Guest Blogger: Jake H.

Why Turn the Screw?
“’Give me some of your TOTS!’ ‘No go find your own!’” (Napoleon Dynamite) That right there is the enthusiasm with which we should approach getting to read Henry James’ great novella The Turn of the Screw.
So, you might be thinking that reading that whole story was a waste of time. Unless you just sparknoted the whole thing. But why would anybody ever want to do that? I don’t know why, because there is an elephant in the way…
Later that day, I got into an argument with my mom.
Just kidding.
So what’s so great about The Turn of the Screw? Well if you like poetry, you’ll love TOTS! Wait, that’s irrelevant. I should really stop doing that and get back to the elephant in the room. No, not that one. If you dislike poetry, you’ll love TOTS, because of its modern adaptations, the author’s influential life experiences, and his revolutionary use of point of view.
First, there have been numerous modern adaptations of TOTS, that are even better than the book! Deborah Kerr starred in the most highly-regarded adaptation, The Innocents, which was directed by John Frankenheimer. Rusty Lemorande put the actions of the novella in a 1960’s setting in his intriguing 1994 work of the same name. That might offer up an explanation for the governess’ strange perspective on the events in TOTS. Jeffrey Hatcher wrote a weird and probably low-budget play in which a woman played the governess and a man played every other character. More recently, the 2006 film In a Dark Place is based entirely on TOTS, as well as a very important storyline in the soap opera “Dark Shadows.” A 3-D movie about TOTS is even in the works.
Next, Henry James’ life experiences had a large impact on his writings, thus playing an important role in the greatness of TOTS. James was described as “a true cosmopolite…a citizen of the world.” (Cliff 1) He grew up listening to the ideas of people such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, friends of his father. That obviously was a key factor in his development as a writer. Also, he had no formal education; he was privately tutored for a dozen years, which explains the isolated setting of TOTS.
Finally, Henry James’ revolutionary use of point of view makes TOTS stand out from most other literary works of its era. Before his time, most fiction was written from an outside narrator’s point of view. James started a new trend of making a main character the narrator, thus giving readers a more limited knowledge and perspective of the plot of the novella. He also sparked a debate among literary critics over whether or not the Governess was “telling” the truth in her narration.
In conclusion, The Turn of the Screw is an exceptional novella because of its modern adaptations, the author’s influential life experiences, and his revolutionary use of point of view. You want more you say? Well you’ll have to look that up online yourself. There are over nine thousand reasons to read TOTS, for example: www.1227.com.