Narrative Structures in Wuthering Heights and Heart of Darkness

Wuthering Heights and Heart of Darkness

As one studies different time periods of British Literature, he can began to identify certain elements of different pieces of literature and compare how they are alike and how they are different. I will briefly describe how Wuthering Heights and Heart of Darkness share similar and different characteristics.

Emily Bronte wrote Wuthering Heights in the latter part of the Romantic Period. The novel also contained elements that could be seen as Victorian. The novel is described as a narrative structure because it is told through another's point of view. The first character, Lockwood introduces the reader to his new landlord, Heathcliff by his entries in his diary.

Joseph Conrad wrote Heart of Darkness in the nineteenth century. This story exhibits similarities to Wuthering Heights because it also has a narrative structure. Joseph Conrad uses the character, Charlie Marlow, to tell his adventures in African Congo to his fellow crewmembers.

The difference of these two pieces is in the manner in which narrative structure is used. In Wuthering Heights, the reader becomes involved with many characters telling their interpretations. For example, the novel begins with Lockwood who gives the reader his version in a flashback mode. Then the story turns to the housekeeper, Nelly, who combines the past but still manages to foreshadow the future. Cathy also forms part of the narrative structure by using her diary entries to convey to the reader her inner feelings.

Heart of Darkness is told entirely through Charlie Marlow. He captures the reader through his detailed encounters with the unfamiliar landscape of the African Congo and the people whom he meets along the way. The entire story is told in past tense and the reader almost forgets this until one of the crewmembers interjects with a question or comment.