Turn Of The Screw Literary Analysis

As a child I always loved ghost stories. When you were a young child and you had a good ghost story they were almost treated like currency. I, in fact, had no ghost stories like the one in the novel Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Throughout the novel, a story of ghost and beautiful children unscrews the mind of young Governess. But the story really being in the prologue. The true main character of this novel is Douglas because he guides the reader through the book although he is never mentioned after the introduction.

Within the first three pages of the novel we hear the how the telling of the Governess’s story comes to play. Douglas, an un easy sight of a man, was thrilled upon the telling of this story. He say “yes - tomorrow” for when he is asked when he will tell them the story (James 3). He wants to tell these people the story because he enjoys the attention. By keeping his audience waiting a few days, three to be exact, he gets the most attentive audience (James 4). Douglas knows how to work his audience with the lingering curiosity of this story. For the past few days he had been hyping this story and tempting them on one hopeful Christmas eve with the line ”It’s quite too horrible.” when speaking of the manuscript (James 1).

Douglas, being the weary soul he was, set a strong tone of mystery before the reader even gets to the actual mystery of the novel. He excites the reader by continuously calling the manuscript “dreadful” (James 2). Douglas prepares the reader of what they are about to begin reading. He warns them and plays with their emotions as the novel begins. Douglas gives the feelings as if he is the author and that once the novel ends so will