Litature Analysis #1

 Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte

1. This story basically surronds a man named Heathclifff.'s history. The story starts off with a new tenant moving in and being curious about his neighbors histories. The stories are narrated by the nurse who has seen it all and has been with the family since the Heathcliff was a child, Ellen Dean, but more commonly known as Nelly. Nelly tells the story of Heathcliffs past all the way up until the modern day which includes stories such as his forbidden love with Catherine, his revenge against Hindley, and the love affairs of his son and his true loves daughter Catherine the second, but is usually called Cathy.

2. I think the two main themes in this story are social ranking will determine your life and you shouldn't over love someone. Being rich and powerful is a big theme in this book because whenever someone got married they did it for social status rather than for love. This caused many conflicts in the book especially surrounding two of the main characters Heathcliff and Catherine. Another common theme in this book is that certain characters tend to care too much for other characters. For example Catherine has a horrible temper and attitude towards her husband Edgar and she even spends more time with practically her lover Heathcliff. Most other characters would be outraged by her actions, even when I was reading the book I was shocked and slightly annoyed  by her behavior, but her husband stays loyal to her and tries everything he can to make her happy. This often results in Edgar being constantly disappointed and often lonely.

3. When we were told to choose a book to read from the list I honestly had no idea what to pick. I read through the list and wrote down five books whose titles sounded almost interesting. I then Googled the plots to the books and finally at the bottom of my list was Wuthering Heights. Honestly the book sounded way more interesting on Google because it said there was going to be a lot of supernatural stuff going on and there was this great love story, when in reality there was not. I mean honestly there's like one part with a ghost in it. Once I accepted the fact that this book was basically a dramatic love story I started to like it more, mostly because I know thought about it in a different perspective. There actually are some really good plot twist that I didn't expect.

4. In a sense this book is slightly realistic and there are some parts that can be applied to us today. Like I said before social ranking is a big topic in the book and I believe that's still a big topic today. For example the character Heathcliff was pretty much a social outcast for much of his youth mostly because of his rough upbringing and circumstances as a child which caused him to be rather awkward and antisocial. This can be related to many modern day teens who don't quiet fit in or are not as popular as other kids. As for me personally I didn't find many points in the book that I could actually relate to. Most of the characters in this book are over dramatic, which I could probably be at times so I guess that's what I could connect with.

5. Overall the author's tone is kind of sad and depressing. Half the time the characters are cursing and damning each other to hell or complaining about their forbidden love or going on and on about how they either love or hate each other. An example of this is when Catherine says, "Among his books! she cried, confounded. And I dying! I on the brink of my grave! My God! does he know how I'm altered?" Basically she's just mad because her husband is reading while she's convinced she is about to die. Another example is when Heathcliff and Catherine are reunited after being separated for awhile and Catherine says, "You and Edgar have broken my heart, Heathcliff! And you both come to bewail the deed to me, as if you were the people to be pitied! I shall not pity you not I." I choose the next example for the very specific reason of showing you how this book basically goes from people cursing each other to loving each other and this quote shows this because it is literally in the same scene when Catherine says "I wish I could hold you, she continued bitterly, till we are both dead!"

6. Metaphor: "The stab of a knife could not inflict a worse pain than he suffered at seeing his lady vexed." (268) This is explaining how Edgar thinks being stabbed is less painful than Catherine being agitated.
Personification:"But the snow and wind whirled wildly  through, even reaching my station, and blowing out the light." (58) The storm was so powerful it caused the candle to loose its flame.
Simile: "As she kiss me, her lips felt like ice." (851) This is explaining that Cathy was not her normal warm happy self and she was sad to see Nelly go.
Hyperbole: "He signed her to precede him; and casting back a look that cut my heart, she obeyed." (852) Nelly's heart didn't really get cut shes just explaining how much pain she felt when she saw the look on Cathy's face.
Alliteration: "The first feathery snowflakes of a snow-shower." (21)
Symbolism:
Dramatic Irony: "It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now; so he shall never know how I love him: and that not be because he is handsome, Nelly, but because he is more myself than I am." (235) This is ironic because she is trying to conceal her feelings for him from him, but she doesn't know that he has heard everything she said.
Allusion: "I'll show you how far I've progressed in the Black Art: I shall be competent to make a clear house of it." (40) Cathy is referring to dark magic, such as spells and stuff you might associate witches with, when she says the Black Art.
Imagery: "Yesterday afternoon set in misty and cold. I had half a mind to spend it by my study fire, instead of wading through heath and mud to Wuthering Heights. . . [However] I took my hat, and, after a four-miles' walk, arrived at Heathcliff's garden-gate just in time to escape the first feathery flakes of a snow-shower. 
.......On that bleak hill-top the earth was hard with a black frost, and the air made me shiver through every limb." This is describing the setting and really giving the reader an image of it in their head.
Situational Irony: "Nelly I see now you think me a selfish wretch; but did it ever strike you that if Heathcliff and I married, we should be beggers? whereas, if I marry Linton I can aid Heathcliff to rise, and place him out of my brothers power." This is ironic because Catherine thinks marrying Edgar will help Heathcliff finacially, but Heathcliff ends up being richer than Linton. 

CHARACTERIZATION

Direct: "He little imagined how my heart warmed towards him when I beheld his black eyes withdraw so suspicious under their brows, as I rode up, and when his fingers sheltered themselves, with a jealous resolution, still further in his waistcoat, as I announced my name." (4) This shows readers that Heathcliff is very quiet and he sort of stays to himself.

Direct: "She was slender, and apparently scarcely past girlhood: am 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, that would have been irresitiable: fortunately for my susceptible heart, thee only sentiment they evinced hovered between scorn and a kind of desperation, singularly unnatural to be detected there." (26-27) In this passage we now know what Cathy looks like and we can know a little more about her personality, for example we know she's not happy and she's rather dark.

Indirect: "Aw wonder how yah can faishion to stand thear i' idleness un war, when all on 'ems goan out!" (39) By hearing and seeing how this character talks we can figure out that he must lack an education.

Indirect: "I can sleep on a chair in this room, I replied." "No, no! A stranger is a stranger, be he rich or poor: it will not suit me to permit any one the range of the place while I am off guard!" (45) The second sentence comes from Heathcliff and we can clearly learn that he is not kind and has a hard time trusting people.

2. The syntax and diction does change depending on what character you are focusing on. For example Edgar Linton is always formal. The servant Joseph however does not speak proper English and it can be difficult to understand what he is saying. Nelly on the other hand is a mixture of formal and informal, when talking to authority she is formal, but when she talks to the children she is informal and a lot more relaxed and natural.

3. Heathcliff is a dynamic character. When he was young he was very shy and was a good person, but as he got older he became very rude, violent, and cruel. Heathcliff is a round character because he starts out loving and then becomes very hateful and possibly even insane.

4. Even though I did see some common traits that everyone goes through in the characters, I still can't imagine them as real people. They are way to over dramatic and constantly make a big deal out of nothing, especially Catherine. This line is really one that made me realize how dramatic she is, "Oh I will die, she exclaimed, since no one cares anything about me." (354) Catherine thinks the world revolves around her so even if for one minute someone doesn't giver her their attention she immediately thinks everyone hates her and she should just rid herself of the world.

Enduring Memory:
Out of this entire book there is one scene that I will always enjoy. The scene is when Cathy is going to visit Linton when she runs into Hareton and he's very proud of himself because he learned to read and spell his name which Cathy was making fun of him earlier because he could not do. Unfortunately this is no impressive enough for Cathy and she crushes him by again laughing at him because he can not read. The scene went like this, "Miss Catherine! I (Hareton) can read yon, now!" "Wonderful," I exclaimed. "Pray let us hear you--you are grown clever!" 'He spelt, and drawed over by syllables the name-"Hareton Earnshaw." "And the figures?" I cried, encouragingly perceiving that he came to a dead halt. "I cannot tell them yet." he answered. "Oh, you dunce!" I said, laughing heartily at his failure." I'm not sure what it is, but I find it adorable that Hareton is trying to show off to Cathy.