A Novella by Henry James AP Literature: Freire Charter School Ms. Stacey Day 2 November 12, 2014

 Today’s Learning Objectives: Review Vocab Unit G6: Sent Comps Victorian Ghosts Discussion  What do I put in the bin? Nothing  What do I need on my desk Notebooks open for Vocab Warm- up Who has something to make up? -- Who’s in the Writing Center? Zahkeyah

1. New teachers tend to lack ______, and this inability to watch and respond to their students’ unspoken needs can impede their classroom management. 2. Her contractions began _____, but once they were consistently two minutes apart, they left for the hospital. 3. The island resort featured a palm tree ___ --the leafy symbol was on everything from the dinner plates to the toilet paper! 4. To Karen and her mother-in-law, the decision about whether the baby should nap was _____ ; neither of the women could agreed, despite their frequent debates on the topic. 5. “Please treat the ___ kindly,” our boss admonished the seasoned veterans. “You were new to the business once, as well.”

 The Turn of the Screw is a “frame” – it is a story being told within a story.  One theory is that it was a “case report” (written by our narrator for paranormal investigators) being retold by one of these investigators.

 To Victorian readers, a character who claims to have seen a ghost was not taken as crazy…  …but later readers of this tale did question our narrator’s sanity. They read the story from a “psychological” lens.

 The Cambridge Ghost Club ( ) Researched and interviewed those who had experiences with the “otherworld” Published Phantasms of the Living  Real Ghost Stories  The Society for Psychical Research

 It was a holiday tradition for many Victorian Brits to gather round the hearth on Christmas Eve and tell spooky stories…

 The Turn of the Screw is one of the most influential ghost stories of all time: It still leaves readers guessing to this day...  James never clearly came out and told readers what he intended them to believe...  Key Literary Devices: Frame Suspense Many confusing plot twists

 The Supernatural Ghosts  As you read, ask yourself: In your opinion, are the ghosts really there? What could a ghost be a symbol of? How are people who claim to see spirits viewed by society?

 Innocence What exactly does "innocent" mean, anyway? Does it just mean free from guilt, or does it imply something a little broader – free from knowledge, perhaps?  As you read, ask yourself: Are children, by nature, innocent? Why or why not? Can you still be a “pure” person, even after witnessing “evil” things?

 Good vs. Evil Is it ever really that simple? Depending on how you read the story, different characters can get assigned to the sides of good and evil …  As you read, ask yourself: Why is it difficult to define individual people as either good or evil? Why are children typically seen as good? Why is it so troubling to view a child as evil? Are concepts of good and evil tied exclusively to religion?

 Appearances can be Deceiving Characters in The Turn of the Screw are basically judged entirely on their physical appearances – sweeping speculations are often made based simply on how people look.  As you read, ask yourself: How much do some characters “get away with” simply because of their appearance? What significance might the physical beauty of the certain characters have?

 Society and Class In Victorian England, there were vast class divisions, and people of different classes almost never mixed.  As you read, ask yourself: Pay attention to who is called a “gentleman” or a “lady” – and who is not. How much of the characters’ fears of others depend on their class rank?

 Repression The Victorian era was also a period infamous for its prim, proper exterior and wild, often truly bizarre interior …  As you read, ask yourself: What kinds of relationships do these people have? Why is so much left unsaid and/or implied?

 Gender The world of The Turn of the Screw is dominated by women, whose lives in turn are dominated by men, whether they know it or not. Gender plays a huge role in the characters’ relationships – pay particular attention to that fact that while sexuality is never, ever openly discussed, James definitely intended for his readers to think about how gender played into characters’ desires and power struggles.  As you read, ask yourself: How much can a woman ever truly control a man – even a male child? To what extent is the answer to that question influenced by time period? To what extent does the Victorian fear of homosexuality permeate this tale?

 Circulate the “gallery” quietly, responding to the prompts (and each other) with your marker.

 Read the Prologue (22-29), in which we meet our “frame-character”, Douglas. As you read, be conscientious of familiarizing yourself with paraphrasing James’ verbose sentences!  Vocab Unit G6 Packet/Quiz due Mon 11/17