The Turn Of The Screw

For this unit I have chosen to use the book, The turn of the screw as my main source. I decided on this book as it was not one that I had particularly heard of before, therefore I wanted to learn more about the storyline and work with a character I did not know. 

The turn of the screw was written by Henry James in 1898. It is a gothic ghost story about the lives of two young children, Miles and Flora who live in a country estate with Mrs Grose, the maid. The narrator of the story comes from the governess of the house, who is there looking after the children. The governess begins to see a strange man and woman roaming the grounds of the house who she does not know. She believes them to be ghosts and learns from Mrs Grose that they are former employees of the house, Mrs Jessel and Peter Quint. They had a very close relationship with Flora and Miles before their deaths which lead to both ladies believing that they also were aware of the ghost's. The appearances continue and on one night Flora is unexpectedly missing from her room. Both women search for Flora in the hope that they find her. The governess, has the idea to look for her when the ghosts have been appearing in the woods. Flora is confronted about the appearances of the ghosts however she denies ever seeing them. The governess also speaks to miles about this and at the same time the ghost of Peter Quint appears at the window. The ghost is controlling Miles and this becomes to known to the governess. She tries to protect Miles and covers his face so he can not see. She tries to tell Miles that he cannot be controlled by him, however as she looks down Miles has died and the ghost has gone. 

Character 
For my chosen character, I have decided to look at the portrayal of Peter Quint. I have chosen this character as the book gives many descriptions of his appearance and information about him. As well as this, I also enjoyed the role of his character throughout and the eeriness that he portrays. He is thought to have died due to a fatal slip and a large wound on his head which I could look at completing in a make-up look. 

Appearance and Personality

• Red hair
• Close-curled
• Pale face
• Handsome
• Dark, arched eyebrows
• Sharp eyes, yet small
• Thin lips
• Clean shaven with slight stubble
• The governess describes him as an unnaturally white, silent “horror.
• Clever 

References

LLC, S. (2016) The turn of the screw. Available at: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/screw/summary.html (Accessed: 26 January 2016).

James, J.H., James, H. and Appelbaum, S. (1991) The turn of the screw. New York: Dover Publications.