bricks_x
01-26-2007, 03:06 PM
Okay, I've been assigned an essay, titled "In the light of events within the novel, do you think Heathcliff is a fiend from hell, or a victim of social prejudice?"
Now, I cannot say I have enjoyed this novel, and at times I have had to re-read certain paragraphs. But here's what I have so far. [I'm trying to work through in chronological order, and these are just notes for now.]
- From the beginning of the book we feel Heathcliff is not as respected as the rest of the Earnshaw children. When Mr. Earnshaw Snr. returns from his trip to Liverpool with Heathcliff, the immediate description is [page 45] “though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil” and “a dirty, ragged, black-haired child”. Mrs. Earnshaw is ready to “fling it out of doors”
- on page forty five Heathcliff is constantly referred to as “it” When he is finally christened, we discover that he is named after one of Mr. & Mrs. Earnshaw’s first borns, which died during infancy. [Is this an omen to Heathcliffs nature?]
- “we plagued and went on with him shamefully” [page 46]
- “Hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment” Here we hear Nelly [Ellen] Dean observing Heathcliffs nature. It seems Heathcliff may have already been exposed to abuse. We know Heathcliff is a young child at this point, and abuse may be all he has known. Hindley “hated him” and therefore bullies Heathcliff. This abuse at such a tender age could play a part in Heathcliffs issues later in life.
- As Heathcliff matures into his early teens, we see the tension between Hindley and Heathcliff grow. There is an issue over Heathcliff/Hindley’s pony. We witness Hindley “hitting him on the breast” “when Hindley finished his speech by knocking him under its [the pony’s’] feet.” [All page 47.]
- Heathcliff is raised with constant torment from Hindley, and once Mr & Mrs Earnshaw die, Hindley is left the Heights & the Grange. He becomes master, and stops Heathcliffs studies. After marrying Francis, Hindley is even crueler to Heathcliff, and impresses on Francis the need to punish [realistically torture] him. Joseph, one of the housekeepers, has never agreed with the raising of Heathcliff, and so three of the people he spends his time with loath him beyond reason.
And I'm trying to find a specific quote, about how one tree may grow as twisted as another with the same wind upon it, or something like that.
Help? Please? xxxx
Now, I cannot say I have enjoyed this novel, and at times I have had to re-read certain paragraphs. But here's what I have so far. [I'm trying to work through in chronological order, and these are just notes for now.]
- From the beginning of the book we feel Heathcliff is not as respected as the rest of the Earnshaw children. When Mr. Earnshaw Snr. returns from his trip to Liverpool with Heathcliff, the immediate description is [page 45] “though it’s as dark almost as if it came from the devil” and “a dirty, ragged, black-haired child”. Mrs. Earnshaw is ready to “fling it out of doors”
- on page forty five Heathcliff is constantly referred to as “it” When he is finally christened, we discover that he is named after one of Mr. & Mrs. Earnshaw’s first borns, which died during infancy. [Is this an omen to Heathcliffs nature?]
- “we plagued and went on with him shamefully” [page 46]
- “Hardened, perhaps, to ill-treatment” Here we hear Nelly [Ellen] Dean observing Heathcliffs nature. It seems Heathcliff may have already been exposed to abuse. We know Heathcliff is a young child at this point, and abuse may be all he has known. Hindley “hated him” and therefore bullies Heathcliff. This abuse at such a tender age could play a part in Heathcliffs issues later in life.
- As Heathcliff matures into his early teens, we see the tension between Hindley and Heathcliff grow. There is an issue over Heathcliff/Hindley’s pony. We witness Hindley “hitting him on the breast” “when Hindley finished his speech by knocking him under its [the pony’s’] feet.” [All page 47.]
- Heathcliff is raised with constant torment from Hindley, and once Mr & Mrs Earnshaw die, Hindley is left the Heights & the Grange. He becomes master, and stops Heathcliffs studies. After marrying Francis, Hindley is even crueler to Heathcliff, and impresses on Francis the need to punish [realistically torture] him. Joseph, one of the housekeepers, has never agreed with the raising of Heathcliff, and so three of the people he spends his time with loath him beyond reason.
And I'm trying to find a specific quote, about how one tree may grow as twisted as another with the same wind upon it, or something like that.
Help? Please? xxxx