Ways of Reading (fall 2003)

Project 1

This first project is an exercise in gathering, interpreting, and presenting evidence. This kind of work is the heart of a critical reading, the place where you build your insights and responses into an argument, and ground your claims in the text.

Please find 3 or 4 passages in Turn of the Screw that support your claim that the ghosts either are figments of the governess’s imagination or actually exist in the narrative. (If you’ve changed your mind since your response paper, that’s fine: you’re not bound by your initial opinion.) For each passage, explain how the textual details support your claim. This should include selecting important details for discussion, explaining how they support your claims, and discussing your claims in relation to these specific details.

(Please feel free, if you’d prefer, to adopt another argument—part of Felman’s, for instance, instead of Wilson’s or Heilman’s—or come up with your own claim.)

This is not a formal paper. You do not need an introduction or a conclusion; a single sentence stating your main claim is all you need (such as, “The ghosts really exist”). Likewise, your transitions between passages may be kept to a minimum (e.g. “Another passage that shows this is…”). The point is to pay close attention to nuances in the text and present an account (a reading) of them framed by an interpretive claim.

Papers should be 3-4 pages, normal font and margins, and are due in class Wednesday, September 24.