The em dash, often formed in print by two hyphens without separation, is a piece of punctuation "stronger than a comma, less formal than 'a colon, and more relaxed than parentheses' (Strunk and White 9). Traditionally, a hyphen indicates an abrupt change of thought, informal in nature, and often acts as a parenthesis for emphasis. A myriad of functions and applications, this particular element of punctuation often appears in the works of literary realists and naturalists. The hyphen is used to highlight mental infirmities, to accurately depict disjointed or faltering thoughts and speech, and to reveal the emotional state of characters. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Turn of the Screw by Henry James features a staggering number of hyphens that, as the story winds its way through complex ambiguities and veiled horrors, serve to emphasize and accentuate instability mentality of the young governess. James' use of the dash not only acts as a way to enhance the choppy and rushed atmosphere, but also to create a scene of miscommunication, misjudgment, and excessive suspicion. Charlotte Perkins Gilman's short work, "The Yellow Wallpaper," echoes James's method of using the dash as a tool to expose mental instability—in Gilman's case, the latent insanity of John's wife. Gilman's work, however, uses momentum to fight back against a society that stifled its women under the guise of domesticity. Features of Gilman's story often elicit a sarcastic or rebellious tone; it is from these small statements that the main character communicates his discontent and his convictions without fear of reprisals from his guardians. The appearance of the dash in Stephen Crane's The Red Badge of Courage is often representative of a tense or agitated mental state. This unrest is the result of intense fighting and the resulting mortal danger of armed conflict. The features of Crane's novel create an abrupt and often discontinuous thought and conversation that realistically mimics the diminished ability to think and speak on a battlefield. The features of Crane's work also capture and emphasize the emotions of his characters through repetition of speech. Henry's repeated pleas to Jim, the musings of untested soldiers, and several other examples use repetition to depict emotionally charged scenes. The Turn of the Screw uses the dash to weave a story rich in ambiguity and cultivate an atmosphere of suspicion and dread. . When speaking to each other, the governess and Mrs. Grose perpetually finish each other's sentences. "Did she see anything in the boy..." begins the governess, whose sentence ends, "It wasn't true? She never told me" by Mrs. Grose (James 12) The hyphen denotes the governess's fear of immorality or impropriety. She seeks to discover whether Miles is capable of misbehaving but avoids stepping out of bounds by leaving the question incomplete. having to finish her statement also contributes to the ambiguous nature of the story The reader does not truly witness the governess's question because her thoughts have been completed by another individual. These lines represent the ideas not of one. , but from two different people The young governess herself is interrupted when she asks Miles: “and these things happened…”; Miles finishes his sentence: “Oh yes!” (James 86). Once again,the interruption hinders communication. The governess has not yet fully expressed herself, which means that Miles must speak with some assumption to complete his thought. This propensity to interrupt and be interrupted provides insight into the governess's mental insecurities. When Mrs. Grose assures the governess that Miles “couldn't stop her” from learning of the existence of an inappropriate relationship between him and Quint, the governess cuts her off with derision: “Did you learn the truth? I dare say it! (James 35-6). Although the young woman has recently arrived and knows little of the history of the children and the mansion, she quickly mocks Miles' innocence. Mrs. Grose's interruption, represented by the dash, and the governess's willingness to readily believe suppositions both emphasize her mental instability. Quickly interrupting Mrs. Grose, the governess came to a hasty conclusion, relying on scant evidence to cast doubt on Miles. The governess's reflections also contain traits that give insight into her character: she had “immersed herself again in Flora's particular society and there she realized that it was almost a luxury! -- that she could place her little conscious hand directly on the place that hurt her” (James 33). This exclamation, underlined with dashes, in the middle of a thought, illustrates the governess's instability. Describing Flora as a very perceptive person who uses her abilities in devious ways, the Governess returns in hyphens by praising her "society" with Flora. Here, the dashes indicate a single thought oscillating between praise and disapproval. This also adds to the ambiguous nature of the novel by obscuring the governess's true thoughts. By going back and forth with his feelings, James makes it difficult for the reader to form a concrete idea of ​​the governess's true motivations and character. In a manner reminiscent of Henry James, Charlotte Perkins Gilman uses the hyphen as a means of emphasizing mental breakdown in her short story "The Yellow Wallpaper". The hyphen is also used in Gilman's story to criticize the treatments prescribed to the main character by her husband, in effect criticizing contemporary methods of psychological treatment in the author's time. Upon arriving at the mansion, the main character states: “I'm scared, but I don't care – there's something strange in the house – I can feel it” (News 75). The dashes foreshadow further investigation into the house and reveal that the woman is on the verge of mentally deteriorating. A connection was established between the woman and the manor; she can sense the nature of the house. Curious, the main character describes the nursery in which she and her husband stay. In this child's room there are wallpapers with flamboyant patterns that "when you follow the lame, uncertain curves for a little distance, they suddenly commit suicide - dive at scandalous angles, destroy themselves in unheard-of contradictions" (Short Stories 76). The development of patterns following the line creates a personality or a being from the wallpaper; the protagonist began to attribute qualities to the wallpaper that gave it a much more complex presence than just paper. The active qualities with which the paper is described – plunging and destroying – begin to bring the paper to life. This in turn demonstrates that the woman's mental state is deteriorating. His mental breakdown is vividly portrayed by telling his crazy stories in a down-to-earth tone. The supernatural details of the manger are explained as if they were entirely real, emphasizing how deranged the woman has become. Written in part to refute the cure for, 2000.