T is for The Turn of the Screw: Henry James

I don't think I like Henry James' writing style. With all of the description and inner thoughts and ramblings and unnecessary information given by the narrator, I lost so much of the story. I got lost in the descriptions and couldn't keep track of where the story was supposed to be going. With that being said, I almost feel as if there wasn't any description. There was a lot, but the descriptions we got weren't about the actual story, or so I found. When it came to the actual story, it seemed that the reader was left to interpret how he or she wanted. We had to come up with our own description of the story.

I also didn't really understand why the narrator was so scared. It didn't seem to me that she should have felt as much fear as she did, as quickly as she did. Sure, she saw some people at night, but that shouldn't be cause for the fright she felt (this is what I mean when I say the description was a bit lacking). We just have to believe that those people were very scary and that everyone should feel such great alarm. Even Mrs. Grose didn't seem to be alarmed at the beginning, which left me feeling even more annoyed and unbelieving of the fear.

I also didn't like the subplot of Miles not returning to school. I didn't understand where that was supposed to go and what that had to do with the whole story. I'm afraid that in all the unnecessary words, I lost a majority of the depth of this story. It's probably one that I'll have to read again. I don't understand the title, but I think that would require another read through and some deep thought.

I ended the story with a few questions about the narrator. I thought for a while that she was simply crazy and that's why she was so afraid. I thought these "ghosts" were in her head, and that's why, at the pond, neither Mrs. Grose nor Flora admitted to seeing them. I thought I was being so smart in interpreting that all of this fear and horror was created in her head, perhaps due to the stress of the letter about Miles from his headmaster. I kept that thought until the end. I don't think that last sentence was in her head. But I just don't know for sure.

This is a book I'd have to read several more times and probably read more essays on to fully understand. It was complex and confusing, and I'm sure there are a multitude of themes to explore, which is why I can understand this book is so important in the literary world. I just didn't enjoy it much.