UNIT 3: THE TURN OF THE SCREW

UNIT 3: THE TURN OF THE SCREW

(HENRY JAMES 1843 – 1916)
Retold by Christine Lindop

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY

     Henry James (1843 – 1916) was born in New York, but lived most of his life in Europe. He started writing as a young man, and his first work, Roderick Hudson, appeared in 1875. His best known stories include Washington Square (1881) and The Portrait of a Lady (1881). There have been several films of his famous ghost story, The Turn of the Screw (1989).
NOTES:

• governess: a woman who lives with and teaches children
• expell: to make someone leave school
• corrupt: to make someone bad
• dress up: to put on special clothes
• awful: terrible
• sense: feeling
• puzzled: when you can’t understand something
• pretend: to try to make somebody believe something
• horrify: to give someone a shock
• incredible: suprising and very difficult to believe
• cruel: unkind and willing to hurt people
• scared: afraid
• thank goodness: we say this when we feel happy because something good has happened
• desperately: without hope

Before reading

Activity 1:

+ Which of the ideas below do you think the author (Henry James) believed? Tick the correct box.

a. Ghosts are the lost souls of dead people. For some reason they can’t leave this world to go to heaven or hell.
b. Ghosts are the thoughts of dying people.
c. Ghosts show that there is life after death.
d. There are no ghosts at all in this world.

Answer:

Activity 2:

+ Which of these things do you think you will find in the story? Tick the correct box.

(a) a fatal accident
(b) madness
(c) a dangerous journey
(d) a murder
(e) a happy ending
(f) a ghost story

Answer:

While reading

Activity 3:
+ Listen to the speaker reading the first three chapters of the sotry “Bly”, “Peter Quint” and “The Woman in Black”. (from CD-ROM)
+ Listen and repeat after the speaker:

• ghost
• governess
• housekeeper
• Douglas
• angel
• envelop
• expelled
• corrupt
• Master
• shock
• tower
• thoughts
• relative
• servants
• monster
• whiskers
• instead
• evil
• protect
• stared
• dressed up
• candle
• darkness
• heart
• curtains
• disappeared

Activity 4:

+ Which words have the following transcription:

a. /'ewnd¥l/
b. /drest žp/
c. /'kf:tn/
d. /k∂'ržpt/
e. /ste∂rd/

Answers:

Activity 5:

+ Are these sentences true or false?

	TRUE	FALSE
a. Besides the teachers at Miles’ s old school, there are six characters in the story.
b. Flora and the Governess learn why Miles had to leave school.
c. Mrs. Grose sees Miss Jessel by the lake.
d. Quint was a gentleman.
e. Flora writes a letter to the uncle in London.
f. Mrs. Grose and Flora leave Bly.

Answers:

Activity 6:

+ Match the sentences with the people. Type the number in the correct box.

	a. The governess tells … about her conversation with Miles in his bedroom.	1.
	b. The governess saw … inside the house.	2.
	c. … was on the other side of the lake.	3.
	d. … wants his uncle to come.	4.

Answers:

Activity 7:

+ Find the words in the box to complete the governess’s diary:

bad          Ghost          heart           cruel         God         sadness

November 1898
That was the first time I saw (a) . Mrs. Grose told me that those were the ghosts of Quint and Jessel. They were very (b) and I was afraid that something (c) might happen to Miles and Flora. When Mrs. Grose took Flora away from Bly, a great (d) filled my (e) and I was nearly cried when my dear friend said goodbye. May (f) bless her ...

Answers:

Activity 8:

+ Use the following words to correct six mistakes in the story:

on the top of the tower     (The) governess     ghost     Flora     nice

a. Miss Jessel was the housekeeper at Bly.
b. The governess sees the ghost of Quint in her bedroom.
c. Mrs Grose sees Miss Jessel by the lake.
d. Mrs Grose isn’t in her bed when the governess comes back.
e. Miles and Flora are very cruel to the governess.
f. Quint was a gentleman.

Answers:

Activity 9:

+ Who says this in the story?

Miles      Mrs Grose      The governess      Flora

a. “Mrs Grose, you know that the master doesn’t want any worries.”
b. “I’m happy anywhere. But it’s not that. I want to see more of life.”
c. “I don’t know what you mean., I see nobody. I see nothing. I never have. I think you’re cruel. I don’t like you.”
d. “I’ll go. I’ll go today. She must leave Bly.”

Answers:

Activity 10:

+ Match these sentences with the pictures. Type the number in the correct box.

a. Who was this man?	1.
b. There was a woman on the other side of the lake.	2.
c. The children went on playing their games.	3.
d. “She’ll never speak to me again.”	4.
e. “I was fighting Quint for Miles”	5.
f. “I felt sure that we were not alone.”	6.

Answers:

After reading
Activity 11:
+ Put the following sentences in correct order. Number from 1 – 9. Start with (g).

a. The governess sees the man from the tower again through the window.
b. Mrs Grose explains that Quit was a bad man and is now dead.
c. The governess and Flora go into the garden.
d. The governess describes the man to Mrs Grose.
e. The governess feels sure there is someone else in the garden with them.
f. The governess decides to stop something bad happening to Miles and Flora.
g. The governess tries to learn more about the man on the tower.
h. Mrs Grose tells the governess the man was Peter Quint.
i. The governess is happy teaching Miles and Flora and forgets the man.

Answers:

Activity 12:
+ What happens in the end of the story? Tick the boxes.

	Yes	Perhaps	No
a. The governess left Bly.
b. The governess was happy after Mrs Grose and Flora left.
c. Miles took the governess’ s letter.
d. Mrs Grose told the governess the truth about Flora and Miles.
e. Miles said things to the other boys at his school.
f. The governess saw Quint’s ghost.

Answers: