Ambiguity Intertwined in Turn of the Screw Amber Wright 12th Grade

Turn of the Screw by Henry James, on the surface, surrounds the demise of a child’s life and the demise of the governess that cares for him. However, when James’ diction is sifted through it dawns on the reader that there is an ambiguous nature behind the residents of the home within the story. This ambiguity within the novel is more directly outlined as evil in Joyce Carol Oates's story Haunted Tales of the Grotesque, which is a spin on Henry James's novel. James’ ambiguous approach in describing the uncle, the mission of the governess, and the innocence of the children of the story implies the multiverse nature of good and evil within the story and Oates's piece helps readers to see a more blunt outline of these natures.

Henry James presents the unfortunate lives of the children within the story, Miles and Fora, in a manner that implies that they are partially neglected. James opens the novel by describing a dashing middle aged man whose niece and nephew have been thrown into his realm of responsibility after the death of their parents. He then goes on to explain that the uncle passes off his responsibility to the first beautiful, merely qualified woman he can uncover. What is subtly implied about the uncle is that he truly...