February Lit Analysis

Literary Analysis: Wuthering Heights

By: Emily Bronte

1) In short, there are two characters that are in love named Heathcliff and Catherine. Unfortunately the pressures of social society cause Catherine to betray her love for Heathcliff and to marry a gentleman by the name of Edgar Linton. This betrayal infuriates Heathcliff who seeks revenge to all who abused him. Even when Catherine dies (halfway through the novel which is kind of strange), Heathcliff continues to seek his vengeance; her death actually makes him even more cruel. He continues on his rampage and along the waydestroys Isabella and drives her away, takes possession of Linton, forces Catherine (not the same one who died) and Linton to marry, inherits Thrushcross Grange and finally dies. I know it seems kind of depressing but the death of Heathcliff at the end shows that the other characters can now live in peace since his continuous cycle of revenge has ended.

2) A common theme throughout this novel dealt with social status and its effects on the actions each character took. The novel takes place in a time where status was everything. You had your royalty at the top, then the aristocrats, the gentry, and then the working class at the bottom. What is quite different and notable in this hierarchy is the unstable status of gentry. While aritocrats have a set title as upper class, the gentry category fluctuates for each individual based on their behaviors. In a way they have to “prove” themselves in order to upkeep their title, however it is still subject to change so members of this class are very cautious in what actions they take. The Lintons and Earnshaws are both part of thisfluctuating category and as a result, you can see the effect of social status on their behavior. The easiest example, however not the only example, is Catherine’s decision to marry Edgar so she can become “the greatest woman of the neighborhood” despite her already present affections for Heathcliff. Heathcliff is also an example of how much social status can fluctuate: he began as a common laborer and ended as a gentleman.

3) In this novel the tone is particularly difficult to decipher. In the first half of the novel the reader might say that the author views the love between Catherine and Heathcliff to be doomed and worthless since it is just tossed aside to accommodate for social status. But then in the second half of the story, the love between Hareton and young Catherine is able to flourish and is successful. The sharp contrast between the two halves of the novel makes the author’s tone ambiguous to the reader. Bronte may be celebrating love, or she could be scorning it.

4) Multiple narrators-In this novel the story is told from the viewpoints of numerous characters including Nelly, Lockwood, Isabella and others. By having multiple viewpoints we are able to analyze the novel and theme in different ways as opposed to a single sided viewpoint if we had had only one narrator. I can’t really give quotes for examples but in the text, Nelly tells the story and Lockwood records this story and describes how it was told to her. Isabella and the other characters have minor narratives, such as Isabella’s letter which is read out word for word.

Time frame- This novel is told in a disorderly fashion, not in chronological order. It can make the story hard to follow at times, but I believe it is actually pretty beneficial to the story because the narrators in the present can foreshadow what is about to happen and can give opinions on the story as it progresses. For example, Nelly often gives her opinion on how the character think, feel, and what their motivations are.

Diction- In this novel the diction serves to portray the intense love felt between Heathcliff and Catherine, however it is socially impossible for the two to actually love and marry each other. It is clear throughout the novel that Catherine is in love with Heathcliff because the characters describe themselves as being the same: “whatever [their] souls” were made of they were “of the same” material and Heathcliff saying that he lost his “soul” when Catherine died. Catherine also admits she loves him but points out how inefficient a marriage to him would be, that it would “degrade [her] to marry Heathcliff."

Dialect- In this novel the dialect serves to distinguish between different classes which is huge, especially since the pressures of social status is so predominately portrayed in this novel. Heathcliff would be a good comparative example since in the beginning of the novel he is a laborer and at the end a gentleman. In each case he uses a specific kind of dialect (less advanced when he was a laborer and more advanced when he was a gentleman). The different dialects are also apparent when you hear the lower working class and how illiterate they are.

Foreshadowing- In this novel foreshadowing allows the reader to pick up on the important things in the novel and they help to greater portray that the love between Heathcliff and Catherine was in fact real. There are a number of foreshadowing in the novel but some include Lockwood’s visit to Wuthering Heights and how it brought to the surface previous resentments and relationships, Lockwood having nightmares with ghosts, and the nights her spends in Catherine’s old bed.

CHARACTERIZATION

1.Describe two examples of direct characterization and two examples of indirect characterization. Why does the author use both approaches, and to what end (i.e., what is your lasting impression of the character as a result)?

In Wuthering Heights it is difficult to say which type of characterization she uses. Indirect characterization is how other characters view the character of subject, but in this novel the narrator is a character in the story. So, in a sense we get a direct description of the characters’ personalities but at the same time this kind of characterization could fit under the definition of indirect. Mr. Lockwood is the first character we are introduced to in this novel and he is described directly. He from the beginning describes himself as being weak when compared to the savage actions made by Heathcliff. Which brings us to our next character; Heathcliff is described mostly indirectly through the views of the other characters in the story. The narrators of the story, who also partake in the plot, tell the story of Heathcliff but give in their own perspectives and opinions throughout it.  Mrs Heathcliff is also described through indirect characterization, an example includes the analysis of her physical appearance by another character:

“She was slender, and apparently scarcely past girlhood: an admirable form, and the most exquisite little face that I have ever had the pleasure of beholding: small features, very fair; flaxen ringlets, or rather golden, hanging loose on her delicate neck; and eyes-had they been agreeable in expression they would have been irresistible.”

Lastly, Edgar Linton is a character who is described directly as someone who is “handsome”, “rich”, and “cheerful.”

2. Does the author's syntax and/or diction change when s/he focuses on character? How? Example(s)?

Both syntax and diction change in this novel because there are multiple narrators each with their unique personalities, and it wouldn’t make sense to have a single syntax and diction for multiple characters. For example, Heathcliff who is furious by his mistreatments has a more negative type of diction but other characters are more lighthearted.

3. Is the protagonist static or dynamic? Flat or round? Explain.

Heathcliff is a dynamic and a round character. He is dynamic in that he starts off in the story as a man in love, but his pivotal moment comes when he is rejected by Catherine due to her superior social status. This sends him in a spiral downwards in which he turns vengeful and seeks revenge on all that have hurt him. I would say Heathcliff is a flat character. I know he expresses two different sides of him in the story (loving and vengeful) but he only expresses one at a time, they are never mixed. He is either one or the other depending on where you are in the book (before or after Catherine’s rejection).

4. After reading the book did you come away feeling like you'd met a person or read a character? Analyze one textual example that illustrates your reaction.

To be honest, Heathcliff’s reaction to being rejected made him sound very unreal to me because I don’t see how being rejected could hurt someone so deeply and evoke such a desperate reaction. It seems so exaggerated to the point where it has just become unrealistic, kind of like when someone tries too hard to do something or be someone that they end up seeming fake.

“ ‘And I pray one prayer—I repeat it till my tongue stiffens—Catherine Earnshaw, may you not rest, as long as I am living! You said I killed you—haunt me, then! The murdered do haunt their murderers, I believe. I know that ghosts have wandered on earth. Be with me always—take any form—drive me mad! Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you! Oh, God! It is unutterable! I cannot live without my life! I cannot live without my soul!’ ”