Bly, a country home in Essex, England

Essay: The Evil Within

Prompt: Choose a complex and important character in a novel or a play of recognized literary merit who might on the basis of the character's actions alone be considered evil or immoral. In a well-organized essay, explain both how and why the full presentation of the character in the work makes us react more sympathetically than we otherwise might. Avoid plot summary.

The Evil Within

       What outside influences could cause a seemingly normal 10 year-old boy to do such evil and unthinkable acts? In The Turn of the Screw, Miles appears to have many outside factors which could have influenced his uncharacteristic behavior.  His character touches the readers from the beginning to end as he deals with more than a child of his age should bare.
       Miles has experienced the tragic death of his parents. This immediately draws sympathy from the audience to the poor boy. Realizing the challenges a child must face in this situation, one can't help but to feel sorry for Miles. Miles and his sister seem to be abandoned by their uncle after the death of their parents. This could be seen as rejection by a loved one when Miles' uncle refuses to participate in raising him by hiring a new governess to watch over the children. Early into the story, it is apparent that Miles is also dealing with issues in school after he is expelled for unknown reasons. These issues seem to be caused by various  reasons from the death of his parents to his inner struggle with homosexuality. The apparitions that are introduced, including Peter Quint, have had a significant influence on Miles' "evil behavior". It is evident that this seemingly well-mannered boy is hiding something horrible. The ghosts that are seen around the house are influencing Miles in some way, causing him not to elaborate on his actions to anyone, especially the governess. When Miles finally sees and acknowledges the ghost, Peter Quint, he takes his last breath as he suddenly dies. There is a sympathetic relief that the evil has vanished as well as the struggle within himself.
       Although his actions were sinister for the time of the setting, the audience feels sympathy for the boy because of the idea that he had been abused in some way by either emotional neglect from his uncle, pressure from the governess or physically and sexually by the apparitions of the house, specifically Peter Quint and Jessele. If the audience was unaware of Miles' history and the affects he had emotionally and physically, then the audience would be less sympathetic. The fact that his parents had passed away, was neglected by his uncle, and was expelled from school shows that he is emotionally challenged. The possibility of sexual abuse and his eventual death from being possessed by the evil ghosts makes him worthy of the sympathy of the audience. The title, The Turn of the Screw, can also indicate the increasing pressure Miles felt to tell the governess what had mysteriously happened at school. Also, there appears to be a sexual struggle within himself, as he seems to deal with abuse or homosexuality, hence the turning of the screws in his mind.
         The fact that the story involves a young boy dealing with issues of death and abuse seem to overshadow his villainous acts. Due to this, the audience is more sympathetic than they might have been if Miles' history had taken a different course. The way these issues are publicized in today's society would get a more sympathetic reaction than in the time that the novel takes place.  People in that day in time did not openly discuss any issues of abuse or sexuality. A reader of today would be more emotionally influenced by the tragic events in Miles' life, knowing what may have caused his evil behavior.

           

                       

Possession

I find it odd that Miles just suddenly dies when he acknowledges and sees Peter Quint, the ghost. I believe that Miles is possessed because of his strange actions dealing with the kids at school. He should not have knowledge of or be talking about the topic of things that seem to be sexual in nature, especially at his age. In the end, I get the impression that the governess is fighting with Peter for Miles. What seems to be something that the governess was protecting Miles from ended up causing him to die. He took his last breath as he sees the ghost in the presence of the governess.

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow

There seems to be a relationship between the ghosts and the children. I think the relationship between Miles and the ghost, Peter Quint, definitely has something to do with his behavior in school. The governess also shares the same suspicion and keeps asking Miles what happened in school, which he will not elaborate. It is odd that they don't claim to have seen any strange people, like the governess has. I feel that the governess thinks that the ghosts are haunting Miles and Flora. It seems like the ghosts are making more frequent appearances now that they know the governess can see them.

Seeing is Believing

Who are these people that the new governess sees that come and go? The new governess sees other people at the house and questions who they are. She describes the people in detail to Ms. Grose and finds out that these people have died. This gives me the impression that the people the governess sees are ghosts. Why is the governess the only one who can see the ghosts? I think that Ms. Grose, Flora and Miles can see the ghosts, but they just aren't telling the governess. Obviously, Ms. Grose knew exactly who the governess was describing. This makes me wonder if Ms. Grose knows more than she is expressing.

Expelled Because...

When the reader finds that Miles has been expelled from school, there is no explanation. What could this 10 year-old boy have possibly done to deserve this extreme punishment? I find it weird that the governess seems to accept that Miles is expelled, glad to homeschool him, but when the subject is brought up, the boy avoids mentioning what he had done. The description of the boy seems to be normal, yet I can tell there is something strange that he is hiding. Even though Miles was expelled, I find it odd that he wants to go back to school to be with his "same sort."

Mysterious Uncle

I find it odd that the children's uncle does not want to have anything to do with them after their parents' death. The uncle's thoughts and past are not expressed in the novel, but it raises several questions to me as the reader of why he doesn't want to have any contact or have any input on decisions about the raising Flora and Miles. His situation leaves me to make my own assumptions that maybe the uncle had a bad experience in the house, is afraid of the house, or something has happened with previous servants or himself. 

Book2Media

The novel, The Turn of the Screw by Henry James, has been the basis of inspiration for several movies, plays, broadcasts and other forms of media.
-An opera, The Turn of the Screw, composed by Benjamin Britten in 1954
-The Turn of the Screw (1959) an early live television play directed by John Frankenheimer and featuring Ingrid Bergman
-Dan Curtis's well-regarded TV movie The Turn of the Screw (1974) with Lynn Redgrave
-Rusty Lemorande's film The Turn of the Screw (1994) with Patsy Kensit and Julian Sands, which updated the story to the 1960s
-A British television adaptation The Turn of the Screw (1999) with Jodhi May and Colin Firth
-BBC Radio 4 broadcast an adaptation in 2004 (later re-broadcast on BBC Radio 4 Extra on 14 November 2011) by Neville Teller, directed by Peter Leslie Wilde and starring Cathy Sara as the Governess and Joseph Tremain as Miles.
-BBC Radio 4 (and later BBC Radio 7 broadcast in 2010 an adaptation by John Tideyman, directed by Glyn Dearman and starring Charlotte Attenborough as the Governess, Rosemary Leach as Mrs. Grose, Sam Crane as Miles and Jonathan Adams as the Storyteller.
-The story has also been converted into a ballet by William Tuckett.
-A 2009 BBC television drama starring Michelle Dockery and Sue Johnston, set during the 1920s: The Turn of the Screw

Publication

The Turn of the Screw was written and first published on October 13, 1898 in England.  Publisher: William Heinemann, London. The Macmillan Company, New York City. It is a gothic novel and a ghost story.

Author Biography

Henry James, ((18April 15, 1843- February 28, 1916) was an American-born writer, regarded as one of the key figures of 19th-century literary realism. He was the son of Henry James, Sr. and the brother of philosopher and psychologist William James and diarist Alice James. James alternated between America and Europe for the first 20 years of his life, after which he settled in England, becoming a British subject in 1915, one year before his death. He is primarily known for the series of novels in which he portrays the encounter of Americans with Europe and Europeans. His method of writing from the point of view of a character within a tale allows him to explore issues related to consciousness and perception, and his style in later works has been compared to impressionist painting.
http://www.kirjasto.sci.fi/hjames.htm
http://www.historyspark.com/james/biography.html

The Governess

Turn Of The Screw:Trailer