she tries to talk to Mrs. Gross about them or the children all of the characters who live in the house seem to leave the manner unattended. I feel like these unspoken topics and concerns make the novel confusing and hard to understand characters points or the plot of the novel. Although the book did a very good job of discussing how the governess was crazy I feel that the reason she seemed crazy was because she always had to come up with a conclusion for the questions that she had. But don’t get me wrong that woman was beyond crazy.
The ending of the book seemed pretty inevitable to me. From the beginning, I thought that the governess had a few loose screws in her head, and as she continued to try and "save" the children from corruption, she would somehow do something to harm them. As many other people have said, I didn't really expect it to be Miles, I thought that she may have ended up doing something to herself or to Flora.
For my thesis I want to talk about the governess' constant struggle to keep the children's innocense, and her battle between good and evil. I'm not sure of the actual wording of the thesis, but there's a lot of evidence in the book about the struggle between good and evil.
From the way the book came across, it leaves the ending of how exactly Miles died open to interpretation depening on how you want to look at the text. On one hand he could have died due to the governess strangling him, or he could have died from the evil spirit of Peter Quint leaving him etc. At least this book ended with a real ending, because I hate movies/books that end in a way that just sets it up for another one. When you look at the movie though, it definitely seems to favor the explanation of the governess killing him.
My thesis is:
In the Turn of the Screw, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint are mere representations of the Governess's frustrations and needs of not being able to fall in love with the Master because of her repression of her own social status in their current Victorian Times.
This book confuses me. It's not the language or writing style, its the sense that so many events are inconsistent. Miles and his ambitions are very misunderstood by the governess, and as we are reading her account, the portrayal of all the characters is bound to be skewed.
Also, the appearances of the ghosts is hard to believe because she must be lying to either the reader or those she interacts with at the time. For example, the meeting of the governess and miss jessel in the classroom upstairs. Miss jessel says nothing, but the governess proceeds to tell Mrs. Grose that the spirits are haunting her and that she wants Flora.
I have a few theories regarding the turn out of the book. My most positive one is that the chaos that occurs at the mansion, the eventual distrust of the governess by flora, and miles's death are all caused by the governess's lack of mental welfare caused by oppression of her sexuality.
The ending of the book was definetly the most exciting part of the book. The ending seems to answer or at least narrow down other ambiguity's in the book such as to why miles got kicked out of school; but then it leaves us with the new question of how did miles die. I would have preffered a little more of a concrete or defined ending.
My paper is probaly going to be about how the ghosts represents the governess's insecurties and repressions; from her sexually repressed mind to her social inequality to the Bachelor.
The conclusion of the book was relatively surprising because I hadn't expected Miles to end up dying. I did really like that the ending carried through the previously established theme of ambiguity within the book. The reader was never told whether the governess accidentally killed Miles or if he died while having Peter exorcised out of his body. This leaves much of the conclusion up to the reader and can be portrayed very differently by each individual.
Thesis: Throughout the book The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, Freudian theory is used to show the governess' repression, and the battle between her tripartite mind (id, super-ego,ego).
the ending was a little confusing and based on how you look at it, the ending scene can be interpeted differently. Also in a book like this, you expect someone to die. If anyone was to die, Miles seems the best because he seemed more corrupted than Flora.
My thesis will be something about miss jessel and the kids being playing with her mind and making her seem crazy
Like a lot of people the end of TOTS suprised me. One part I really enjoyed about the ending was that everyone interpreted it in a different way, which led us to have a great class discussion in 6th period about the ending of the book. It really makes you wonder in the end if Miles could see Peter Quint because when the Governess tells him to look and Peter is right in front of him Miles says "Where?" like he can't see him.
For my thesis I want to write about if Ms. Gross knew about the ghosts or not.
I liked the ending of the book because some of the things Miles said really did make you wonder. When he said "Peter Quint you devil" it was hard to tell if he was calling Peter Quint a devil or the governess. Also the whole sexual undertone to the whole scene was kind of creepy considering that he's only 10. Also the book ended unfullfilled because you never find out what happens to Flora.
One possible idea I have for my thesis would be on how the location of the manor and how its seclusion contributed to the visions of ghosts
In a way the end of the book made sense because something big had to happen after all that lead up to it. At first I didn't really know what to think about the idea that the governess killed Miles, but now after looking back I think it was the governess who was mentally unstable, not the children. After all that the governess goes through while caring for the children, it makes sense that by the end of the book she goes over the edge and can no longer control herself. One thing I wonder about is what happens to Ms Gross and Flora.
This leads me to my idea for my thesis. I want to write about how the governess is the one that is hallucinating and the possible reasons that she sees the ghosts.
The end of this book was exiting to me and also left me in the dark at the same time. For instance, Miles was kicked out of school for saying "things" and Mile's heart "stops". Throughout the book there are inferences like this that make the reader think and leave them creeped out. The ending was also surprising because I thought for sure that the governess was going to end up dead or leaving because of the combination of the children and the ghosts.
For the essay, I want to write about how the children are trying to play mind games with the governess and how it enables them to do things that the governess would not approve.
I thought the end of the book was a great way to prove beyond a doubt how crazy the governess was. It was really unclear how Miles actually died and if the governess killed him out of frustration, by accident or to save him. Or if the governess even killed him at all. The ending also brought out the evil of the ghosts to the governess.
For my thesis I plan to talk about how the ghosts were projections of the governess's frustrations with the children and her sexual repression trying to get out
The end of the book was surprising as i read it, however, the book seemed to foreshadow a death. I believe that the governess was too consumed in herself to realize her actions to others or their feelings. Thus, for example, i dont think she even realized that she killed little miles. Therefore, for my thesis i am going to focus on the governess and how she fabricated and controlled behaviors and situations within bly to meet her own desires.
This book really confused me a lot, I was unsure as to what happened. I also disliked how the readers were forced to make their own conclusions about the book. There are so many different ways to interrupt what happened its ridicules. I don’t really see how the Governess could be Sexual repressed like Mr. S was saying and explaining. Like I can see it after he said it, but I just don’t think it’s really there.
I am thinking of writing my paper on no matter whether the governess was seeing things or not, that little Miles would have died anyways. Or I was also thinking that maybe proving that it was the Governess that drove Flora mad, and Miles dead. I’m not really sure; I’m going to talk to Mr. S on Monday.
I hated the end of the book. What a dead end. James killed this book like the people killed his last play. But then I re-read the end with thought in mind that this was not a simple book, but the journal of a psychopathic, Victorian-esque demon lady. She spent the whole book, in my opinion, repressing her sexuality, her own desires, her lust for the "Master", and in the end I believe she killed the boy. Why is debatable. But for my thesis I want to explore the true demise of Miles and Flora (for they seemed to me to be one, in the way that Peter and Jessel were one) and the thing that sealed their doom. My main idea so far: the repression forced onto the governess by her upbringing. Her sociatal bonds were piano strings, pulled too tight until they snapped and cut down those around her...
It is my belief that the governess killed the boy, as there didn't really seem to be any other way he could have died, I think this she used the story of the ghosts as a way to get away with her deed, I don't think she had always planned to kill Miles, but when she could not "cleanse" him she had to beat the evil out of him some way. There is no actual writing of the master's/other's reaction to Miles death, save that the governess went on with the rest of her life assumabley normally, hence her writing the story.
And this is what I intendto investigate deeper for my essay, that it was the governess who killed Miles, and only through her intense emotions was she able to convince others that she could really see ghosts, and it was they who had a hand in Miles' death.
i thought that the end of the book was very interesting. To me it seemed that Henry James pointed out that Miles could possibly be a homosexual. This leads me to believe that Peter Quint could have done something or influenced him in this lifestyle. I wish that he would have been more factual on Miles death at the end because you don't know for sure how he died but you have a couple different possibilities.
In my essay I want to write about how at the end of the book the governess saves miles through an exorcism and which in turn kills him.
I found the end of the book very strange, I kind of saw it coming but I did not think that the story would end their. It is almost like I felt empty after I finished the book, I expected there to be more that explained what happened after Mile’s heart stopped, like if something happened to Flora or the Governess or some closure that I just didn’t exactly get when I read this book. This exposes me to a new type of ending that I have not necessarily read before. Anyways, back to what I though about the ending…I was a little bit confused at first but after analyzing the text on the last page I think that the children might have been possessed by the devil because it says “his little heart, dispossessed..” This however, makes me wonder if Flora was dispossessed after she left the house, if the ghosts only stay with them when they were at the house or if the ghosts are even possessing them. I am still have not made up my mind with how I want to interpret the ending, let alone the whole book.
For my thesis I think that I will do something along the lines of the conflict between good and evil in this book and how Peter Quint and Miss Jessel possess the children throughout the novel. (I think this will be along the lines of my thesis but I indecisive with this idea and another one)
I thought that the end of the book was rather surprising but ended in a way that I thought was rather unfitting for the rest of the novel. Throughout it, the dialogue and the actions of the governess make it seem as though she is going crazy, when, in the end, it could be that she wasn't going crazy at all, but the children were simply playing games with her mind. For my essay, I want to write about the effect of the paranoia of the ghosts and the devil possessing the children that could, and in my opinion does, lead to the death of Miles. The ending sentence about the dispossession of Miles' heart helps to support this thesis, as does the opinion of the maker of the film version of the novel.
I thought it was very weird that Miles would just die at the end of the book the way he did. It was a very overwhelming thing but it just seems unreasonable for him to just die. Although the movie is very one sided i think that it makes the end of the story seem more true when the governess kills miles.
I might write about how the governess could be crazy even though i dont necessarily believe that.
The ending of the book finished oddly close to what I had guessed earlier in the book. The part about miles being a brat and how he was playing with the governess the whole time was as I suspected. The part that I did not expect was when miles was killed by releasing the devil within him. If I were to have a say in it, I would think that releasing the inner devil would not kill a person but bring a new life. I would think it would be like a second wind or something. Also, what suprised me was the fact that the author lead me to believe that miles was being controled or bewitched by Peter Quint in some way. I never fealt this at all when I was reading the book. I thaught that he was just a realy creapy manipulative little boy.
For my thesis I am planning to write about how the governess progresses in craziness throughout the book and how she becomes so parinoide when she seamed so normal in the beginning of the book.
Threw out this book, the reader was constantly left to make their own assumptions about the actions of the characters… this is why the ending did not surprise me in the since of not knowing weather or not miles died. Depending on how the reader interprets different parts of the book, there are different spins to the story. Some people may say that the governess was crazy and everything that went on was in her head, others will say that there were reasons behind everything that happened. By letting the reader interpret their own views on the book, other things are able to be looked further into. - such as the ghosts, the possible affairs, the sexual oppression… This helps me come up with my thesis statement.
My idea for my thesis essay is something along the lines of the governess (and her background, and looking at weather she was crazy. Also if there was anything sexually related to her actions)
The end of the book did not really surprise me. I felt it was obvious throughout the book the governess was misleading in the way she narrated the book. It sounded like she played herself to be a very innocent character but I feel like she had been corrupting the children the whole time.
For the essay I plan to discuss the relationship between good and evil and how the governess was worried that the ghosts corrupted the children.
The ending of the book was much like I had expected it to be. I knew a death was to occur (in fact I think they stated something about a death in the very beginning of the book). The governess' controlling manner and her constant suspicion of them results in the last straw, that is, Miles' death.
For my analytical essay of the book, I will write about how the governess uses her own sexual naiivety and imposes her extremely incorrect assumptions upon both Flora and Miles', ulimately leading to their ruin.
I was not shocked by the end of the book. I was put back by the reality of Miles dying but I wasn't surprised . I think that the governess is crazy. If anyone was possessed it was definitely her. After processing the last paragraph, I was almost sure that Miles had died because he was saved from the evil spirit of Peter Quint. But now having watched the movie I think that the governess broke Miles' neck when she was holding on to him so tightly. The biggest lingering question that I have is was Miles really possessed? I want to write my essay about the analysis of this...was the governess right or was she just out of her mind?
I thought the end of the book turned out very different than I anticipated. Basically it was a suprise to me that we were almost told directly that the governess had gone crazy. I also think that the end of the book left us hanging on what happened with Flora and if she ever would find out that her brother died or was killed depending what way we look at it.
For my essay I am interested in writing on the fact that the governess is crazy and how I do not believe that Flora and Miles could not see the ghosts of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint.
Being that the story was a tragedy i knew that someone was going to die. I thought however that it was going to be Miss. Gross because of the way she was short with the governess when she asked about the ghosts. The book didnt even cleary mention that Miles died it just implied it so that confused me a little too.
My Thesis Statement-
The Turn of the Screw is meant to be read as a ghost story due to miss Jessel and Peter Quint leading the governess to insanity.
Being that the story was a tragedy i knew that someone was going to die. I thought however that it was going to be Miss. Gross because of the way she was short with the governess when she asked about the ghosts. The book didnt even cleary mention that Miles died it just implied it so that confused me a little too.
My Thesis Statement-
The Turn of the Screw is meant to be read as a ghost story due to miss Jessel and Peter Quint leading the governess to insanity.
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