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Bronte's portrayal of characters
Hero characteristics in a story and role
Hero characteristics in a story and role
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Hareton Earnshaw is the only male character in Wuthering Heights who can be called a hero.
A hero is a character who is motivated by his morals; to do what he thinks is right. He is noble, honest, usually of high social class and well respected. In Wuthering Heights, Hareton Earnshaw possesses some of the qualities a typical hero would have. However, while I think he does have some heroic characteristics, I believe out of all the hero archetypes, Hareton would most likely be an anti-hero. An anti-hero is a character with good and bad qualities. He is generally a flawed outsider, who defies conventions. I think out of the male characters in Wuthering Heights, I believe Heathcliff would be considered more of a hero than Hareton, as he possesses
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Bronte says, ‘His dress and speech were both rude, entirely devoid of the superiority observable in Mr. and Mrs. Heathcliff; his thick brown curls were rough and uncultivated’. The use of the word ‘uncultivated’ when describing his curls is a metaphor for what Hareton’s nature is. It shows that he lives wild, with no rule. A typical anti-hero does not abide to the typical values and rules that society has put in place. A hero’s typical outer appearance is clean and you can generally tell when looking at a hero that he is superior. Hareton lacks the elegance and charm a hero would typically have; his roughness shows that he lives freely, not abiding to societies norms, which makes him an anti-hero. His outer appearance gives no indication of him being a …show more content…
A Byronic hero is typically arrogant, rebellious, anti-social, and darkly and enticingly romantic. They have a tendency to be influenced by past events and they are driven by all-consuming passion.
Heathcliff lives in exile. Wuthering Heights is described as a place, ‘fixed on a situation so completely removed from the stir of society’. Like a typical Byronic hero, Heathcliff possesses the typical reclusive nature that is common in Byronic heroes.
Heathcliff is full of passionate love. When Catherine dies he says, ‘You say I killed you, haunt me then’. This bold statement is very typical of a Byronic hero, as they are not known for simple love. The request for Catherine to haunt Heathcliff is outrageous and immoral as he is calling upon spirits and disturbing their peaceful rest. The typical Victorian Era reader would have been absolutely appalled at this sinfulness. A Byronic hero’s passionate love would make them say such a bold statement; their love is not small. This makes Heathcliff a Byronic
What is a hero? Is it someone who pulls a drowning child out of a lake or is it someone such as Nelson Mandela who inspires others to be better? I believe it is both. Although the two differ in what makes them a hero, they are still a hero. That being said, when comparing the British characters Beowulf and Sir Gawain, I found that both fit the hero archetype. Beowulf and Sir Gawain will be compared on the hero archetype characteristics of being better than the ordinary man, proving oneself many times, and having a tragic flaw.
A hero is defined as a person who is admired for courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. A hero is strong in mind and body, courageous in spirit, and selfless where others are involved. Superman and Beowulf both exhibit these characteristics. The differences between Beowulf and Superman are as obvious as their similarities.
We see his pride, his passion and sensitivity; we see that he is very close to nature: all of these things are genetic character traits, visible in Hareton's father and aunt, Hindley and Catherine Earnshaw. With Heathcliff, his nurture enhances parts of his personality, whereas in Hareton's nurture, his nature is dulled and moulded so it is less extreme. This is done by denying Hareton of experience. At the end of the novel, Hareton is very much a product of his nature; Cathy's nurturing allows this to change.
A parallel description is given to Heathcliff when he is called, in one instance of the Brontean text «dark almost as if [he] came from the devil” (Emily Bronte: 36)
Wuthering Heights seems to be a series of destructive decisions. Heathcliff and Catherine never achieve a life of happiness together; their actions cannot lead to a blissful ending. The other characters are guilty of creating their own strife, whether from personal faults or lack of wisdom. In a way, Emily Bronte’s ability to weave flaws into each person’s character lends a sense of reality or humanness to the novel; no one is seen as entirely good or bad. Without lecturing her readers, Bronte demonstrates just how regrettable succumbing to impulses can be. I realized while reading that even though their lives have an aspect of romance, I would never want to live the way that they did.
A hero is considered to be any man noted for courage or nobility of Purpose; especially, one who has risked or sacrificed his life. In Ken Kesey's novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the reader can see how McMurphy is a prime example of a hero. McMurphy's strength embodies a heroic devotion to the other acutes on the ward.
A hero is a man of courage and ability who is admired for his brave deeds and noble qualities. A hero is a person who does not come along very often in any time period. He is a special person, who is a step above the average person in the way that he handles any situation that may arise.
In the novel Wuthering Heights, author Emily Brontë portrays the morally ambiguous character of Heathcliff through his neglected upbringing, cruel motives, and vengeful actions.
Wuthering Heights is a symbol of the distinctive commotion, which is the overriding force in Bronte’s novel. A force that will damage, twist and harm anyone that comes across it. The actual meaning of the word ‘wuthering’ is a wind blowing strongly with a roaring sound. This picture serves as a metaphor that people, money, emotions, love etc… will be in jeopardy if not hold tight. Above all, this novel is obviously about love, a different and odd love. Emotions and love in this novel turn out to be very violent, brutal and ruthless just like wuthering.
On the face of it, it would seem that the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff is self-destructive to an extreme. Due to the lovers’ precarious circumstances, passionate personalities and class divisions, it seems that fate transpires to keep them apart and therefore the hopelessness of their situation drives them to self destruction. However, although the relationship is undeniably self-destructive, there are elements within it that suggest the pain Heathcliff and Catherine put each other through is atoned for to an extent when they share their brief moments of harmony.
They became very close friends; they were practically brother and sister (Mitchell 122). Heathcliff is intent upon pleasing Catherine. He would “do her bidding in anything” (Brontë 30). He is afraid of “grieving” her (Brontë 40). Heathcliff finds solace and comfort in Catherine’s company.
In "Wuthering Heights," we see tragedies follow one by one, most of which are focused around Heathcliff, the antihero of the novel. After the troubled childhood Heathcliff goes through, he becomes embittered towards the world and loses interest in everything but Catherine Earnshaw –his childhood sweetheart whom he had instantly fallen in love with.—and revenge upon anyone who had tried to keep them apart.
Wuthering Heights is a novel whose main character is said to have a double significance. He is said to be both the dispossessed and the dispossessor, victim of class hatred and arch – exploiter, he simultaneously occupies the roles of working class outsider and brutal capitalist. Heathcliff has all these characteristics because of his experiences. He is a character moulded by his past.
Lord George Gordon Byron was the most controversial poet of the romantic era. Byron works consisted of common themes during the romantics such as high romance and the love of nature and tragic loss. He created the idea of the hero being a tragic figure who is born to desire something that they will never accomplish. Through this Byron created and perfected the idea of the Byronic hero. Byron first used this in his poem, “Childe Harold's Pilgrimage”. The work introduced us to who would late become the example of a Byronic hero or character (Manning). The idea of the Byronic hero is one that consists of many different characteristics. The hero must have a rather high level of intelligence and perception as well as be able to easily adapt to new situations and use cunning to his own gain. It is clear from this description that this hero is well educated and by extension is rather sophisticated in his style. Aside from the obvious charm and attractiveness that this automatically creates, he struggles with his integrity, being prone to mood swings or bipolar tendencies. Generally, the hero has a disrespect for any figure of authority, thus creating the image of the Byronic hero as an exile or an outcast. The hero also has a tendency to be arrogant and cynical, indulging in self-destructive behavior which leads to the need to seduce women. Although his sexual attraction through being mysterious is rather helpful, this sexual attraction often gets the hero into trouble (Wikipedia). In Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte had a character that fit this description very well in Mr Rochester. But instead it was the influence of the culture surrounding the idea of the Byronic hero that made Rochester seem Byronic. Rochester seen through multiple examp...
In the novel Wuthering Heights, the dark and mysterious Heathcliff once began his life with an open heart, but after mistreatment from Edgar and Hindley he turns to revenge. Heathcliff's actions are reasonable; he has been hurt from the unfair reason of discrimination. Heathcliff slowly becomes sickly obsessed with planning an elaborate revenge after eavesdropping a conversation between his beloved Catherine to Nelly. He hears his young beautiful and idolized Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff” (77). Heathcliff, heartbroken and hopeless, abruptly leaves Wuthering Height for two years. Catherine is left wondering where he is. Heathcliff leaves in search of revenge.