The Turn of the Screw

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Reading Check

1. What does the governess believe her first duty is after arriving in Bly?

2. Why did Miles leave his bed to go down to the gardens during the night?

3. Which sight makes the governess change her mind about leaving her post?

4. How does Flora react when the governess insists that Miss Jessel is across the pond?

5. According to Mrs. Grose, where did Flora learn the words that are “beyond everything for a lady?”

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. According to Douglas’s story, what are the conditions under which the young woman becomes governess? Whom is she looking after and what are the terms of her employment?

2. After learning that Miles has been expelled from school, what important information does the governess learn from Mrs. Grose?

3. Describe the unusual and unsettling sights that the governess begins to see at Bly. How does she learn about these sights?

4. What conclusion does the governess come to surrounding the strange circumstances of Bly? What is Mrs. Grose’s suggestion and how does the governess react?

5. Why does Mrs. Grose leave Bly? How does her departure frame the end of the story?

Paired Resource

“The Endless Horror of Ghost Story The Turn of the Screw”

• The BBC analyzes the enduring impact of James’s story in contemporary literature and media.
• This article reflects on the same themes of James’s story: Ambiguity and The Limits of Knowledge, Sexuality and The End of Innocence and The Social Control of Female Identity.
• According to the above article, what was James’s inspiration for his story? How has this story shaped future generations of supernatural and thriller writers?

Recommended Next Reads

The Portrait of a Lady by Henry James

• James’s novel, which was published as a serial from 1880-1881, follows a young woman as she enters society to find an eligible match for marriage.
• James’s novel focuses on exploring Sexuality and The End of Innocence and The Social Control of Female Identity.
• Shared topics include serial publication, the role of women in the late 19th century, and societal expectations for different gender roles.
• The Portrait of a Lady on SuperSummary

The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson

• Jackson’s 1959 novel follows a researcher and his group as they examine an abandoned house for supernatural forces. Stephen King stated that this book, along with James’s The Turn of the Screw, is one of “only two great novels of the supernatural in the last hundred years.”
• Also fitting in the genre of Gothic literature, Jackson’s novel explores the same themes of Ambiguity and The Limits of Knowledge, Sexuality and The End of Innocence and The Social Control of Female Identity.
• Shared topics include supernatural forces, large and imposing properties, and an unresolved ending.
• The Haunting of Hill House on SuperSummary