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Student Name

Mrs. Nichols

AP English IV Period 2

9 January 2014

Book Project Model for Wuthering Heights

(Remember: this is not my exact assignment but it gives you an idea. I also used 1.15 spacing )

Introduction

Wuthering Heights was published in 1847 and written by Emily Bronte. While the novel was not
a hit when first published, it began to get literary merit when the audience started becoming more
modern on with their ideas of love. The novel was very progressive for its time because it
describes love as transcending unto death and being the ultimate reason for living. The novel
takes place between 1757 and 1803 on the desolate Yorkshire moors. The novel centers on a love
story between Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff. Both grew up at Wuthering Heights and never
knew much of the outside world and, because of that, have created a bond that is stronger than
death. When Catherine meets Edgar Linton, from Thrushcross Grange, she is introduced to high
society and eventually marries him for the security he provides. Even though she is married to
Edgar, Catherine and Heathcliff continue to love each other until their death.
Catherine's daughter Catherine ends up marry her uncle's wild son Hareton and proves that when
one chooses love over reason, they will always be happy. The novel is full of amazing diction
and themes, and is one of the most celebrated works of English literature. The novel is written in
such a complex way that the reader can read it multiple times and notice something new each
time. The themes of heaven and hell and heart vs. reason are seen throughout the novel and give
the novel a purpose and teach the reader a lesson. Wuthering Heights, by Emily Bronte, is one of
the most revered and well written books in literary history because its themes of love and lyrical
style are timeless.

Scholarly Critical Article

The main idea of the article I chose was that Catherine and Heathcliff represent an adolescent
view on love and any adult reading the work would realize that Catherine's decision to not marry
Heathcliff proves that she didn't truly love him. The article also states that one cannot form
sympathy for Heathcliff because his character is so unkind. When Heathcliff comes into the
Earnshaw's life he "brings disorder into a previously wellA organized family, disrupting family
ties and forming a focus of extreme emotion". As for Catherine's character she "compels her
victims to devote their sympathy to the author of their anger and pain", meaning her.
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Heathcliff and Catherine are also criticized as not being truly in love because they view each
other as brother and sister and not lovers. Whether Catherine's "mental instability goes further
back" to her childhood is also hypothesized. Catherine, according to the article, cannot recognize
"human needs and wishes outside her own". As for Wuthering Heights, it is shown to be a place
of misery because of "images such as stormy, rainy weather and blood from wrists" are
associated with the house. Overall, the author disagrees with many people's opinions of the
novel, but still holds the work in high esteem.

The assertion that Catherine and Heathcliff do not truly love each other is exactly the opposite of
what I believe. I think that the novels main idea was the love between Catherine and
Heathcliff and that despair that Catherine felt that she had to choose Edgar over Heathcliff
because she felt that she had to because that would be right in society. The novel expresses the
idea that one should always follow their heart, instead of what they feel is right and that was
Catherine's flaw. This does not make their love any different, it just teaches the reader a lesson,
and is ultimately resolved through Catherine's daughter marriage to Hareton. The article asks,
"What truly infatuated teenage girl tells a confidante that marrying the boy from whom she
claims to be inseparable would degrade her?" The answer is easy, at the time the book was
written, Catherine felt that she had an obligation to do what was right for her family and she had
to try and secure herself for later in life. Marrying Heathcliff would cause everyone around her to
be ashamed of her and she would have no means of income. By marrying Edgar she was
promised to always be comfortable and also move to a higher society. She had to choose her
reasoning over her heart. She learns later as she is dying, that she should have choose Heathcliff,
but it doesn't mean that by marrying Edgar she didn't love Heathcliff. The article also states that
the reader does not develop sympathy for Heathcliff because he "resorts to deception and cruelty
against those whom [Catherine] loves". I believe that this causes the reader to feel even more
sympathy towards him because you see how tormented he is by his love. His love caused him to
do things that may seem cruel and wrong, but the reader is able to understand why and still
appreciate his character. When Catherine's sanity is questioned I think that it is safe to say she
was slightly deranged, but a love as powerful as that between her and Heathcliff would make
anyone go a little crazy. I also believe Wuthering Heights to be a place of joy for Heathcliff and
Catherine that outsiders cannot understand. When the Heights is described as being dark and
gloomy, that does not appeal to many people, but the real beauty in it is the fact that Heathcliff
and Catherine fell in love there. Because Catherine and Heathcliff are always wanting to be at
the Heights is not because of its outside beauty, but because they want to be there together.
Overall, I understand many of the author's points, but I do not agree with most of them except
the belief that the work deserves literary merit.
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Style

'This is nothing,' cried she: 'I was only going to say that heaven did not seem to be my home; and
I broke my heart with weeping to come back to earth; and the angels were so angry that they
flung me out into the middle of the heath on the top of Wuthering Heights; where I woke sobbing
for joy. That will do to explain my secret, as well as the other. I've no more business to marry
Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven; and if the wicked man in there had not brought
Heathcliff so low, I shouldn't have thought of it. It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now;
so he shall never know how I love him: and that, not because he's handsome, Nelly, but because
he's more myself than I am. Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same; and
Linton's is as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire.'

One of the most impressive aspects of the novel is Emily Bronte's style. She uses a lyrical style
and structure that let the reader decipher many different meanings from a single line. The diction
is very dramatic and complex, and the characters emotions are often expressed in great length
through their dialogue. Bronte uses dialogue to show the reader the characters true feelings and
the dialogue is as expressive as what the characters actual thoughts are. In the passage chosen the
sentences are long and complex, but also extremely descriptive. Catherine describes that she
loves Heathcliff because "he's more myself than I am". This is a wonderful example of Bronte's
style throughout the novel and the theme of the novel. Both Catherine and
Heathcliff express views of being each other and not themselves, which is a way the work is so
powerful at showing their devotion to each other. This idea of Catherine and Heathcliff being
one is one of the most amazing aspects of the novel and why the work was so ahead of its time.
The theme of Heathcliff being hell and Edgar being heaven is represented in this passage as well.
Catherine expresses her belief that "heaven did not seem to be my home" and that she has "no
more business to marry Edgar Linton than I have to be in heaven", essentially saying that she is
not fully in love with Edgar, but she chooses him because he is rich and will be able to provide
for her. The theme of Heathcliff being hell and Edgar being heaven is represented in this passage
as well. In the last lines of the paragraph Catherine compares that her and Edgar are "as different
as a moonbeam from lightning, or frost from fire". These metaphors are very descriptive and
show the type of lyrical style that Bronte uses throughout the whole novel. Her words are full of
imagery and show the reader how the characters are truly feeling. The tone in this paragraph is
one of confusion because Catherine does not know what she should do. She has seen that
marrying Edgar would be heaven, but she knows that heaven is not the place for her. She feels at
home on the moors with Heathcliff and that is her heaven. The love between
Heathcliff and Catherine is something that is unfathomable and Catherine has to make a choice
between love or marrying into a family that will provide her with stability and wealth. This
passage is one of the most amazing in the novel for its wonderful diction, imagery, and
metaphors on love. It shows off Bronte's amazing writing abilities and is one of the reason the
work deserves merit.
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Theme

One of the main thematic subjects in the novel is heart versus. reason. Catherine chooses reason
over her heart when she decides to marry Edgar over Heathcliff and the decision ultimately ends
up killing her. Her daughter Catherine ends up listening to her heart and finds happiness in her
marriage to Hareton. The main climax of the novel is when Heathcliff sneaks into Catherine's
house to be with her while she is sick. They express that they still both love each other and desire
to be with one another terribly. Catherine knows that she should have married Heathcliff, but
during the time the book was written it would bring her shame to get a divorce. Catherine has to
make a choice between Heathcliff and Edgar but she cannot. She cannot make the decision
because her heart is telling her one thing and her head is telling another. This theme is the main
conflict throughout the novel, and at the end of the book young Catherine decides to be with
Hareton resolving the conflict at the end. When Catherine chooses Hareton she chooses to listen
to her heart, instead of trying to conform to society.
While her mother made the mistake of choosing Edgar, she chooses the unruly and wild Hareton
and listens to her heart.

Another thematic subject contrast is that of heaven and hell. Both Catherine and Heathcliff talk
about their views of heaven in the novel and for Catherine her heaven is to be at Wuthering
Heights on the moors and for Heathcliff his heaven is being with Catherine. They both do not
have the views of Christ that were pushed upon them as children and have developed their own
beliefs on what their heaven will be. Catherine even has a dream about heaven and from it,
comes to the conclusion that "heaven did not seem to be my home" (75). Heathcliff says that if
he is parted from Catherine he is parted from his soul, so she is essentially his heaven.
Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross grange are also part of the heaven and hell theme.
Wuthering Heights is described throughout the novel to be dark and gloomy, compared with the
Granges descriptions of being full of light and warmth. It can be guessed that the Grange is a
heaven in the novel while Wuthering Heights is a sort of hell. Heathcliff is also described with
attributes that would represent the devil. He is a misunderstood character and is seen by outsiders
and evil and wild. Edgar represents a type of heaven because he is a very nice person, and that is
one of the reasons Catherine loves him, but not the same type of love as Heathcliff.
Catherine has to make a choice between heaven and hell, and it is human nature to want to
choose heaven because you are secure there, but hell also appeals to her because of its mystery
and love. Overall, both themes contribute to the novel as a whole and grant the book worthy of
literary merit.
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Conclusion

Although there is some debate as to whether or not Wuthering Heights is a story about love or a
story about the absence of love, it can be agreed that it is a work that deserves literary merit. The
story possesses amazing theme and style with a timeless appeal. Its characters are extremely
developed and have emotions that many readers can relate too. The book is written in a way that
is full of emotion and beauty. The diction is dramatic and filled with love. The theme of love vs.
reason is shown throughout the novel with the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff and
Cathy and Hareton. Both relationships cause one person to choose between there hearts of their
brain. While Catherine chooses her reason, she dooms Heathcliff to a horrible life, but with
Cathy's choice of Hareton, Bronte resolves the conflict by showing that the right choice is your
heart. Heaven and hell are also represented throughout the novel and parallel many of the main
conflicts throughout the novel. Overall, the novel is very deserving of literary merit because no
matter how many times you read it, you can find something you never noticed before and enjoy
it more each time. Also, each reader can take something different and interpret the novel in his or
her own way. Wuthering Heights is a timeless story of love that deserves literary excellence.

Poem Emily Dickinson: “I Cannot Live With You”

I CANNOT live with you,?

It would be life,?
And life is over there?
Behind the shelf

The sexton keeps the key to,?

Putting up?
Our life, his porcelain,?
Like a cup

Discarded of the housewife,?

Quaint or broken;?
A newer Sevres pleases,
Old ones crack.

I could not die with you,?

For one must wait?
To shut the other's gaze down, AA?
You could not.
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And I, could I stand by?

And see you freeze,?
Without my right of frost,?
Death's privilege?

Nor could I rise with you,?

Because your face?
Would put out Jesus',
That new grace

Glow plain and foreign?

On my homesick eye,?
Except that you, than he?
Shone closer by.

They'd judge us AA how??

For you served Heaven, you know,
Or sought to;?
I could not,

Because you saturated sight,

And I had no more eyes?
For sordid excellence?
As Paradise.

And were you lost, I would be,?

Though my name?
Rang loudest
On the heavenly fame.

And were you saved,?

And I condemned to be?
Where you were not,?
That self were hell to me.

So we must keep apart,?

You there, I here,?
With just the door ajar?
That oceans are,?
And prayer,
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And that pale sustenance,?

Despair

This poem by Emily Dickinson represents the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine.
The poem begins by explaining that the person cannot live with the other because "it would be
life". This is represented in the novel through Heathcliff and Catherine because they are often
expressing their ideas that they are each other's souls. And even though they have so much in
common, they are not together. Catherine is madly devoted to Heathcliff, but her marriage to
Edgar has made them have to hide their love. The poem also describes how they feel that their
love will be with them even in death. The poem is written much like the way Catherine and
Heathcliff speak with each other. They are very dramatic and expressive with the words they
choose. In the lines "So we must keep apart, You there, I here, With just the door ajar" it
parallels the scene when Heathcliff comes back after being away for so long and Catherine is so
overwhelmed to see him and so full of love, but she must not act too excited because they are in
front of Edgar. When Edgar is away, that is when they show each other how they feel and how
much they need each other. When Catherine dies Heathcliff vows that he cannot live without her
because she is his soul, and the poem expresses an idea that directly relates to
Heathcliff when it states "were you saved, and I condemned to be where you were not, that self
were hell to me". This relates back to the idea that when Catherine dies, Heathcliff cannot be
with her and his life soon becomes hell and he becomes devoted to ruining the lives of others.
Catherine also thinks that Heathcliff is much more a part of her than Edgar when she states that
she is just like Heathcliff but her and Edgar are "as different as a moonbeam from lightning, or
frost from fire" (75) and when Heathcliff is with her "he Shone closer by".
Heathcliff stands out much more than Edgar and Catherine sees that and wishes to be with
Heathcliff. She knows that Heathcliff is her equal and her best friend, but Edgar provides her
with safety, and that is sometimes more important than love. The poem is very closely tied with
the novel, its shows that the choice between two lovers is always difficult and you never know if
you have made the right decision. Catherine is driven mad at the thought of having to choose
between Heathcliff and Edgar. She knows that her love for Heathcliff will be with her even when
she dies and Edgar provides her with security, but the choice is still impossible for her.
Overall, the poem has a direct relationship with the novel and shares the same views on love that
are represented in the novel.
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Works Cited

Bronte, Emily. Wuthering Heights. New York: Bantam, 1947. Print.

Dickinson, Emily. "I Cannot Live Without You." Poets.org. 25 November 2007.
<http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/15802>

Thormahlen, Marianne. "The Lunatic and the Devil's Disciple: the 'lovers' in 'Wuthering
Heights.'" The Review of English Studies. (May 1997). Academic OneFile. Gale.
University of Texas at Austin. 26 Nov. 2007.
<http://find.galegroup.com.ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/itx/infomark.do?&conte
ntSet=IACDocuments&type=retrieve&tabID=T002&prodId=AONE&docId=A1958870