19 February 2008

Dr. Bickford

ENGL 300

            Wayne C. Booth seeks to answer two large questions in his essay on Henry James's The Turn of the Screw: what is the value of reading and responding to The Turn of the Screw, and furthermore, what is the value of reading and responding to the great volume of criticism associated with it?  To answer these questions, Booth first discusses his method of approach; what he calls "ethical criticism."  This form of criticism focuses on what it is that stories do to the disposition and fundamental character of those who immerse themselves in the story.  This line of discussion makes perfect sense in light of Booth's goals for the essay.  If he wishes to find what value literature has for the reader, it is only logical to concentrate on the effect that literature has on the reader.  From here, Booth moves on to recounting various readings of The Turn of the Screw, placing them in three broad categories  -- the straight reading, the ironic, and the mazed.  In documenting these responses, Booth elucidates not only the great difference among the readings but also the variety within each reading.   With each reading Booth attempts to show the value that particular reading may have on hypothetical "friends"  by showing what effect that reading may have on that person's mindset.   Having answered his first large question, Booth moves on to discuss his second.   Again, Booth emphasizes the perspective of the reader in answering this question.  Booth puts the readers into the  straight/ironic/mazed categories and shows that for each one there is value in literary criticism.

            In his essay, Booth clearly writes from the perspective of a reader-oriented critic; his description of his own "ethical criticism" makes this clear enough.  This ethical criticism seems closely related to Stanley Fish's statements on reader-oriented criticism: both emphasize what the story does to the reader.  As Booth asks about a story, "What will this story do to anyone who allows himself ... to get caught up in the events...?" (241-2).   Booth continues to make his reader-oriented slant clear when he emphasizes which readings he would guide hypothetical readers to.  Here, Booth embraces the concept of forestructure -- the unique experiences and value and belief systems that an individual brings to a text.  Booth admits that a reader's forestructure (though he doesn't use the word) may make them prone to one reading over another; however, Booth locates some of the value in criticism in its ability to persuade readers to engage a story in unfamiliar ways.  He does this by suggesting readings  that would challenge preconceptions of hypothetical readers with certain forestructures.  Forestructure is hardly the only concept of reader-oriented criticism found in Booth's essay.  By placing importance on literary criticism as a discussion, Booth is validating the idea of an interpretive community; further, when Booth cautions readers not to take details out of context, but instead to "judge in the context of what is seen as that total experience," he embraces the notions of aesthetic reading and transactional experience -- experiencing the text fully as an aesthetic object and interacting with it to develop meaning.  The presence of such ideas indicate Booth's essay is written from a reader-oriented perspective.

Work Cited

Booth, Wayne. "'He began to read to our hushed little circle': Are We Blessed or Cursed by Our Life with The Turn of the Screw?" The Turn of the Screw. By Henry James. Ed. Peter Beidler. 3rd ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. 

Martin's, 2010. 287-301. Print. Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism.