Wuthering Heights: Nelly the Narrator
Emily Bronte wrote the book Wuthering Heights from the narrative point of view of Nelly, a servant who lived most of her life with Catherine. Many have questioned why Bronte would do so. Why did she not choose someone with more knowledge? Why did she not choose a major character like Heathcliff or Catherine? The choice to make Nelly the narrator is what makes the book so great. She is one who qualifies most to be the narrator.
This book is very much about love and hate, and Nelly is the one who is totally un-opinionated about the characters. She was like a mother figure, always there for everybody, and listened to them. That is what made her a good narrator because she always knew how everyone felt. She lived At Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange all her life, and experienced the first and second generation, therefore she knew exactly what went on. If Heathcliff was the narrator, you would not know how Isabella or Edgar felt due to their lack of communication or friendship. Although Heathcliff's opinion’s are valuable, Nelly's knowledge is more valuable because she got along with and talked to everybody.
Nelly never really had a life of her own because she lived at Wuthering Heights all her life. Therefore, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange were her life. Nelly was more than a servant, and had a personal relationship with most of the characters. This is why her story is so efficient, and her lack of knowledge not as important. S...
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...rst generation were left Thrushcross Grange.
In the end, we realize that Nelly was more than a servant. She was a part of their lives, and considerably a major character. Without the presence of Nelly, the book would not be the same. Catherine and Heathcliff would not have anyone to consult or look after them. There really was not a mother in the story, but Nelly is practically everyone's mother. It is very questionable, but Nelly could be more important than Heathcliff (who is
more likely favored to being the most important.)
NOTES
***SEVERAL TIMES SEMICOLONS WERE USED AFTER AN INTRODUCTORY CLAUSE WHEN COMMAS SHOULD HAVE BEEN USED***
***WATCH VERB TENSE! MAKE SURE IT STAYS CONSISTENT WHEN YOU ARE RECALLING THE EVENTS OF THE STORY!***
The character of Esther is widely criticized for her perfection as a character, both receiving positive acclaims and negative feedback. Esther’s reserved, quiet character illustrates the role of women during the Victorian period and what little impact on society women played. Critics of Bleak House generally praise the narration and Dickens’s use of Esther’s character, which gives direction to the novel.
[12] Ho, Carolyn Y, MD; López, Begoña, PhD; Coelho-Filho, Otavio R, MD; Lakdawala, Neal K, MD; Cirino, Allison L, MS, CGC; Jarolim, Petr, MD, PhD; Kwong, Raymond, MD; González, Arantxa, PhD; Colan, Steven D, MD; Seidman, JG, PhD; Díez, Javier, MD, PhD; Seidman, Christine E, MD. (2010) Myocardial Fibrosis as an Early Manifestation of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Boston, MA: Massachusetts Medical Society
Snyder, H.N., & Sickmund, M. (1995). Juvenile offenders and victims: A national report. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
There is two stereotypical types of families, one where the children learn from their parents behavior and do the same as they grow up, and the other where they dislike – and do the opposite. In Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights, the characters are quite intricate and engaging. The story takes place in northern England in an isolated, rural area. The main characters of the novel reside in two opposing households: Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. Wuthering Heights is a story of a dynamic love between two people. This love transcends all boundaries, including that over life and death. The author takes parallelism to great extends. Much of the events that happen in the first half of the story correspond to events in the second half; first generation of characters is comparable to the second generation. Many may argue that the characters are duplicates of each other and that they share many traits. Although Catherine Earnshaw and Cathy Linton are mother and daughter, their personalities and lifestyles are very different. This is a great example where the child is and behaves quite different than her mother.
Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is a treatment or cure that is given additionally along with doctor’s care. There are many different CAMs such as acupuncture, hypnosis, yoga, massage and herbal therapy. They are very popular in Asia, especially among Chinese communities. However, the use of CAM is very limited in the health care system of many Western countries, including Canada, due to several reasons. In my point of view, it should be formally recognized and provided as a part of mainstream health care system. Firstly, people nowadays would prefer complementary and alternative medicine rather than conventional medicine. Secondly, the altitude of healthcare professionals has changed a lot, most of young physicians are now considering the use of CAMs into their practice. Finally, the government needs to regulate some of the CAM treatments so in order to promote the use of CAMs and create a better healthcare system.
Within such a work of art, Emily Bronte described and unlocked many truths about how it’s human nature to perform selfish acts. The actions that Catherine, Heathcliff and Linton all completed were out of love, horror, and hatred.
Suarez, Eliana and Tahany Gadalla. (2010). Stop blaming the victim: A meta-analysis on rape myths. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 25(11), 2010-2035. doi:10.1177/0886260509354503
Three million bullying incidents are reported each year in the U.S. and over 160,000 kids skip school each day because they are scared of being bullied (Havenrich). Suicide is the third leading cause of death for 15 to 24 year olds and sixth leading cause of death for 5 to 14 year olds ("Bullying"). Bullying has been going on for decades (Garby), and goes unnoticed by many everyday. One out of every four school students encounters taunting, teasing, shoving, and called names daily by school bullies (Havenrich). Bullying happens on the playground, during class, and to and from school (Wright). Bullying has become a big issue and some states are making laws to stop bullying (Garby). It damages the people being bullied, effects the bully himself, and sometimes the people that did not take part in the bullying.
Heathcliff and Catherine have loved each other since their childhood. Initially, Catherine scorned the little gypsy boy; she showed her distaste by “spitting” at him (Brontë 27). However, it was not long before Heathcliff and Catherine became “very think” (Brontë 27). 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. When Catherine is compelled to stay at Thrushcross Grange to recover from her injury, she returns as “a very dignified person” (Brontë 37). Her association with the gente...
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In the 1847 novel of Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte brilliantly employs frame narrative in order to tell a story within a story. The character of Ellen Dean, known formally as Nelly, tells of the past and present from her first person perspective, to the visiting Mr. Lockwood. She depicts the events as she recalls them that transpired during her years at the respective houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. She talks of the past as she remembers it, and also from what she sees, hears or finds out through the other characters’ words and actions. Although Nelly is basing the characters solely on her own interpretation of them, she is a pretty reliable source, having grown up with the first generation of characters and cared for the second. She grew up on the moors and her life revolves around the Earnshaws and the Lintons, whom she serves in more ways than one. Nelly’s devotion as well as criticism allows her to be a faithful servant throughout the years, as well as a sounding board for the other character’s problems. This allows her to narrate with some credibility because she’s witnessed and been involved in private moments between these two intertwining families all her life. Without her account of the events that took place on the Yorkshire moors, it would all be a mystery. In Wuthering Heights, Bronte depicts Nelly as the servant, confidant and mother figure and without her narrative the story would not be as plausible.
The story of Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights has been one of the most influential and powerful piece of literature ever written. After being published, it garnered a lot of interest because of the theme that was deemed misleading and critically unfit for society. The main theme of the book revolves around the evolution of love, passion and cruelty.
Bronte's Use of Language and Setting in Wuthering Heights Between pages 15 and 18 there are identifiable ways in which 'Bronte' uses 'language and setting' to establish the characters and create a distinguishable atmosphere. In this essay, themes, genres and styles will be discussed to show how 'Bronte' establishes the characters; there will also be a discussion of the 'gothic' elements which Wuthering Heights contains. Many people would argue that the style of 'Wuthering Heights' is peculiar and complex, the power of Wuthering Heights owes much to its complex narrative structure and to the device of having two conventional people relate a very unconventional tale. Bronte importantly introduces the element of 'the supernatural' into chapter 3 which is an important technique as it grips the reader. Lockwood has come into contact with the ghost of Cathy, who died 18 years before, Some might argue that she is a product of Lockwood's imagination, and it is clear that Bronte has presented these facts in this way so that the reader can make up their own mind on the subject.
Emily Bronte, who never had the benefit of former schooling, wrote Wuthering Heights. Bronte has been declared as a “romantic rebel” because she ignored the repressive conventions of her day and made passion part of the novelistic tradition. Unlike stereotypical novels, Wuthering Heights has no true heroes or villains.
Gerard Genette focuses on the narration of the novel by analysing focalisation, the narrative mode, the use of intrusive authors and the way time is handled in a text. Each of these contributes to a readers understanding and appreciation of a text. Focalisation is one of the key features in Narratology effectively facilitates readers to comprehend the text. Bronte adopts the literary technique dual narration in Wuthering Heights; this is when two characters narrate. The two characters that narrate, via internal focalisation in the novel, are Lockwood and Nelly. Internal focalisation is when a narrator has ‘witnessed...learned about, or even participated in the events they tell.’ (Barry, 2009, pp. 225-226) This is imperative to understanding literature; an example of this in the novel is when Nelly says ‘a ...