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Social class at the time of charlotte bronte
Social class at the time of charlotte bronte
Social class at the time of charlotte bronte
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Recommended: Social class at the time of charlotte bronte
Neil Zhao
Honors English 10
Mrs. Cesaro
14 January, 2015
The Forces of Life: Storm Vs. Calm
At the outskirts of a time when capitalism and industrialization are changing in the society of the Post-1700 's, there lies a universal stratum made up of two opposite forces, storm and calm. Represented by the clash of elemental forces, Emily Brontё 's novel, "Wuthering Heights”, depicts two houses in England that are almost the exact opposite of each other in a strong, contrasting incentive between the storm and the calm. Illustrating two different moods, Brontё represents one house, Thrushcross Grange, as the calm, peaceful side of life where it even comes to the point of appearing dull and lifeless. The other house, Wuthering Heights, serves as the symbol of the storm, a livelihood of emotion and passion. In these two houses,
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"Wuthering" meaning subject to persistent blustery or noisy winds and"Heights"referring to the hill on top of which it resides. There are physical storms described in the book that "[rattle] over the Heights in a full fury"(p. 248), that have "growling thunder, and great drops" (p. 248) . On the night of Mr.Earnshaw 's death "a high wind blustered round the house [...] it sounded wild and stormy" (p. 43). The house is described by the author as cruel one, the "narrow windows are deeply set in the wall, and the corners are defended with large jutting stones" (p. 4). Furthermore, there are in the house cruel dogs that bite Mr. Lockwood upon his arrival. These dogs are said to be "robbing [the] wood of pheasants" (p. 328). The vegetation also illustrates the misery of the house, there are "a few stunted firs at the end of the house" (Chapter I) and "a range of gaunt thorns" (p. 4), the word "gaunt" demonstrates effectively the coldness of the house. The physical description of the house makes the reader believe that Wuthering Heights is not a calm
Brontё further imposes the reader against this repressive society that emulates Heathcliff’s rejection because of his inexorable revenge. His revenge against Hindley begins to threaten the system because even with his nebulous and “gypsy” background he manages to ascend into the bourgeoisie status, reducing the unequal system to mere superstition. Arnold Kettle argues that these values represented in Wuthering Heights, which Heathcliff rebels, “reflects the specific tyranny of Victorian capitalist society” against gypsies and those with little social economic status, which Heathcliff embodies.
Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway and Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights share similarities in many aspects, perhaps most plainly seen in the plots: just as Clarissa marries Richard rather than Peter Walsh in order to secure a comfortable life for herself, Catherine chooses Edgar Linton over Heathcliff in an attempt to wrest both herself and Heathcliff from the squalid lifestyle of Wuthering Heights. However, these two novels also overlap in thematic elements in that both are concerned with the opposing forces of civilization or order and chaos or madness. The recurring image of the house is an important symbol used to illustrate both authors’ order versus chaos themes. Though Woolf and Bronte use the house as a symbol in very different ways, the existing similarities create striking resonances between the two novels at certain critical scenes.
In the novel Wuthering Heights, author Emily Brontë portrays the morally ambiguous character of Heathcliff through his neglected upbringing, cruel motives, and vengeful actions.
The setting of Wuthering Heights is in country of Yorkshire, in the north of England. Wuthering Heights is much darker then Thrushcross Grange and is almost its exact opposite. Wuthering Heights is an ancient mansion on the high ridge, overlooking a wasteland. Wuthering Height uses the country setting filled emotion of hatred, cruelty, chaotic atmosphere, violence, and savage love. A country setting is usually seen as relaxing, peaceful, and laid-back, as described by romanticist. But, Wuthering Heights ha...
Martha Nussbaum describes the romantic ascent of various characters in Wuthering Heights through a philosophical Christian view. She begins by describing Catherine as a lost soul searching for heaven, while in reality she longs for the love of Heathcliff. Nussbaum continues by comparing Heathcliff as the opposition of the ascent from which the Linton’s hold sacred within their Christian beliefs. Nussbaum makes use of the notion that the Christian belief in Wuthering Heights is both degenerate and way to exclude social classes.
Over a long period of time, an individual’s social status has always had a great impact on relationships between others. Relationships such as friendship, romance and even family relationships are greatly influenced by one’s social status. When people value social status to the utmost importance, it often acts as a barrier to further solidify relations with others. “Wuthering Heights” is a classic novel written by Emily Bronte which illustrates how social status gets in the way of relationships. This story (set in eighteen hundreds) displays the true nature of the people at that time because they excessive had pride. Since they had excessive pride, they often judged people based on their social class; hence changing their relationship between each other. In this novel social class was measured by observing an individual’s wealth, appearance and manners. Heathcliff happens to be the male lead character of this story that lacks social class due to his rebellious relationship with Hindley. Afterwards, Hindley degrades Heathcliff’s status this affects his connections with Catherine and Nelly. Since Heathcliff’s status diminishes, Catherine becomes reluctant to continue her affair with Heathcliff. Nelly also becomes wary of Heathcliff because his personality changes after restoring his own status. Thus, it is clearly seen that social class has an impact on the story by altering Heathcliff’s relationship between Hindley, Catherine and Nelly.
The setting used throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, helps to set the mood to describe the characters. We find two households separated by the cold, muddy, and barren moors, one by the name of Wuthering Heights, and the other Thrushcross Grange. Each house stands alone, in the mist of the dreary land, and the atmosphere creates a mood of isolation. These two places, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange differ greatly in appearance and mood. These differences reflect the universal conflict between storm and calm that Emily Bronte develops as the theme.
First, Wuthering Heights is a contribution to the theme of the novel because it sets the mood for the scenes taken place inside the house. The house is first introduced to the reader during a storm. The house stands alone and the land around it is described as dreary and foreboding, which creates a mood of isolation. “On the bleak Yorkshire moors” describes the Yorkshire moors physical appearance. The estate has little vegetation and is more weathered, which moors are, as they are jutting, bare rocks towards the ocean. Wuthering Heights is an old stone house with gothic architecture and bleak interior. The people that live in Wuthering Heights are bitter and act violent. The characters of the story act wild when they are at Wuthering Heights, compared to other places in the novel. The setting of the house enforces the actions of the Earnshaws’, and Heathcliff. The name of the estate even sets a theme of gloom in the novel. Lockwood says Wuthering is, “a significant provincial adjective, descriptive of the atmospheric tumult to which its station is exposed in stormy weather” (12).
Varghese, Dr. Lata Marina. "Stylistic Analysis of Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights." IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science 2.5 (2012): 46-50. Print.
“’Wuthering’ is a Yorkshire term for roaring of the wind” which is constantly seen in the weather of Wuthering Heights (Wuthering Heights 316). The weather in Wuthering Heights changes with the mood of the characters or with the mood of the place. The novel begins with a snowstorm that almost kills Lockwood, establishing the dreary setting of the story. When Mr. Earnshaw passes away a raging storm appears signifying his death. A downpour of rain frequently emerges when the plot of the story has taken a sad turn. When Heathcliff runs away from Wuthering Heights to London, rain symbolizes his departure. Rain also arose on the night of Heathcliff’s death (Wuthering Heights 317).
To sum up, Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights is a classic that portrays a love, even though confined by social classes, trespasses boundaries of life and death. The Gothic elements incorporated in this novel such as extreme landscape and weather, supernatural events and death brings about a mysterious and gloomy atmosphere suitable for a revenge plot with heightened emotions.
Bronte also proves that non-human things can change, such as the manner of Wuthering Heights. The idea that people and objects can transform is shown throughout the novel through many examples. The protagonist of the novel, Heathcliff, was shown to have gone through the biggest transformation. In the beginning of the novel, Heathcliff is an orphan brought home to live with a high-class family. He is described as “a dirty, ragged, black-haired child; big enough both to walk and talk.yet when it was set on its feet, it only stared round, and repeated over and over again some gibberish that nobody could understand” (Bronte page 36).
Dreams play a large role in the story of Wuthering Heights. During Lockwood's first visit to the Heights, he has a night full of dreams and nightmares. Each one related to what Heathcliff had just read on the windowsil...
...e. On a very simplistic level, it is attractive, the name ‘Wuthering Heights’ sounds to the ear a more mysterious and enigmatic choice than Thrushcross Grange. But it can be assumed that the author had made the choice of naming the novel based on reasons that run deeper than mere attractiveness. The setting is vital to the plot, and as Wuthering Heights and its presence directly or indirectly precipitates a major part of the action, the choice is an apt one. In conclusion,the characters’ relation with Nature runs deep, and this too has been highlighted forcefully by the title, that keeps reminding the reader that in ‘Wuthering Heights’, the setting is the thread that runs through the entire narrative holding it together, and halfway through the novel, we can almost perceptibly feel the throb of Nature that is alive, that is at work, and that has a will of its own.
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.