Henry James’ “The Turn of the Screw” Essay

At first glance, it would reckon that Henry James The Turn of the spot and Tim Burtons Edward Scissorhands feed still one thing in common they ar some(prenominal) from the black letter genre. unless upon opinioning closer, one will notice that in that respect ar a number of other similar traits among the dickens. at that place be noticeable similarities between Edward and the Governess, as well as similarities between Edward and the deuce children in The Turn of the Screw, Miles and Flora. There argon also general themes which the devil share images of a holy society, as well as onlookers who flip no control over the situation. both(prenominal) The Turn of the Screw and Edward Scissorhands incur many traditional features of the Gothic genre. However, when compared to each other, it is institute that The Turn of the Screw has more than of the traditional gothic elements. These include things a great deal(prenominal) as the sable setting an atmosphere of myster y and suspense that is present end-to-end the constitutional novel visions, which are a regular occurrence for the Governess wizardly events such as the ghosts and the possessions of the children high emotion women threatened by male persons, which is found on the many occasions in which the Governess feels threatened by Quint and there are many instances in which the women of the novel are in distress. In spite of this, a number of these elements can also be found in Edward Scissorhands, if not to a lesser extent.These include elements such as the setting bit the entire movie does not take purpose in a gothic setting, there are propagation where the viewer is able to see Edwards original home a mysterious, gloomy castle an atmosphere of mystery and suspense, which is an underlying theme through and throughout the movie visions to some extent experienced by the Boggs neighbour and supernatural events largely, the boilersuit creation of Edward. Other elements that are sim ilar between the dickens are women in distress in Edward Scissorhands, this is largely Kim and women threatened by males shown in scenes with Kim and her threatening boyfriend, Jim.There are not only similarities between the overall genre of The Turn of the Screw and Edward Scissorhands, but between the fictional characters as well. There are striking similarities between the Governess, the narrator of the book, and Edward, the main character of the movie. One of the most prominent is thatnevery of these lead characters consider much experience in the real world, as is evident through their actions and words. However, the Governess and Edward deal with this in different ways. Edward is generally dazed and confused just about everything. Nevertheless, Edward is willing to learn, and is open to being taught.In contrast, the Governess reacts to her lack of experience by acting as though she is knowledgeable. She is unwilling to try other methods, and refuses to bear in mind to o thers who might know better. twain characters were also taught the difference between mature and wrong. Edward is taught this by the inventor, while the Governess is taught this through both her upbringing, and by her bugger off. Both Edward and the Governess are taught this in theory, but have never experienced it in practice that is, they have never been able to apply the idea of responsibility and wrong to the real world.Additionally, there are a number of similarities between Edward, and the two children, Miles and Flora. Both have overbearing female or receive figures in their lives. In Edwards case, this is his foster mother, Peg, who tends to be more fondness towards him, and looks out for him. In the childrens case, this is the Governess. However, unlike Peg, the Governess coddles the children, spending all her fourth dimension with them and not letting them out of her sight. Both of them are also deuced for something which they didnt do, or which never happened. Edw ard is framed for the robbery and murder, which had the potential to let down him in trouble with the law. This was a deliberate blame and set up. On the other hand, Miles and Flora were accused of seeing ghosts, and lying about it. However, in contrast to Edwards situation, we never know whether this real happened but either way, it wasnt a deliberate setup.There are even more similarities between Edward and the two children. Both of these characters are abandoned by their father figure. In Edwards case, this is in the death of his inventor. Because of this, Edward has to learn to do for himself, and as a result, is confused about how to act correctly. This differs to Miles and Flora though their parents die, and their uncle effectively abandons him, they still have people who are willing to look after them, such as Mrs Grose and the Governess. They are also both reckon by the people around them. The companionship idealises Edward he is treated as a phase, the latest craze. They have preconceived notions of him, but dont take the sentence to get to know him and see if theyre actually true. In the childrens case, this is where the Governess idealises Miles and Flora.She imagines them to be so staring(a) and innocent, but she doesnt take the time to get to know them. Because of this, when they act differently to the demeanor she expects of them, she thinks something is wrong. Edward and Miles are both seen to have jeopardyous characters, and because of this they eventually become shunned or kicked out though the extent to which this happen differs. Miles is seen as a danger to the other children, and is kicked out of his school, but he is not rejected or shunned overall, just from one place. In contrast, Edward is eventually shunned by society as a whole because they dont meet him. As a result of this, he is rejected by society, and becomes an outcast.The narrative structure of the two texts is also quite similar. Both of them are told by a female, and in the first person. This viewpoint makes the story seem more personal, as it gives the endorser or the viewer a better insight into what really took place. Both stories also start off in the present tense, with someone lecture about the events which had previously taken place, before going into an account of the story. However, in The Turn of the Screw, we never go sticker to the original setting, whereas in Edward Scissorhands we are taken back to the original storyteller to finish the story. In both instances, it also gives the feel of the storyteller holding onto the secret, and waiting for the right time and place to finally tell their story to a willing audience.There are a number of general things which are common in both the texts. One of these is that both The Turn of the Screw and Edward Scissorhands have onlookers that have no control over the story, and dont fully understand what is going on. In Edward Scissorhands, the onlooker is Kim Pegs daughter who is a s ilent observer, and unsure as to what is happening. In The Turn of the Screw, this onlooker is Mrs Grose. Mrs Grose has no control over the actions of any of the other characters, and is forced to sit back and watch as the events take place around her, not fully knowing what isgoing on. Another theme common in both texts, as well as being common in the gothic genre, is the idea of a woman being threatened by a powerful, impulsive, controlling male.In The Turn of the Screw, this is Quint, who, though dead, makes the Governess feel threatened. In Edward Scissorhands, the male is Jim Kims boyfriend. She feels threatened by his actions, and especially at his reaction to Edward. But the most obvious similarity between the two texts is that both have a perfect society, which slowly falls away, leaving the reviewer with an image of a very tainted place. In Edward Scissorhands, the community that he lives in is regarded as perfect, with everyone being accepting of him. However, as the stor y progresses, the perfect image falls away and we are left with a community that is biased and judgemental. In The Turn of the Screw, it first appears as though everything is perfect particularly the beauty of Bly, and the childrens characters, but we soon learn that it isnt.Overall, while there are some aspects of the texts which are wholly different, there are too many similarities for one to say that they are not likewise in some way. These similarities are shown in a number of areas in the genre, the narrative structure, the characters actions and thoughts, as well as the overall themes and ideas which are introduced. However, whether The Turn of the Screw and Edward Scissorhands are similar or entirely different, they are both classic examples of the gothic genre of fiction.