While on the vigorous journey through a novel, a reader can be faced with many questions, put forth intentionally by the author, as well as ones they might conjure up for themselves. Roland Barthes says “Literature is the question minus the answer.” For the most part this is true, however when one is reading for leisure or the author does not portray as well as they could this statement is invalid. Two novels that have been broken down recently are Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights and Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey. Neither book has a common central question, but they both have their pros and cons.
Wuthering Heights is a book containing an intricate plot, and a labyrinth of relationships and emotions. The characterization in this book is extravagant, this is done primarily to draw attention to Bronte’s central question, “how good is humanity?” Most of Bronte’s focus goes into her characters, her most distinct character is Heathcliff, followed by the older Catherine then to Nelly.
As we look back at the text, there were many moments of pain when Heathcliff is described. As a child he was abandoned by his biological family, then Earnshaw died and left him, then the rest of the family treated him poorly and he grew up a villain dragging Catherine with him. He is depicted as manipulative, cruel and heartless, and the classic outsider in Gothic novels. Most can agree that he was put through vast hardships and unfair circumstances and undoubtedly, his personality was altered negatively by this. Could he have changed to a good person? Did he want to? Maybe, but the death of his saviour and the hindrances of his new family all prevented him from becoming anything better. Yet we are all faced with hard circumstances and bitter hat...
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...son for writing the novel. Even though the book was written over one hundred and fifty years ago, she still had a grasp on the ways of humanity. Austen on the other hand was not quite there. She did try to make the reader see beyond the plot and characters, and most of the readers pick up on the satire, but it seemed as if there was no more to the book aside from this and critic of the Gothic. Bronte wants us to look at our lives and see what wrongs we are doing and change them, but she still leaves the unanswered questions: ‘How?’ and ‘Why are humans like this?’ Austen may have intended to have more to her novel than just critic, but it was not obvious enough to be usable. All-in-all, both novels gave the reader a sense of being there with the characters, and both used precision in their narration to keep the readers in suspension or rolling on the floor laughing.
Analyse the methods Charlotte Brontë uses to make the reader empathise with Jane Eyre in the opening chapters. Reflect on how the novel portrays Victorian ideology and relate your analysis to the novel’s literary content.
The initial downward spiral of Heathcliff’s life was predominantly caused by harsh influences in the environment in which he was raised. Heathcliff, an adopted child, grew up in Wuthering Heights, a desolate and dystopian estate when compared to the beauty of the neighboring Thrushcross Grange. In childhood, Heathcliff displayed evidence of a sympathetic personality through his emotional attachment to Catherine and kind attitude towards Nelly. At the time of Mr. Earnshaw’s death, Nelly describes a scene where, “Miss Cathy had been sick, and that made her still; she
A crucial portion of Asimov's analysis of human vulnerability is the supposed chaos of normal life. In Asimov's eyes, unity and cooperation function much better than the effort of any given individual towards a specific goal. In Green Patches a group of astronauts lands on Saybrook's planet. The planet is fascinating in that all of the organisms work in conjunction in order to maintain homeostasis. There exists no competition for food, for space, or for sex. In a sense, "all life on Saybrook's planet is a single organism"(371). Strangely enough the main sensory tissue/organ of all organisms on Saybrook's planet is not eyes, but rather "furry green patches"(364). More importantly however the green patches act as "super-sensory organs" (364) which are able to sense not only presence but thought as well. Lastly all organisms on Saybrook's planet have the ability of transmitting their own characteristic green patches onto other organisms. Within this ability lies Asimov's true purpose for the story. Captain Weiss, the narrator of the story clearly states, "compared to life on Saybrook's planet, Earth's growth is one big cancer"(374) in such "every species, every individual [does] its best to thrive at the expense of every other species and individual" (381). Asimov explains that the chaos of human society leads not to unified harmony but rather, "a fighting dependence, a dog-eat-dog dependence" (371). Asimov furthers his obvious "desire for an impetus for change by giving the creatures on Saybrook's planet an ever-present and omnipotent quality" (Marshall Cuthers- Isaac Asimov: Origins and Growth). In the story, a creature from Saybrook's planet has snuck in to the ship. The crew tries very careful to prevent such an occurrence but through disguise the creature becomes able to hide until the landing on Earth. The goal of the creature is also quite clear. It wishes to provide "completeness for the keen-thinkers" and that "they would be saved despite themselves"(387). The astronauts on-board understand that if exposed to Earth, the creature will be able to transmit its traits onto all organisms and alter the reproductive cycle so that all subsequent generations will have the same traits and Earth will become equivalent to the unified Saybrook's planet. Captain Weiss understands this and is stuck in a moral dilemma. If released, Earth will "become void of so many flaws"(392) and "there would be no more overpopulation, no more disease and no more crime and violence" (392).
Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is a novel about lives that cross paths and are intertwined with one another. Healthcliff, an orphan, is taken in by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. Mr. Earnshaw has two children named Catherine and Hindley. Jealousy between Hindley and Healthcliff was always a problem. Catherine loves Healthcliff, but Hindley hates the stranger for stealing his fathers affection away. Catherine meets Edgar Linton, a young gentleman who lives at Thrushcross Grange. Despite being in love with Healthcliff she marries Edgar elevating her social standing. The characters in this novel are commingled in their relationships with Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange.
Heathcliff is a character who was abused in his childhood by Catherine’s brother, Hindley, because of his heritage as a “gypsy”, and Hindley was jealous of the love that Heathcliff got from Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley’s father. This is also selfishness upon Hindley’s part since he only wanted his father’s love for his sister and himself. So to reprimand Heathcl...
Throughout Wuthering Heights, I attempted to learn from the characters misery that they had, in most cases, brought upon themselves. Catherine’s difficulty making her decision reiterated to me how important it is to follow your heart when in a relationship, even if there are ‘good reasons’ to do just the opposite. From Heathcliff, I was able to see how seeking revenge will only destroy your happiness as well as the one’s you love. Young Cathy was a perfect example of the power of positivity, and how to indulge in negative thoughts will only add to your burden and isolate you from friends and family. Whether Emily Bronte intentionally wrote the novel with moral lessons in mind or not, her characters are perfect examples of how not to live.
From the beginning of the novel and most likely from the beginning of Heathcliff's life, he has suffered pain and rejection. When Mr. Earnshaw brings him to Wuthering Heights, he is viewed as a thing rather than a child. Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out the doors, while Nelly put it on the landing of the stairs hoping that it would be gone the next day. Without having done anything to deserve rejection, Heathcliff is made to feel like an outsider. Following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff suffers cruel mistreatment at the hands of Hindley. In these tender years, he is deprived of love, friendship, and education, while the treatment from jealous Hindley is barbaric and disrupts his mental balance. He is separated from the family, reduced to the status of a servant, undergoes regular beatings and forcibly separated from his soul mate, Catherine. The personality that Heathcliff develops in his adulthood has been formed in response to these hardships of his childhood.
Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights and Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness are two similar stories in the effect that they both have dual narrators and that the narrators of both are manipulated to tell stories of similar morals. They differ, however, in the narrative frames, points of view, and some personality traits of the narrators.
Wuthering Heights, written by Emily Bronte, has 323 pages. The genre of Wuthering Heights is realistic fiction, and it is a romantic novel. The book is available in the school library, but it was bought at Barnes and Nobles. The author’s purpose of writing Wuthering Heights is to describe a twisted and dark romance story. Thus, the author conveys the theme of one of life’s absolute truths: love is pain. In addition, the mood of the book is melancholy and tumultuous. Lastly, the single most important incident of the book is when Heathcliff arrives to Edgar Linton’s residence in the Granges unannounced to see Catherine’s state of health. Heathcliff’s single visit overwhelmed Catherine to the point of death.
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.
Conflict as a result of class and gender division is a common theme seen throughout Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights. Social contrasts and gender boundaries create oppression and tension amongst the characters, affecting their composure and behaviour throughout the novel.
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.
Wuthering Heights is a good novel to show that everyone and everything has the ability to change. Almost every character’s appearance or personality altered in some way. Sometimes this metamorphosis is for the better, and other times it is not. Some people can willingly change who they are or how they act while others find a hard time doing so. Novels that express this idea really appeal to the reader because they are relatable and reflect real life.
Charlotte Bronte and Jane Austen wrote their novels in different social climates and came from very different backgrounds. Little over three decades spanned the difference between Pride and Prejudice to Jane Eyre, nevertheless in spite of these disparities their stories can be compared by both having the plotline with a strong woman making her own decisions and finding her own way in life. Their strengths and convictions that eventually lead the heroines to marriages where they thought of by their husband to...
Emily Bronte's master piece, Wuthering Heights, is a timeless story of love, deception, betrayal and revenge. It recognizes that life in the world is not a utopia. Revenge is the main theme in the book because it highlights important events, personality flaws, and the path to self-destruction. Bronte presents this loud and clear.