20
мар
Although it was not as original as before, I was still excited. Gone were the groove-oriented breakdowns or the guitar duals, and went for a more forward deathcore approach, 'Sin City' especially. Upon a burning body red white green rar.
THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY
Study Guide for
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
0002
i
Meet Emily Brontë
I have never seen her parallel in anything. Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature stood alone. —Charlotte Brontë, in the “Biographical Notice” she wrote to accompany the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
E
mily Jane Brontë was born in 1818, the fifth child of Patrick Brontë, a Cambridgeeducated clergyman born in Ireland, and Maria Branwell, the daughter of a Cornish merchant. When Emily was two, her father was appointed to a church in Haworth, a remote village in Yorkshire. Her mother died of cancer a year later, and her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, moved into the parsonage to take care of the children. In 1824 Mr. Brontë sent his four eldest daughters—Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily—to boarding school. While at school, they were frequently cold and undernourished, and Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. Soon after being sent home to recuperate, they died. Alarmed, Mr. Brontë brought Charlotte and Emily home to be educated. Haworth was a relatively isolated community, and so the Brontë children turned to one another for amusement and companionship. With some wooden soldiers that belonged to Branwell, the only son in the family, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell developed elaborate Wuthering Heights Study Guide
sagas set in imaginary kingdoms and in tiny manuscripts recounted the soldiers’ exploits. Throughout their lives the world of fantasy continued to exert a powerful influence over the Brontës. When Branwell was thirty-one, he was still signing his letters “Northangerland,” after one of the characters in the stories. During the 1830s, the Brontë children left home to study or work, but their attempts were relatively unsuccessful. Branwell became a self-destructive alcoholic, Emily pined for the moors, Charlotte fell hopelessly in love with a married man, and Anne was fired from her job as a governess. By the mid-1840s, the Brontë children were once more back in the parsonage at Haworth. Charlotte and Anne, always interested in writing, planned to publish a collection of poems. When Charlotte accidentally discovered a secret notebook of Emily’s poems, she was impressed by their power and originality and persuaded Emily to include them in the collection. To shield their privacy and conceal the fact that they were women, the sisters self-published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis. The book sold only two copies. Undaunted, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne turned to writing fiction. Charlotte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and was an immediate success. Emily’s Wuthering Heights came out the same year to negative reviews. Critics called it “misshapen,” “grotesque,” and “shocking.” Even Charlotte thought that her sister’s novel was “a rude and a strange production.” Although Emily was strong and fiercely independent, she was deeply hurt by the reviews. In 1848 Branwell died of tuberculosis. Emily caught a cold at Branwell’s funeral and soon became extremely ill, also with tuberculosis. Later, Charlotte wrote about her sister’s dying days, “Never in all her life had she lingered over any task that lay before her, and she did not linger now.” A few days later, on December 14, Emily died—as implacable as any of her fictional characters.
9
Introducing the Novel Wuthering Heights was hewn in a wild workshop with simple tools, out of homely materials. —Charlotte Brontë, in the preface for the 1850 edition
10
THE TIME AND PLACE Wuthering Heights opens in 1801, when Mr. Lockwood meets Heathcliff, the owner of the isolated farmhouse that he has rented. The story then jumps back in time to 1771, when Heathcliff, an orphaned child, was brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. The events of the story, which ends in 1803, take place in a few square miles of the West Yorkshire moors. The remote heath in which the story is set is no mere backdrop to the events of the story. The heath, along with the people of Yorkshire, is central to Emily Brontë’s vision. Unlike the soft, smallscale prettiness of the landscapes of southern England, the heath is bare, rolling, and wild. Charlotte Brontë realized that one reason that so many British readers and critics were horrified by Wuthering Heights was that the novel represented a world that was alien to them. Charlotte understood that people in the south of England had been raised to “observe the utmost evenness of manner and guardedness of language”—in other words, to behave calmly and politely, no matter how they felt inside. The people in the Brontës’ part of the world were different. Living in scattered farms and villages, fiercely independent and suspicious of outsiders, they tended to speak their minds, often harshly, and show, rather than hide, their emotions. For most of the novel, Heathcliff is obsessed with revenge to a degree that may seem implausible. But critic V. S. Pritchett observes that the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Written by a reclusive twenty-eight-year-old who was a mystery even to her family, Wuthering Heights is generally considered a masterpiece that stands outside the mainstream of Victorian literature. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff, an orphan rescued from city slums and brought to a farm named Wuthering Heights in the wilds of Yorkshire. There, the young boy develops a close attachment to the high-spirited daughter of the household, Catherine. Wuthering Heights is a blend of the fanciful and the ordinary. The two main narrators, Mr. Lockwood and Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean, are rather ordinary people. They, like the reader, are fascinated by the larger-than-life dramas played out between the houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although the book contains many emotionally charged scenes and suggests that supernatural events may have occurred, it is anchored in everyday reality. Brontë knew how to describe a scene by using vivid details to create convincing settings. She also had a good ear for the way people spoke—from the dialect of Yorkshire peasants to the speech of the upper classes. Brontë manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for her two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, even though both frequently behave abominably. Her tale is full of suffering and cruelty but is tempered with lighter elements, such as the endless grumpiness and self-righteousness of Joseph, an old servant, and the wry comments of Nelly Dean. Over the years, the book has received mixed reviews. One early critic saw the novel as a poetic dream, “a world of brilliant figures in an atmosphere of mists,” and assumed that it was the “unformed” work of an immature artist. One hundred years later, British writer V. S. Pritchett, who spent much of his childhood in the north of England, praised Wuthering Heights as “the most
realistic statement about the Yorkshire people of the isolated moorland and dales that I have ever read.” Far from seeing Emily Brontë as a naively poetic artist, Pritchett and many others have viewed her as a masterful writer, whose book reveals, among other things, a surprisingly accurate grasp of British law at the time. Unusual as it may be, Wuthering Heights is masterfully written. When you read it, you care about the characters (whom you may not always like), and you want to know what happens next.
local people were capable of “unending” hatred. From this point of view, Heathcliff is not a monster but a realistic example of a Yorkshireman who feels he has been mistreated. Also essential to an understanding of Wuthering Heights is an understanding of the time period in which it is set. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, telephones and automobiles did not link remote Yorkshire farmsteads with the rest of Britain. Although railroads were common when Brontë wrote the novel, she set the story in a time when people still traveled on foot or by horse. Thus, when Mr. Earnshaw travels the sixty miles from his farm to Liverpool, a distance that would take an hour or two today, he must walk there and back—a journey of three full days.
In Wuthering Heights, many deaths occur: over the course of thirty years, eleven characters die—none of them beyond middle age. To a modern reader, familiar with antibiotics and other common medicines, a novel with so many deaths may seem melodramatic. In the world of the Brontës, however, death was a constant presence. All six Brontë children died from disease in childhood or before they reached middle age. In the early 1800s, the average working man in Leeds (an industrial city in Yorkshire) died at the age of nineteen. In the village of Haworth, 40 percent of the children died before the age of six. Tuberculosis, a disease that usually attacks the lungs and thrives in damp and crowded conditions, was rampant in Haworth.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Did You Know? In 1861, Patrick Brontë died, and the contents of his house were sold in an auction. In 1893 the Brontë Society was formed in an attempt to reclaim the Brontës’ possessions for preservation purposes. Today, Haworth parsonage is a museum. Many of the family’s original belongings are on display. These include paintings and drawings, clothing and jewelry, the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
piano that the children played, and even a settee that is believed to be the one on which Emily died. The museum is open year-round except for several weeks in midwinter. For more information, you can write to the following address: The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DR, Great Britain.
11
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 FOCUS ACTIVITY What are the most influential forces in the shaping of a child’s values and behavior? Parents, guardians, or other family members? Schooling? Friends? Think-Pair-Share With a partner, list influences that are, in your opinion, important in a child’s development. Together, rate the importance of each influence. Then speculate on what may happen to a child if any of these influences are missing in his or her life. Setting a Purpose Read to discover what forces are important in making Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley who they are.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW annihilate [ə n0005¯0007ə l ¯at] v. to destroy completely caprice [kə pre¯ s0007] n. whim; illogical or unpredictable action or idea degradation [de0012´rə da¯0007shən] n. a lowering of rank, status, or moral character laconic [ lə kon0007ik] adj. using few words; terse to the point of rudeness malignity [mə li00120007nə te¯ ] n. the quality of wishing or causing harm or evil to others misanthropist [mis an0007thrə pist ] n. one who hates other people morose [mə ro ¯ s0007] adj. gloomy; depressed
12
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Inheritance Laws In England around the time in which Wuthering Heights is set, the property rights of female heirs were generally in the hands of their husbands and brothers. Until the coming of the Industrial Revolution (beginning in the late 1700s), European inheritance laws and traditions generally favored the eldest sons in landowning families. Because landowners wanted to keep family holdings intact, property was not divided among the children at the death of the father. Often, the eldest son of the family inherited most or all of his father’s land and wealth, with the other sons receiving little or nothing. Eldest sons were expected to accept responsibility for the financial welfare of their mothers and sisters and for maintaining the social status of the family. As you read, note the importance of inheritance laws in shaping the plot of Wuthering Heights. Did You Know? In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë employs several narrative devices: She uses the voices of two minor characters, Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean, to give eyewitness accounts of the lives of the main characters. When neither Lockwood nor Nelly can observe what is happening, Brontë describes events through letters or diary entries of the main characters. As you read, think about the effects of these literary devices in shaping your impressions of the characters.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 In chapters 1–9, the two houses—Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange—and most of the main characters of the novel are introduced. As you read each chapter, pay attention to who is living in each house and who is no longer there because of marriage, disappearance, or death. For each chapter, in order to keep track of the characters’ movements back and forth between the two houses, fill in the chart below with the names of the persons residing in each house. Chapter
Wuthering Heights
Thrushcross Grange
1
Heathcliff, Joseph, Zillah, Mrs. Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw
Mr. Lockwood, Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean
2
3
4
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5
6
7
8
9
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
13
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Personal Response If you could talk to the characters, what would you ask them? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Briefly describe the setting of chapters 1–2. Where is the Wuthering Heights mansion located and what is it like? How did the estate get its name? What is the weather like during Mr. Lockwood’s first visit? What atmosphere, or mood, do these details of setting establish?
2. Briefly describe the dreams Mr. Lockwood has when he spends the night at Wuthering Heights. How do the dreams help create a sense of mystery and suspense?
4. Why does Heathcliff run away? What does Catherine admit to just after he leaves? Do you think Heathcliff would have stayed at Wuthering Heights if he had heard all of Catherine’s confession? Why or why not?
14
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What is Heathcliff’s status at Wuthering Heights before Mr. Earnshaw dies? What is it afterward? How does the change in status affect Heathcliff’s behavior?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 5. How does Nelly’s description of life at Wuthering Heights influence your opinion of Heathcliff? How might your opinion change if the Lintons narrated the story?
6. Do you think that Catherine’s motives for marrying Edgar Linton are sound ones? Why or why not?
Literature and Writing
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyze a Dream In Chapter 9, Catherine Earnshaw describes a disturbing dream that she has had. In a paragraph or two, sum up the content of Catherine’s dream and describe what the dream reveals about her and about her feelings for Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. Then analyze the connection between Catherine’s dream and Mr. Lockwood’s second dream (in chapter 3). How does Catherine’s dream help explain Mr. Lockwood’s?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups For more than a hundred years, critics have disagreed about whether Catherine and Heathcliff feel true love for each other. What do you think? Find passages in chapters 1–9 to back up your opinion; then debate the question with the rest of your group. Sum up the group’s opinions and explain them to others in your class. Learning for Life Pretend that you are a servant working for Hindley Earnshaw after the death of his wife. You are concerned about the welfare and living conditions of the children left in Hindley’s care. Write a letter to the proper authorities in which you detail specific observations that have caused your concern. Look back at your response to the Focus Activity to gather ideas about the factors that shape children’s lives.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
15
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 FOCUS ACTIVITY Do opposites really attract? Discuss Why might a person be attracted to someone whose temperament, personality, or background is different from his or her own? What might some of the benefits of such a relationship be? What might the drawbacks be? Setting a Purpose Read to find out what “opposite” is attracted to Heathcliff.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW avarice [av0007ər is] n. greed for money despondency [di spon0007dən se¯] n. loss of hope expedient [iks pe¯0007de¯ ənt] adj. suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance (implying what is immediately advantageous without regard for ethics or principles) lamentation [lam´ən ta¯0007shən] n. an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret obliterate [ə blit0007e ra¯ t´] v. to destroy; to wipe out ominous [om0007ə nəs ] adj. threatening paroxysm [par0007ək siz´əm] n. a sudden, violent emotion or action presumptuous [pri zump0007choo ¯¯¯ əs] adj. arrogant; bold
16
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Heathcliff and the Gypsies Edgar Linton refers to Heathcliff as a “gipsy,” a colloquialism derived from the word Egyptian. Formerly, the nomadic people known as Gypsies were thought to have come from Egypt. Actually, they originally came from India. First migrating to Europe at least one thousand years ago, the Gypsies have managed to keep certain elements of their culture intact. They call themselves Rom, and many of them still speak a language called Romany. Gypsies can be found on every continent but live primarily in Europe. Throughout the centuries they have been the object of prejudice. Heathcliff is called a Gypsy because of his dark hair and complexion and because he is an outsider in the closed, settled world of the Yorkshire moors. Did You Know? Novelists of the mid-1800s did not have the modern-day advantage of being able to read about psychology; but if they were good observers of human nature, they recognized the personality traits and psychological processes that scientists study today. Emily Brontë would probably not be surprised by the following findings related to stress: (1) Many life changes—including pregnancy, arguments with a loved one, and separation from a loved one—can trigger stress. (2) Certain individuals create personal stress by seeing themselves as victims of circumstances and holding others responsible for their unhappiness. (3) Seeking others’ constant love and insisting that everything must go one’s way can cause stress. (4) Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and makes an individual more susceptible to illness. (5) Anxiety and depression can make an individual more prone to physical disorders. As you read chapters 10–17, notice how these observations about stress, psychological disorders, and physical health apply to Catherine Linton.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 When you reach the end of chapter 17, you will have been introduced to all members of the two families in Wuthering Heights. The relationships among the children of the Earnshaws and Lintons are somewhat complex. Fill out the genealogical chart below to help keep track of the relationships. (The abbreviation m. stands for “married.”)
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw
Hindley
Mr. and Mrs. Linton
Catherine m.
m.
m.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
m.
m.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
17
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Personal Response Who, do you think, was most responsible for Catherine’s unhappiness? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. How does Catherine react when Heathcliff returns to Thrushcross Grange to see her? What does her reaction suggest about her feelings for Heathcliff?
2. How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?
4. After Catherine dies, what is Heathcliff’s one prayer? What are his reasons for this prayer?
5. How does Heathcliff gain possession of Wuthering Heights? How does this acquisition further his ultimate goal?
18
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What cruel action does Heathcliff take to warn Isabella not to marry him? In what ways does the action symbolize, or represent, their married life?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 6. Review your response to the Focus Activity. Which reasons, if any, apply to Isabella’s attraction to Heathcliff? In your opinion, is the attraction believable or just a convenient plot device? Explain.
7. If you were a lawyer looking into Heathcliff’s claim to the Wuthering Heights estate, what objections might you raise?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Literature and Writing Contrast Settings Contrast life at Wuthering Heights with life at Thrushcross Grange. How does the name of each estate help characterize what the estate is like? What do you think the people who grew up on each estate are like?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups In this section of the book, Nelly Dean is more than the narrator of the events. She is involved in much of what happens and makes several decisions that alter the course of events, such as deciding to announce Heathcliff when he first returns and refusing to pamper Catherine when she hides in her room. With members of your group, review Nelly’s actions, analyze the ethical and practical issues involved in her decisions, and evaluate the overall appropriateness of her behavior. Performing In a small group, select one of the dramatic high points from chapters 10–17 and choose parts. Practice reading your lines aloud with expression; then perform the scene for others in your class. As an alternative, audiotape or videotape the scene and play the tape for your class.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
19
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 FOCUS ACTIVITY Recall a time when you tried to help someone come to terms with feelings of hurt and anger. What did you say? Journal In your journal, describe what caused the person to feel so upset and what you said (or did) to help the person cope. Setting a Purpose Read to find out how the characters in Wuthering Heights learn to cope with their feelings.
BACKGROUND Brontë and the Law In chapters 18–34, Heathcliff, who has seized ownership of Wuthering Heights, uses his knowledge of British law to gain control of even more property. Scholars who have studied British property law say that Emily Brontë correctly applied the law to the situation she describes, taking into consideration the different rules applying to male and female heirs, husbands and wives, and minors. Did You Know? Eighteen-year-old Hareton is unable to read basic written information, such as the inscription over the doorway to his house. Today he would be called functionally illiterate. Adult illiteracy is still a problem: just as in Hareton’s time, illiteracy poses major obstacles to personal development and freedom. In the United States, an estimated 27 million adults cannot read. Literacy Volunteers of America, a nonprofit organization, provides tutoring to illiterate adults. The volunteer tutors receive training on how to teach reading skills. For information, you can contact: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW cogitation [koj´ə t a¯0007shən] n. serious thought expostulate [iks pos0007chə l a¯t´] v. to argue with indisposition [in´dis´pə zish0007ən] n. a slight illness; a disinclination obdurate [ob0007dər it] adj. hardhearted, stubborn peruse [pə roo ¯¯¯ z0007] v. to read carefully perversity [pər vur0007sə te¯] n. the quality of being obstinate in opposing what is right, reasonable, or accepted transgress [trans 0012res0007] v. to break a rule or limit vapid [vap0007id] adj. dull
20
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
antipathy [an tip0007ə the¯] n. strong dislike
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Catherine Earnshaw Linton and her daughter are very different, but they do share some similarities. Each time you find a difference or a similarity between the elder Catherine and her daughter, note it in the graphic organizer below. Elder Catherine
Younger Catherine
cruel
loving
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beautiful
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
21
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Personal Response Did the conclusion of Wuthering Heights surprise you? Why or why not?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Why doesn’t Edgar Linton tell Catherine where Linton Heathcliff has gone?
2. How does Heathcliff trick Catherine into marrying Linton? Why?
22
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. When Mr. Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights a year after his first visit, what two major changes does he discover?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 4. How does Heathcliff change during the last years of his life? What causes these changes?
5. While Catherine is trapped at Wuthering Heights by Heathcliff, she becomes unpleasant and cruel, especially to Hareton. In your opinion, why do difficult circumstances cause good-natured people to commit unkind acts? Explain your answer.
Literature and Writing Contrast Characters In a few paragraphs, evaluate the relationship between the young Catherine and Hareton. In what ways is it similar to the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff? In what ways is it different? In your opinion, which couple’s relationship is healthier and why? Share your written conclusions with others in your class. Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Extending Your Response Literature Groups The ending of Wuthering Heights is deliberately ambiguous. Evidence is provided for at least two points of view: that Heathcliff and Catherine are now peacefully asleep or that they “walk” the moors. Identify the evidence for both points of view and evaluate it. Try to come to a consensus of opinion about which point of view is right; then explain your opinion to others in your class. Learning for Life Create a brochure to promote travel and tourism around the West Yorkshire moors. Paraphrase descriptions from Wuthering Heights to convey the appeal of this wild, remote area of Britain. Pay special attention to the scenes in which Catherine is exploring the moors.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
23
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Personal Response Wuthering Heights contains many dramatic scenes and poetic speeches. Which scene, speech, or bit of dialogue is your favorite? Why do you find it memorable?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Writing About the Novel Although it was written long ago, Wuthering Heights can still appeal to modern readers. Write a review for the school newspaper in which you encourage your peers to read the novel. Pique students’ interest with a few dramatic quotations, and describe just enough of the plot to draw students in without giving away anything important.
24
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Catherine, Her Book
John Wheatcroft
Before You Read Focus Question Why do people keep diaries? What purpose might a personal diary serve?
Background In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë presents excerpts from Catherine Earnshaw’s girlhood diary. In Catherine, Her Book, author John Wheatcroft picks up where Brontë left off, creating diary entries that Catherine might have written as an adult.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Catherine’s feelings for her husband as expressed in the entry for August 1, 1783.
2. From the entry for August 1, would you say that the marriage is a successful one? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Sum up Catherine’s feelings about her childhood home as expressed in the entry for August 10, 1783. Does she seem to prefer her old life or her new? What makes you say so?
4. Making Connections Do you feel that the diary entries Wheatcroft created for Catherine accurately capture her feelings about Edgar? About Wuthering Heights? Support your opinion with evidence from the novel.
Learning for Life Imagine that you are a marriage counselor and that Catherine and her husband, Edgar, have come to you for advice. On the basis of the August 1 entry, what would you say to them? With a few classmates, role-play a counseling session. Wuthering Heights Study Guide
25
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Heathcliff’s Depths Thwart New Heights Janis D. Froelich Before You Read Focus Question Recall movie reviews that you have read or watched on TV. What factual evidence did the reviewers use to support their opinions?
Background The story of the doomed sweethearts Heathcliff and Catherine has captured the imaginations of generations of moviemakers. Since the 1930s, three film versions of Wuthering Heights have been made. This review, by critic Janis D. Froelich, is an evaluation of the 1992 made-for-TV version, in which Ralph Fiennes plays Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche plays the dual role of Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Catherine Linton.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Froelich’s opinion of the film. What strengths does she praise? What weaknesses does she criticize?
2. Describe Froelich’s writing style. In your opinion, is the style appropriate to the subject? Explain.
4. Making Connections If you were to film Wuthering Heights, whom would you choose to play the roles of Heathcliff and Catherine? Why?
Write a Review Rent the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and write a brief review of the film. If you wish, use Froelich’s review as a model. Compare the 1939 version with the 1992 version.
26
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Does the review make you want to see the made-for-TV version of Wuthering Heights? Why or why not?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Daily Life in Victorian England
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Sally Mitchell
Before You Read Focus Question Some societies have a rigid class system in which people remain in the class into which they are born— lower, middle, or upper—regardless of their accomplishments. In your opinion, does the United States have a class system? If so, how would you describe it?
Background Sally Mitchell, a professor of English and women’s studies, has written several books about literature and culture. In this selection from Daily Life in Victorian England, Mitchell describes the traits that differentiated one social class from another.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Mitchell, what three major social classes existed in Victorian England? Briefly describe each.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2. If you were the child of a Victorian squire, what might your life be like? How would that life be different if you were the child of a Victorian farm laborer?
3. Mitchell states that in Victorian England 'class was revealed in manners, speech, clothing, education, and values.' In your opinion, do contemporary Americans use these same standards to judge the class to which a person belongs? Support your opinion with examples.
4. Making Connections On the basis of the information in this selection, to what social class would you say that Heathcliff belongs? How does Heathcliff’s social rank affect his relationship with Catherine?
Sociology Connection With a small group of classmates, research a culture that still has a well-defined class system. In a brief oral report to your class, identify and describe the culture and its class system.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
27
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew Daniel Pool Before You Read Focus Question In Victorian England, people were expected to choose a marriage partner whose social rank and economic status were similar to their own. In your opinion, do young people in the United States today still choose marriage partners on the basis of social rank and economic status? Explain.
Background Daniel Pool is the author of several books about British literature and culture. In these selections from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Pool describes the rural landscapes in which many nineteenthcentury British novels are set as well as the social structure and marriage customs of Victorian England.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Pool, what is the difference between a moor and a heath?
2. Briefly describe the various social classes that one might have encountered in a nineteenth-century English village.
3. Based on Pool’s description, how would you describe the status of women in nineteenth-century England? How did their status differ from the status of women today?
Geography Connection With a partner, research 'Brontë Country'—the land in which Emily Brontë was raised and Wuthering Heights is set. Using library sources or the Internet, read about the terrain and possible prototypes for Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. If possible, find photographs or create a map. Then present your findings in an oral report to your class.
28
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Making Connections What is the social rank of the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights? The Linton family? How do these social ranks affect the lives of the major characters?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Heathcliff
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Jeffrey Caine
Before You Read Focus Question Think about your favorite book or movie. Does it have any unresolved situations that could serve as the basis for another book or movie?
Background Where did Heathcliff go when he disappeared from Wuthering Heights for three years? How did he make his fortune and become a refined gentleman? In the novel Heathcliff, writer Jeffrey Caine answers the questions that Emily Brontë does not answer in Wuthering Heights.
Responding to the Reading 1. Who is the narrator of this story? How does the narrator get this information about Heathcliff?
2. Do you think Caine is successful in his interpretation of Heathcliff? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Making Connections In your opinion, might the events in Wuthering Heights have been different if the letter described in this reading had been given to Catherine? Explain.
Write a Sequel Think about your answer to the Focus Question. Devise an idea for a spin-off of your favorite book or movie. Make an outline of the events that need to occur in order to wrap up the unresolved situation of the original.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
29
Study Guide for
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
0002
i
Meet Emily Brontë
I have never seen her parallel in anything. Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature stood alone. —Charlotte Brontë, in the “Biographical Notice” she wrote to accompany the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
E
mily Jane Brontë was born in 1818, the fifth child of Patrick Brontë, a Cambridgeeducated clergyman born in Ireland, and Maria Branwell, the daughter of a Cornish merchant. When Emily was two, her father was appointed to a church in Haworth, a remote village in Yorkshire. Her mother died of cancer a year later, and her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, moved into the parsonage to take care of the children. In 1824 Mr. Brontë sent his four eldest daughters—Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily—to boarding school. While at school, they were frequently cold and undernourished, and Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. Soon after being sent home to recuperate, they died. Alarmed, Mr. Brontë brought Charlotte and Emily home to be educated. Haworth was a relatively isolated community, and so the Brontë children turned to one another for amusement and companionship. With some wooden soldiers that belonged to Branwell, the only son in the family, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell developed elaborate Wuthering Heights Study Guide
sagas set in imaginary kingdoms and in tiny manuscripts recounted the soldiers’ exploits. Throughout their lives the world of fantasy continued to exert a powerful influence over the Brontës. When Branwell was thirty-one, he was still signing his letters “Northangerland,” after one of the characters in the stories. During the 1830s, the Brontë children left home to study or work, but their attempts were relatively unsuccessful. Branwell became a self-destructive alcoholic, Emily pined for the moors, Charlotte fell hopelessly in love with a married man, and Anne was fired from her job as a governess. By the mid-1840s, the Brontë children were once more back in the parsonage at Haworth. Charlotte and Anne, always interested in writing, planned to publish a collection of poems. When Charlotte accidentally discovered a secret notebook of Emily’s poems, she was impressed by their power and originality and persuaded Emily to include them in the collection. To shield their privacy and conceal the fact that they were women, the sisters self-published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis. The book sold only two copies. Undaunted, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne turned to writing fiction. Charlotte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and was an immediate success. Emily’s Wuthering Heights came out the same year to negative reviews. Critics called it “misshapen,” “grotesque,” and “shocking.” Even Charlotte thought that her sister’s novel was “a rude and a strange production.” Although Emily was strong and fiercely independent, she was deeply hurt by the reviews. In 1848 Branwell died of tuberculosis. Emily caught a cold at Branwell’s funeral and soon became extremely ill, also with tuberculosis. Later, Charlotte wrote about her sister’s dying days, “Never in all her life had she lingered over any task that lay before her, and she did not linger now.” A few days later, on December 14, Emily died—as implacable as any of her fictional characters.
9
Introducing the Novel Wuthering Heights was hewn in a wild workshop with simple tools, out of homely materials. —Charlotte Brontë, in the preface for the 1850 edition
10
THE TIME AND PLACE Wuthering Heights opens in 1801, when Mr. Lockwood meets Heathcliff, the owner of the isolated farmhouse that he has rented. The story then jumps back in time to 1771, when Heathcliff, an orphaned child, was brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. The events of the story, which ends in 1803, take place in a few square miles of the West Yorkshire moors. The remote heath in which the story is set is no mere backdrop to the events of the story. The heath, along with the people of Yorkshire, is central to Emily Brontë’s vision. Unlike the soft, smallscale prettiness of the landscapes of southern England, the heath is bare, rolling, and wild. Charlotte Brontë realized that one reason that so many British readers and critics were horrified by Wuthering Heights was that the novel represented a world that was alien to them. Charlotte understood that people in the south of England had been raised to “observe the utmost evenness of manner and guardedness of language”—in other words, to behave calmly and politely, no matter how they felt inside. The people in the Brontës’ part of the world were different. Living in scattered farms and villages, fiercely independent and suspicious of outsiders, they tended to speak their minds, often harshly, and show, rather than hide, their emotions. For most of the novel, Heathcliff is obsessed with revenge to a degree that may seem implausible. But critic V. S. Pritchett observes that the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Written by a reclusive twenty-eight-year-old who was a mystery even to her family, Wuthering Heights is generally considered a masterpiece that stands outside the mainstream of Victorian literature. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff, an orphan rescued from city slums and brought to a farm named Wuthering Heights in the wilds of Yorkshire. There, the young boy develops a close attachment to the high-spirited daughter of the household, Catherine. Wuthering Heights is a blend of the fanciful and the ordinary. The two main narrators, Mr. Lockwood and Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean, are rather ordinary people. They, like the reader, are fascinated by the larger-than-life dramas played out between the houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although the book contains many emotionally charged scenes and suggests that supernatural events may have occurred, it is anchored in everyday reality. Brontë knew how to describe a scene by using vivid details to create convincing settings. She also had a good ear for the way people spoke—from the dialect of Yorkshire peasants to the speech of the upper classes. Brontë manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for her two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, even though both frequently behave abominably. Her tale is full of suffering and cruelty but is tempered with lighter elements, such as the endless grumpiness and self-righteousness of Joseph, an old servant, and the wry comments of Nelly Dean. Over the years, the book has received mixed reviews. One early critic saw the novel as a poetic dream, “a world of brilliant figures in an atmosphere of mists,” and assumed that it was the “unformed” work of an immature artist. One hundred years later, British writer V. S. Pritchett, who spent much of his childhood in the north of England, praised Wuthering Heights as “the most
realistic statement about the Yorkshire people of the isolated moorland and dales that I have ever read.” Far from seeing Emily Brontë as a naively poetic artist, Pritchett and many others have viewed her as a masterful writer, whose book reveals, among other things, a surprisingly accurate grasp of British law at the time. Unusual as it may be, Wuthering Heights is masterfully written. When you read it, you care about the characters (whom you may not always like), and you want to know what happens next.
local people were capable of “unending” hatred. From this point of view, Heathcliff is not a monster but a realistic example of a Yorkshireman who feels he has been mistreated. Also essential to an understanding of Wuthering Heights is an understanding of the time period in which it is set. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, telephones and automobiles did not link remote Yorkshire farmsteads with the rest of Britain. Although railroads were common when Brontë wrote the novel, she set the story in a time when people still traveled on foot or by horse. Thus, when Mr. Earnshaw travels the sixty miles from his farm to Liverpool, a distance that would take an hour or two today, he must walk there and back—a journey of three full days.
In Wuthering Heights, many deaths occur: over the course of thirty years, eleven characters die—none of them beyond middle age. To a modern reader, familiar with antibiotics and other common medicines, a novel with so many deaths may seem melodramatic. In the world of the Brontës, however, death was a constant presence. All six Brontë children died from disease in childhood or before they reached middle age. In the early 1800s, the average working man in Leeds (an industrial city in Yorkshire) died at the age of nineteen. In the village of Haworth, 40 percent of the children died before the age of six. Tuberculosis, a disease that usually attacks the lungs and thrives in damp and crowded conditions, was rampant in Haworth.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Did You Know? In 1861, Patrick Brontë died, and the contents of his house were sold in an auction. In 1893 the Brontë Society was formed in an attempt to reclaim the Brontës’ possessions for preservation purposes. Today, Haworth parsonage is a museum. Many of the family’s original belongings are on display. These include paintings and drawings, clothing and jewelry, the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
piano that the children played, and even a settee that is believed to be the one on which Emily died. The museum is open year-round except for several weeks in midwinter. For more information, you can write to the following address: The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DR, Great Britain.
11
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 FOCUS ACTIVITY What are the most influential forces in the shaping of a child’s values and behavior? Parents, guardians, or other family members? Schooling? Friends? Think-Pair-Share With a partner, list influences that are, in your opinion, important in a child’s development. Together, rate the importance of each influence. Then speculate on what may happen to a child if any of these influences are missing in his or her life. Setting a Purpose Read to discover what forces are important in making Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley who they are.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW annihilate [ə n0005¯0007ə l ¯at] v. to destroy completely caprice [kə pre¯ s0007] n. whim; illogical or unpredictable action or idea degradation [de0012´rə da¯0007shən] n. a lowering of rank, status, or moral character laconic [ lə kon0007ik] adj. using few words; terse to the point of rudeness malignity [mə li00120007nə te¯ ] n. the quality of wishing or causing harm or evil to others misanthropist [mis an0007thrə pist ] n. one who hates other people morose [mə ro ¯ s0007] adj. gloomy; depressed
12
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Inheritance Laws In England around the time in which Wuthering Heights is set, the property rights of female heirs were generally in the hands of their husbands and brothers. Until the coming of the Industrial Revolution (beginning in the late 1700s), European inheritance laws and traditions generally favored the eldest sons in landowning families. Because landowners wanted to keep family holdings intact, property was not divided among the children at the death of the father. Often, the eldest son of the family inherited most or all of his father’s land and wealth, with the other sons receiving little or nothing. Eldest sons were expected to accept responsibility for the financial welfare of their mothers and sisters and for maintaining the social status of the family. As you read, note the importance of inheritance laws in shaping the plot of Wuthering Heights. Did You Know? In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë employs several narrative devices: She uses the voices of two minor characters, Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean, to give eyewitness accounts of the lives of the main characters. When neither Lockwood nor Nelly can observe what is happening, Brontë describes events through letters or diary entries of the main characters. As you read, think about the effects of these literary devices in shaping your impressions of the characters.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 In chapters 1–9, the two houses—Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange—and most of the main characters of the novel are introduced. As you read each chapter, pay attention to who is living in each house and who is no longer there because of marriage, disappearance, or death. For each chapter, in order to keep track of the characters’ movements back and forth between the two houses, fill in the chart below with the names of the persons residing in each house. Chapter
Wuthering Heights
Thrushcross Grange
1
Heathcliff, Joseph, Zillah, Mrs. Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw
Mr. Lockwood, Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean
2
3
4
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5
6
7
8
9
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
13
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Personal Response If you could talk to the characters, what would you ask them? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Briefly describe the setting of chapters 1–2. Where is the Wuthering Heights mansion located and what is it like? How did the estate get its name? What is the weather like during Mr. Lockwood’s first visit? What atmosphere, or mood, do these details of setting establish?
2. Briefly describe the dreams Mr. Lockwood has when he spends the night at Wuthering Heights. How do the dreams help create a sense of mystery and suspense?
4. Why does Heathcliff run away? What does Catherine admit to just after he leaves? Do you think Heathcliff would have stayed at Wuthering Heights if he had heard all of Catherine’s confession? Why or why not?
14
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What is Heathcliff’s status at Wuthering Heights before Mr. Earnshaw dies? What is it afterward? How does the change in status affect Heathcliff’s behavior?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 5. How does Nelly’s description of life at Wuthering Heights influence your opinion of Heathcliff? How might your opinion change if the Lintons narrated the story?
6. Do you think that Catherine’s motives for marrying Edgar Linton are sound ones? Why or why not?
Literature and Writing
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyze a Dream In Chapter 9, Catherine Earnshaw describes a disturbing dream that she has had. In a paragraph or two, sum up the content of Catherine’s dream and describe what the dream reveals about her and about her feelings for Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. Then analyze the connection between Catherine’s dream and Mr. Lockwood’s second dream (in chapter 3). How does Catherine’s dream help explain Mr. Lockwood’s?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups For more than a hundred years, critics have disagreed about whether Catherine and Heathcliff feel true love for each other. What do you think? Find passages in chapters 1–9 to back up your opinion; then debate the question with the rest of your group. Sum up the group’s opinions and explain them to others in your class. Learning for Life Pretend that you are a servant working for Hindley Earnshaw after the death of his wife. You are concerned about the welfare and living conditions of the children left in Hindley’s care. Write a letter to the proper authorities in which you detail specific observations that have caused your concern. Look back at your response to the Focus Activity to gather ideas about the factors that shape children’s lives.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
15
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 FOCUS ACTIVITY Do opposites really attract? Discuss Why might a person be attracted to someone whose temperament, personality, or background is different from his or her own? What might some of the benefits of such a relationship be? What might the drawbacks be? Setting a Purpose Read to find out what “opposite” is attracted to Heathcliff.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW avarice [av0007ər is] n. greed for money despondency [di spon0007dən se¯] n. loss of hope expedient [iks pe¯0007de¯ ənt] adj. suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance (implying what is immediately advantageous without regard for ethics or principles) lamentation [lam´ən ta¯0007shən] n. an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret obliterate [ə blit0007e ra¯ t´] v. to destroy; to wipe out ominous [om0007ə nəs ] adj. threatening paroxysm [par0007ək siz´əm] n. a sudden, violent emotion or action presumptuous [pri zump0007choo ¯¯¯ əs] adj. arrogant; bold
16
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Heathcliff and the Gypsies Edgar Linton refers to Heathcliff as a “gipsy,” a colloquialism derived from the word Egyptian. Formerly, the nomadic people known as Gypsies were thought to have come from Egypt. Actually, they originally came from India. First migrating to Europe at least one thousand years ago, the Gypsies have managed to keep certain elements of their culture intact. They call themselves Rom, and many of them still speak a language called Romany. Gypsies can be found on every continent but live primarily in Europe. Throughout the centuries they have been the object of prejudice. Heathcliff is called a Gypsy because of his dark hair and complexion and because he is an outsider in the closed, settled world of the Yorkshire moors. Did You Know? Novelists of the mid-1800s did not have the modern-day advantage of being able to read about psychology; but if they were good observers of human nature, they recognized the personality traits and psychological processes that scientists study today. Emily Brontë would probably not be surprised by the following findings related to stress: (1) Many life changes—including pregnancy, arguments with a loved one, and separation from a loved one—can trigger stress. (2) Certain individuals create personal stress by seeing themselves as victims of circumstances and holding others responsible for their unhappiness. (3) Seeking others’ constant love and insisting that everything must go one’s way can cause stress. (4) Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and makes an individual more susceptible to illness. (5) Anxiety and depression can make an individual more prone to physical disorders. As you read chapters 10–17, notice how these observations about stress, psychological disorders, and physical health apply to Catherine Linton.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 When you reach the end of chapter 17, you will have been introduced to all members of the two families in Wuthering Heights. The relationships among the children of the Earnshaws and Lintons are somewhat complex. Fill out the genealogical chart below to help keep track of the relationships. (The abbreviation m. stands for “married.”)
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw
Hindley
Mr. and Mrs. Linton
Catherine m.
m.
m.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
m.
m.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
17
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Personal Response Who, do you think, was most responsible for Catherine’s unhappiness? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. How does Catherine react when Heathcliff returns to Thrushcross Grange to see her? What does her reaction suggest about her feelings for Heathcliff?
2. How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?
4. After Catherine dies, what is Heathcliff’s one prayer? What are his reasons for this prayer?
5. How does Heathcliff gain possession of Wuthering Heights? How does this acquisition further his ultimate goal?
18
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What cruel action does Heathcliff take to warn Isabella not to marry him? In what ways does the action symbolize, or represent, their married life?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 6. Review your response to the Focus Activity. Which reasons, if any, apply to Isabella’s attraction to Heathcliff? In your opinion, is the attraction believable or just a convenient plot device? Explain.
7. If you were a lawyer looking into Heathcliff’s claim to the Wuthering Heights estate, what objections might you raise?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Literature and Writing Contrast Settings Contrast life at Wuthering Heights with life at Thrushcross Grange. How does the name of each estate help characterize what the estate is like? What do you think the people who grew up on each estate are like?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups In this section of the book, Nelly Dean is more than the narrator of the events. She is involved in much of what happens and makes several decisions that alter the course of events, such as deciding to announce Heathcliff when he first returns and refusing to pamper Catherine when she hides in her room. With members of your group, review Nelly’s actions, analyze the ethical and practical issues involved in her decisions, and evaluate the overall appropriateness of her behavior. Performing In a small group, select one of the dramatic high points from chapters 10–17 and choose parts. Practice reading your lines aloud with expression; then perform the scene for others in your class. As an alternative, audiotape or videotape the scene and play the tape for your class.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
19
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 FOCUS ACTIVITY Recall a time when you tried to help someone come to terms with feelings of hurt and anger. What did you say? Journal In your journal, describe what caused the person to feel so upset and what you said (or did) to help the person cope. Setting a Purpose Read to find out how the characters in Wuthering Heights learn to cope with their feelings.
BACKGROUND Brontë and the Law In chapters 18–34, Heathcliff, who has seized ownership of Wuthering Heights, uses his knowledge of British law to gain control of even more property. Scholars who have studied British property law say that Emily Brontë correctly applied the law to the situation she describes, taking into consideration the different rules applying to male and female heirs, husbands and wives, and minors. Did You Know? Eighteen-year-old Hareton is unable to read basic written information, such as the inscription over the doorway to his house. Today he would be called functionally illiterate. Adult illiteracy is still a problem: just as in Hareton’s time, illiteracy poses major obstacles to personal development and freedom. In the United States, an estimated 27 million adults cannot read. Literacy Volunteers of America, a nonprofit organization, provides tutoring to illiterate adults. The volunteer tutors receive training on how to teach reading skills. For information, you can contact: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW cogitation [koj´ə t a¯0007shən] n. serious thought expostulate [iks pos0007chə l a¯t´] v. to argue with indisposition [in´dis´pə zish0007ən] n. a slight illness; a disinclination obdurate [ob0007dər it] adj. hardhearted, stubborn peruse [pə roo ¯¯¯ z0007] v. to read carefully perversity [pər vur0007sə te¯] n. the quality of being obstinate in opposing what is right, reasonable, or accepted transgress [trans 0012res0007] v. to break a rule or limit vapid [vap0007id] adj. dull
20
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
antipathy [an tip0007ə the¯] n. strong dislike
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Catherine Earnshaw Linton and her daughter are very different, but they do share some similarities. Each time you find a difference or a similarity between the elder Catherine and her daughter, note it in the graphic organizer below. Elder Catherine
Younger Catherine
cruel
loving
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beautiful
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
21
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Personal Response Did the conclusion of Wuthering Heights surprise you? Why or why not?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Why doesn’t Edgar Linton tell Catherine where Linton Heathcliff has gone?
2. How does Heathcliff trick Catherine into marrying Linton? Why?
22
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. When Mr. Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights a year after his first visit, what two major changes does he discover?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 4. How does Heathcliff change during the last years of his life? What causes these changes?
5. While Catherine is trapped at Wuthering Heights by Heathcliff, she becomes unpleasant and cruel, especially to Hareton. In your opinion, why do difficult circumstances cause good-natured people to commit unkind acts? Explain your answer.
Literature and Writing Contrast Characters In a few paragraphs, evaluate the relationship between the young Catherine and Hareton. In what ways is it similar to the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff? In what ways is it different? In your opinion, which couple’s relationship is healthier and why? Share your written conclusions with others in your class. Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Extending Your Response Literature Groups The ending of Wuthering Heights is deliberately ambiguous. Evidence is provided for at least two points of view: that Heathcliff and Catherine are now peacefully asleep or that they “walk” the moors. Identify the evidence for both points of view and evaluate it. Try to come to a consensus of opinion about which point of view is right; then explain your opinion to others in your class. Learning for Life Create a brochure to promote travel and tourism around the West Yorkshire moors. Paraphrase descriptions from Wuthering Heights to convey the appeal of this wild, remote area of Britain. Pay special attention to the scenes in which Catherine is exploring the moors.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
23
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Personal Response Wuthering Heights contains many dramatic scenes and poetic speeches. Which scene, speech, or bit of dialogue is your favorite? Why do you find it memorable?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Writing About the Novel Although it was written long ago, Wuthering Heights can still appeal to modern readers. Write a review for the school newspaper in which you encourage your peers to read the novel. Pique students’ interest with a few dramatic quotations, and describe just enough of the plot to draw students in without giving away anything important.
24
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Catherine, Her Book
John Wheatcroft
Before You Read Focus Question Why do people keep diaries? What purpose might a personal diary serve?
Background In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë presents excerpts from Catherine Earnshaw’s girlhood diary. In Catherine, Her Book, author John Wheatcroft picks up where Brontë left off, creating diary entries that Catherine might have written as an adult.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Catherine’s feelings for her husband as expressed in the entry for August 1, 1783.
2. From the entry for August 1, would you say that the marriage is a successful one? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Sum up Catherine’s feelings about her childhood home as expressed in the entry for August 10, 1783. Does she seem to prefer her old life or her new? What makes you say so?
4. Making Connections Do you feel that the diary entries Wheatcroft created for Catherine accurately capture her feelings about Edgar? About Wuthering Heights? Support your opinion with evidence from the novel.
Learning for Life Imagine that you are a marriage counselor and that Catherine and her husband, Edgar, have come to you for advice. On the basis of the August 1 entry, what would you say to them? With a few classmates, role-play a counseling session. Wuthering Heights Study Guide
25
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Heathcliff’s Depths Thwart New Heights Janis D. Froelich Before You Read Focus Question Recall movie reviews that you have read or watched on TV. What factual evidence did the reviewers use to support their opinions?
Background The story of the doomed sweethearts Heathcliff and Catherine has captured the imaginations of generations of moviemakers. Since the 1930s, three film versions of Wuthering Heights have been made. This review, by critic Janis D. Froelich, is an evaluation of the 1992 made-for-TV version, in which Ralph Fiennes plays Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche plays the dual role of Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Catherine Linton.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Froelich’s opinion of the film. What strengths does she praise? What weaknesses does she criticize?
2. Describe Froelich’s writing style. In your opinion, is the style appropriate to the subject? Explain.
4. Making Connections If you were to film Wuthering Heights, whom would you choose to play the roles of Heathcliff and Catherine? Why?
Write a Review Rent the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and write a brief review of the film. If you wish, use Froelich’s review as a model. Compare the 1939 version with the 1992 version.
26
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Does the review make you want to see the made-for-TV version of Wuthering Heights? Why or why not?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Daily Life in Victorian England
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Sally Mitchell
Before You Read Focus Question Some societies have a rigid class system in which people remain in the class into which they are born— lower, middle, or upper—regardless of their accomplishments. In your opinion, does the United States have a class system? If so, how would you describe it?
Background Sally Mitchell, a professor of English and women’s studies, has written several books about literature and culture. In this selection from Daily Life in Victorian England, Mitchell describes the traits that differentiated one social class from another.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Mitchell, what three major social classes existed in Victorian England? Briefly describe each.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2. If you were the child of a Victorian squire, what might your life be like? How would that life be different if you were the child of a Victorian farm laborer?
3. Mitchell states that in Victorian England 'class was revealed in manners, speech, clothing, education, and values.' In your opinion, do contemporary Americans use these same standards to judge the class to which a person belongs? Support your opinion with examples.
4. Making Connections On the basis of the information in this selection, to what social class would you say that Heathcliff belongs? How does Heathcliff’s social rank affect his relationship with Catherine?
Sociology Connection With a small group of classmates, research a culture that still has a well-defined class system. In a brief oral report to your class, identify and describe the culture and its class system.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
27
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew Daniel Pool Before You Read Focus Question In Victorian England, people were expected to choose a marriage partner whose social rank and economic status were similar to their own. In your opinion, do young people in the United States today still choose marriage partners on the basis of social rank and economic status? Explain.
Background Daniel Pool is the author of several books about British literature and culture. In these selections from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Pool describes the rural landscapes in which many nineteenthcentury British novels are set as well as the social structure and marriage customs of Victorian England.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Pool, what is the difference between a moor and a heath?
2. Briefly describe the various social classes that one might have encountered in a nineteenth-century English village.
3. Based on Pool’s description, how would you describe the status of women in nineteenth-century England? How did their status differ from the status of women today?
Geography Connection With a partner, research 'Brontë Country'—the land in which Emily Brontë was raised and Wuthering Heights is set. Using library sources or the Internet, read about the terrain and possible prototypes for Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. If possible, find photographs or create a map. Then present your findings in an oral report to your class.
28
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Making Connections What is the social rank of the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights? The Linton family? How do these social ranks affect the lives of the major characters?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Heathcliff
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Jeffrey Caine
Before You Read Focus Question Think about your favorite book or movie. Does it have any unresolved situations that could serve as the basis for another book or movie?
Background Where did Heathcliff go when he disappeared from Wuthering Heights for three years? How did he make his fortune and become a refined gentleman? In the novel Heathcliff, writer Jeffrey Caine answers the questions that Emily Brontë does not answer in Wuthering Heights.
Responding to the Reading 1. Who is the narrator of this story? How does the narrator get this information about Heathcliff?
2. Do you think Caine is successful in his interpretation of Heathcliff? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Making Connections In your opinion, might the events in Wuthering Heights have been different if the letter described in this reading had been given to Catherine? Explain.
Write a Sequel Think about your answer to the Focus Question. Devise an idea for a spin-off of your favorite book or movie. Make an outline of the events that need to occur in order to wrap up the unresolved situation of the original.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
29
Wuthering Heights study guide contains a biography of Emily Bronte, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes,. Wuthering Heights Chapter Questions and Answer Key: These study guide questions and answer keys for Bronte's Wuthering Heights cover the entire novel, and are ready to print and use immediately. Thare bina lage nahi mara jiya re movie name. You can use these for the creation of tests and quizzes as well.
Popular Posts
Although it was not as original as before, I was still excited. Gone were the groove-oriented breakdowns or the guitar duals, and went for a more forward deathcore approach, \'Sin City\' especially. Upon a burning body red white green rar.
THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY
Study Guide for
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
0002
i
Meet Emily Brontë
I have never seen her parallel in anything. Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature stood alone. —Charlotte Brontë, in the “Biographical Notice” she wrote to accompany the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
E
mily Jane Brontë was born in 1818, the fifth child of Patrick Brontë, a Cambridgeeducated clergyman born in Ireland, and Maria Branwell, the daughter of a Cornish merchant. When Emily was two, her father was appointed to a church in Haworth, a remote village in Yorkshire. Her mother died of cancer a year later, and her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, moved into the parsonage to take care of the children. In 1824 Mr. Brontë sent his four eldest daughters—Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily—to boarding school. While at school, they were frequently cold and undernourished, and Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. Soon after being sent home to recuperate, they died. Alarmed, Mr. Brontë brought Charlotte and Emily home to be educated. Haworth was a relatively isolated community, and so the Brontë children turned to one another for amusement and companionship. With some wooden soldiers that belonged to Branwell, the only son in the family, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell developed elaborate Wuthering Heights Study Guide
sagas set in imaginary kingdoms and in tiny manuscripts recounted the soldiers’ exploits. Throughout their lives the world of fantasy continued to exert a powerful influence over the Brontës. When Branwell was thirty-one, he was still signing his letters “Northangerland,” after one of the characters in the stories. During the 1830s, the Brontë children left home to study or work, but their attempts were relatively unsuccessful. Branwell became a self-destructive alcoholic, Emily pined for the moors, Charlotte fell hopelessly in love with a married man, and Anne was fired from her job as a governess. By the mid-1840s, the Brontë children were once more back in the parsonage at Haworth. Charlotte and Anne, always interested in writing, planned to publish a collection of poems. When Charlotte accidentally discovered a secret notebook of Emily’s poems, she was impressed by their power and originality and persuaded Emily to include them in the collection. To shield their privacy and conceal the fact that they were women, the sisters self-published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis. The book sold only two copies. Undaunted, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne turned to writing fiction. Charlotte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and was an immediate success. Emily’s Wuthering Heights came out the same year to negative reviews. Critics called it “misshapen,” “grotesque,” and “shocking.” Even Charlotte thought that her sister’s novel was “a rude and a strange production.” Although Emily was strong and fiercely independent, she was deeply hurt by the reviews. In 1848 Branwell died of tuberculosis. Emily caught a cold at Branwell’s funeral and soon became extremely ill, also with tuberculosis. Later, Charlotte wrote about her sister’s dying days, “Never in all her life had she lingered over any task that lay before her, and she did not linger now.” A few days later, on December 14, Emily died—as implacable as any of her fictional characters.
9
Introducing the Novel Wuthering Heights was hewn in a wild workshop with simple tools, out of homely materials. —Charlotte Brontë, in the preface for the 1850 edition
10
THE TIME AND PLACE Wuthering Heights opens in 1801, when Mr. Lockwood meets Heathcliff, the owner of the isolated farmhouse that he has rented. The story then jumps back in time to 1771, when Heathcliff, an orphaned child, was brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. The events of the story, which ends in 1803, take place in a few square miles of the West Yorkshire moors. The remote heath in which the story is set is no mere backdrop to the events of the story. The heath, along with the people of Yorkshire, is central to Emily Brontë’s vision. Unlike the soft, smallscale prettiness of the landscapes of southern England, the heath is bare, rolling, and wild. Charlotte Brontë realized that one reason that so many British readers and critics were horrified by Wuthering Heights was that the novel represented a world that was alien to them. Charlotte understood that people in the south of England had been raised to “observe the utmost evenness of manner and guardedness of language”—in other words, to behave calmly and politely, no matter how they felt inside. The people in the Brontës’ part of the world were different. Living in scattered farms and villages, fiercely independent and suspicious of outsiders, they tended to speak their minds, often harshly, and show, rather than hide, their emotions. For most of the novel, Heathcliff is obsessed with revenge to a degree that may seem implausible. But critic V. S. Pritchett observes that the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Written by a reclusive twenty-eight-year-old who was a mystery even to her family, Wuthering Heights is generally considered a masterpiece that stands outside the mainstream of Victorian literature. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff, an orphan rescued from city slums and brought to a farm named Wuthering Heights in the wilds of Yorkshire. There, the young boy develops a close attachment to the high-spirited daughter of the household, Catherine. Wuthering Heights is a blend of the fanciful and the ordinary. The two main narrators, Mr. Lockwood and Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean, are rather ordinary people. They, like the reader, are fascinated by the larger-than-life dramas played out between the houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although the book contains many emotionally charged scenes and suggests that supernatural events may have occurred, it is anchored in everyday reality. Brontë knew how to describe a scene by using vivid details to create convincing settings. She also had a good ear for the way people spoke—from the dialect of Yorkshire peasants to the speech of the upper classes. Brontë manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for her two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, even though both frequently behave abominably. Her tale is full of suffering and cruelty but is tempered with lighter elements, such as the endless grumpiness and self-righteousness of Joseph, an old servant, and the wry comments of Nelly Dean. Over the years, the book has received mixed reviews. One early critic saw the novel as a poetic dream, “a world of brilliant figures in an atmosphere of mists,” and assumed that it was the “unformed” work of an immature artist. One hundred years later, British writer V. S. Pritchett, who spent much of his childhood in the north of England, praised Wuthering Heights as “the most
realistic statement about the Yorkshire people of the isolated moorland and dales that I have ever read.” Far from seeing Emily Brontë as a naively poetic artist, Pritchett and many others have viewed her as a masterful writer, whose book reveals, among other things, a surprisingly accurate grasp of British law at the time. Unusual as it may be, Wuthering Heights is masterfully written. When you read it, you care about the characters (whom you may not always like), and you want to know what happens next.
local people were capable of “unending” hatred. From this point of view, Heathcliff is not a monster but a realistic example of a Yorkshireman who feels he has been mistreated. Also essential to an understanding of Wuthering Heights is an understanding of the time period in which it is set. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, telephones and automobiles did not link remote Yorkshire farmsteads with the rest of Britain. Although railroads were common when Brontë wrote the novel, she set the story in a time when people still traveled on foot or by horse. Thus, when Mr. Earnshaw travels the sixty miles from his farm to Liverpool, a distance that would take an hour or two today, he must walk there and back—a journey of three full days.
In Wuthering Heights, many deaths occur: over the course of thirty years, eleven characters die—none of them beyond middle age. To a modern reader, familiar with antibiotics and other common medicines, a novel with so many deaths may seem melodramatic. In the world of the Brontës, however, death was a constant presence. All six Brontë children died from disease in childhood or before they reached middle age. In the early 1800s, the average working man in Leeds (an industrial city in Yorkshire) died at the age of nineteen. In the village of Haworth, 40 percent of the children died before the age of six. Tuberculosis, a disease that usually attacks the lungs and thrives in damp and crowded conditions, was rampant in Haworth.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Did You Know? In 1861, Patrick Brontë died, and the contents of his house were sold in an auction. In 1893 the Brontë Society was formed in an attempt to reclaim the Brontës’ possessions for preservation purposes. Today, Haworth parsonage is a museum. Many of the family’s original belongings are on display. These include paintings and drawings, clothing and jewelry, the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
piano that the children played, and even a settee that is believed to be the one on which Emily died. The museum is open year-round except for several weeks in midwinter. For more information, you can write to the following address: The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DR, Great Britain.
11
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 FOCUS ACTIVITY What are the most influential forces in the shaping of a child’s values and behavior? Parents, guardians, or other family members? Schooling? Friends? Think-Pair-Share With a partner, list influences that are, in your opinion, important in a child’s development. Together, rate the importance of each influence. Then speculate on what may happen to a child if any of these influences are missing in his or her life. Setting a Purpose Read to discover what forces are important in making Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley who they are.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW annihilate [ə n0005¯0007ə l ¯at] v. to destroy completely caprice [kə pre¯ s0007] n. whim; illogical or unpredictable action or idea degradation [de0012´rə da¯0007shən] n. a lowering of rank, status, or moral character laconic [ lə kon0007ik] adj. using few words; terse to the point of rudeness malignity [mə li00120007nə te¯ ] n. the quality of wishing or causing harm or evil to others misanthropist [mis an0007thrə pist ] n. one who hates other people morose [mə ro ¯ s0007] adj. gloomy; depressed
12
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Inheritance Laws In England around the time in which Wuthering Heights is set, the property rights of female heirs were generally in the hands of their husbands and brothers. Until the coming of the Industrial Revolution (beginning in the late 1700s), European inheritance laws and traditions generally favored the eldest sons in landowning families. Because landowners wanted to keep family holdings intact, property was not divided among the children at the death of the father. Often, the eldest son of the family inherited most or all of his father’s land and wealth, with the other sons receiving little or nothing. Eldest sons were expected to accept responsibility for the financial welfare of their mothers and sisters and for maintaining the social status of the family. As you read, note the importance of inheritance laws in shaping the plot of Wuthering Heights. Did You Know? In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë employs several narrative devices: She uses the voices of two minor characters, Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean, to give eyewitness accounts of the lives of the main characters. When neither Lockwood nor Nelly can observe what is happening, Brontë describes events through letters or diary entries of the main characters. As you read, think about the effects of these literary devices in shaping your impressions of the characters.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 In chapters 1–9, the two houses—Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange—and most of the main characters of the novel are introduced. As you read each chapter, pay attention to who is living in each house and who is no longer there because of marriage, disappearance, or death. For each chapter, in order to keep track of the characters’ movements back and forth between the two houses, fill in the chart below with the names of the persons residing in each house. Chapter
Wuthering Heights
Thrushcross Grange
1
Heathcliff, Joseph, Zillah, Mrs. Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw
Mr. Lockwood, Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean
2
3
4
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5
6
7
8
9
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
13
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Personal Response If you could talk to the characters, what would you ask them? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Briefly describe the setting of chapters 1–2. Where is the Wuthering Heights mansion located and what is it like? How did the estate get its name? What is the weather like during Mr. Lockwood’s first visit? What atmosphere, or mood, do these details of setting establish?
2. Briefly describe the dreams Mr. Lockwood has when he spends the night at Wuthering Heights. How do the dreams help create a sense of mystery and suspense?
4. Why does Heathcliff run away? What does Catherine admit to just after he leaves? Do you think Heathcliff would have stayed at Wuthering Heights if he had heard all of Catherine’s confession? Why or why not?
14
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What is Heathcliff’s status at Wuthering Heights before Mr. Earnshaw dies? What is it afterward? How does the change in status affect Heathcliff’s behavior?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 5. How does Nelly’s description of life at Wuthering Heights influence your opinion of Heathcliff? How might your opinion change if the Lintons narrated the story?
6. Do you think that Catherine’s motives for marrying Edgar Linton are sound ones? Why or why not?
Literature and Writing
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyze a Dream In Chapter 9, Catherine Earnshaw describes a disturbing dream that she has had. In a paragraph or two, sum up the content of Catherine’s dream and describe what the dream reveals about her and about her feelings for Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. Then analyze the connection between Catherine’s dream and Mr. Lockwood’s second dream (in chapter 3). How does Catherine’s dream help explain Mr. Lockwood’s?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups For more than a hundred years, critics have disagreed about whether Catherine and Heathcliff feel true love for each other. What do you think? Find passages in chapters 1–9 to back up your opinion; then debate the question with the rest of your group. Sum up the group’s opinions and explain them to others in your class. Learning for Life Pretend that you are a servant working for Hindley Earnshaw after the death of his wife. You are concerned about the welfare and living conditions of the children left in Hindley’s care. Write a letter to the proper authorities in which you detail specific observations that have caused your concern. Look back at your response to the Focus Activity to gather ideas about the factors that shape children’s lives.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
15
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 FOCUS ACTIVITY Do opposites really attract? Discuss Why might a person be attracted to someone whose temperament, personality, or background is different from his or her own? What might some of the benefits of such a relationship be? What might the drawbacks be? Setting a Purpose Read to find out what “opposite” is attracted to Heathcliff.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW avarice [av0007ər is] n. greed for money despondency [di spon0007dən se¯] n. loss of hope expedient [iks pe¯0007de¯ ənt] adj. suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance (implying what is immediately advantageous without regard for ethics or principles) lamentation [lam´ən ta¯0007shən] n. an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret obliterate [ə blit0007e ra¯ t´] v. to destroy; to wipe out ominous [om0007ə nəs ] adj. threatening paroxysm [par0007ək siz´əm] n. a sudden, violent emotion or action presumptuous [pri zump0007choo ¯¯¯ əs] adj. arrogant; bold
16
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Heathcliff and the Gypsies Edgar Linton refers to Heathcliff as a “gipsy,” a colloquialism derived from the word Egyptian. Formerly, the nomadic people known as Gypsies were thought to have come from Egypt. Actually, they originally came from India. First migrating to Europe at least one thousand years ago, the Gypsies have managed to keep certain elements of their culture intact. They call themselves Rom, and many of them still speak a language called Romany. Gypsies can be found on every continent but live primarily in Europe. Throughout the centuries they have been the object of prejudice. Heathcliff is called a Gypsy because of his dark hair and complexion and because he is an outsider in the closed, settled world of the Yorkshire moors. Did You Know? Novelists of the mid-1800s did not have the modern-day advantage of being able to read about psychology; but if they were good observers of human nature, they recognized the personality traits and psychological processes that scientists study today. Emily Brontë would probably not be surprised by the following findings related to stress: (1) Many life changes—including pregnancy, arguments with a loved one, and separation from a loved one—can trigger stress. (2) Certain individuals create personal stress by seeing themselves as victims of circumstances and holding others responsible for their unhappiness. (3) Seeking others’ constant love and insisting that everything must go one’s way can cause stress. (4) Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and makes an individual more susceptible to illness. (5) Anxiety and depression can make an individual more prone to physical disorders. As you read chapters 10–17, notice how these observations about stress, psychological disorders, and physical health apply to Catherine Linton.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 When you reach the end of chapter 17, you will have been introduced to all members of the two families in Wuthering Heights. The relationships among the children of the Earnshaws and Lintons are somewhat complex. Fill out the genealogical chart below to help keep track of the relationships. (The abbreviation m. stands for “married.”)
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw
Hindley
Mr. and Mrs. Linton
Catherine m.
m.
m.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
m.
m.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
17
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Personal Response Who, do you think, was most responsible for Catherine’s unhappiness? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. How does Catherine react when Heathcliff returns to Thrushcross Grange to see her? What does her reaction suggest about her feelings for Heathcliff?
2. How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?
4. After Catherine dies, what is Heathcliff’s one prayer? What are his reasons for this prayer?
5. How does Heathcliff gain possession of Wuthering Heights? How does this acquisition further his ultimate goal?
18
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What cruel action does Heathcliff take to warn Isabella not to marry him? In what ways does the action symbolize, or represent, their married life?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 6. Review your response to the Focus Activity. Which reasons, if any, apply to Isabella’s attraction to Heathcliff? In your opinion, is the attraction believable or just a convenient plot device? Explain.
7. If you were a lawyer looking into Heathcliff’s claim to the Wuthering Heights estate, what objections might you raise?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Literature and Writing Contrast Settings Contrast life at Wuthering Heights with life at Thrushcross Grange. How does the name of each estate help characterize what the estate is like? What do you think the people who grew up on each estate are like?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups In this section of the book, Nelly Dean is more than the narrator of the events. She is involved in much of what happens and makes several decisions that alter the course of events, such as deciding to announce Heathcliff when he first returns and refusing to pamper Catherine when she hides in her room. With members of your group, review Nelly’s actions, analyze the ethical and practical issues involved in her decisions, and evaluate the overall appropriateness of her behavior. Performing In a small group, select one of the dramatic high points from chapters 10–17 and choose parts. Practice reading your lines aloud with expression; then perform the scene for others in your class. As an alternative, audiotape or videotape the scene and play the tape for your class.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
19
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 FOCUS ACTIVITY Recall a time when you tried to help someone come to terms with feelings of hurt and anger. What did you say? Journal In your journal, describe what caused the person to feel so upset and what you said (or did) to help the person cope. Setting a Purpose Read to find out how the characters in Wuthering Heights learn to cope with their feelings.
BACKGROUND Brontë and the Law In chapters 18–34, Heathcliff, who has seized ownership of Wuthering Heights, uses his knowledge of British law to gain control of even more property. Scholars who have studied British property law say that Emily Brontë correctly applied the law to the situation she describes, taking into consideration the different rules applying to male and female heirs, husbands and wives, and minors. Did You Know? Eighteen-year-old Hareton is unable to read basic written information, such as the inscription over the doorway to his house. Today he would be called functionally illiterate. Adult illiteracy is still a problem: just as in Hareton’s time, illiteracy poses major obstacles to personal development and freedom. In the United States, an estimated 27 million adults cannot read. Literacy Volunteers of America, a nonprofit organization, provides tutoring to illiterate adults. The volunteer tutors receive training on how to teach reading skills. For information, you can contact: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW cogitation [koj´ə t a¯0007shən] n. serious thought expostulate [iks pos0007chə l a¯t´] v. to argue with indisposition [in´dis´pə zish0007ən] n. a slight illness; a disinclination obdurate [ob0007dər it] adj. hardhearted, stubborn peruse [pə roo ¯¯¯ z0007] v. to read carefully perversity [pər vur0007sə te¯] n. the quality of being obstinate in opposing what is right, reasonable, or accepted transgress [trans 0012res0007] v. to break a rule or limit vapid [vap0007id] adj. dull
20
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
antipathy [an tip0007ə the¯] n. strong dislike
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Catherine Earnshaw Linton and her daughter are very different, but they do share some similarities. Each time you find a difference or a similarity between the elder Catherine and her daughter, note it in the graphic organizer below. Elder Catherine
Younger Catherine
cruel
loving
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beautiful
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
21
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Personal Response Did the conclusion of Wuthering Heights surprise you? Why or why not?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Why doesn’t Edgar Linton tell Catherine where Linton Heathcliff has gone?
2. How does Heathcliff trick Catherine into marrying Linton? Why?
22
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. When Mr. Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights a year after his first visit, what two major changes does he discover?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 4. How does Heathcliff change during the last years of his life? What causes these changes?
5. While Catherine is trapped at Wuthering Heights by Heathcliff, she becomes unpleasant and cruel, especially to Hareton. In your opinion, why do difficult circumstances cause good-natured people to commit unkind acts? Explain your answer.
Literature and Writing Contrast Characters In a few paragraphs, evaluate the relationship between the young Catherine and Hareton. In what ways is it similar to the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff? In what ways is it different? In your opinion, which couple’s relationship is healthier and why? Share your written conclusions with others in your class. Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Extending Your Response Literature Groups The ending of Wuthering Heights is deliberately ambiguous. Evidence is provided for at least two points of view: that Heathcliff and Catherine are now peacefully asleep or that they “walk” the moors. Identify the evidence for both points of view and evaluate it. Try to come to a consensus of opinion about which point of view is right; then explain your opinion to others in your class. Learning for Life Create a brochure to promote travel and tourism around the West Yorkshire moors. Paraphrase descriptions from Wuthering Heights to convey the appeal of this wild, remote area of Britain. Pay special attention to the scenes in which Catherine is exploring the moors.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
23
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Personal Response Wuthering Heights contains many dramatic scenes and poetic speeches. Which scene, speech, or bit of dialogue is your favorite? Why do you find it memorable?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Writing About the Novel Although it was written long ago, Wuthering Heights can still appeal to modern readers. Write a review for the school newspaper in which you encourage your peers to read the novel. Pique students’ interest with a few dramatic quotations, and describe just enough of the plot to draw students in without giving away anything important.
24
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Catherine, Her Book
John Wheatcroft
Before You Read Focus Question Why do people keep diaries? What purpose might a personal diary serve?
Background In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë presents excerpts from Catherine Earnshaw’s girlhood diary. In Catherine, Her Book, author John Wheatcroft picks up where Brontë left off, creating diary entries that Catherine might have written as an adult.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Catherine’s feelings for her husband as expressed in the entry for August 1, 1783.
2. From the entry for August 1, would you say that the marriage is a successful one? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Sum up Catherine’s feelings about her childhood home as expressed in the entry for August 10, 1783. Does she seem to prefer her old life or her new? What makes you say so?
4. Making Connections Do you feel that the diary entries Wheatcroft created for Catherine accurately capture her feelings about Edgar? About Wuthering Heights? Support your opinion with evidence from the novel.
Learning for Life Imagine that you are a marriage counselor and that Catherine and her husband, Edgar, have come to you for advice. On the basis of the August 1 entry, what would you say to them? With a few classmates, role-play a counseling session. Wuthering Heights Study Guide
25
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Heathcliff’s Depths Thwart New Heights Janis D. Froelich Before You Read Focus Question Recall movie reviews that you have read or watched on TV. What factual evidence did the reviewers use to support their opinions?
Background The story of the doomed sweethearts Heathcliff and Catherine has captured the imaginations of generations of moviemakers. Since the 1930s, three film versions of Wuthering Heights have been made. This review, by critic Janis D. Froelich, is an evaluation of the 1992 made-for-TV version, in which Ralph Fiennes plays Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche plays the dual role of Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Catherine Linton.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Froelich’s opinion of the film. What strengths does she praise? What weaknesses does she criticize?
2. Describe Froelich’s writing style. In your opinion, is the style appropriate to the subject? Explain.
4. Making Connections If you were to film Wuthering Heights, whom would you choose to play the roles of Heathcliff and Catherine? Why?
Write a Review Rent the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and write a brief review of the film. If you wish, use Froelich’s review as a model. Compare the 1939 version with the 1992 version.
26
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Does the review make you want to see the made-for-TV version of Wuthering Heights? Why or why not?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Daily Life in Victorian England
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Sally Mitchell
Before You Read Focus Question Some societies have a rigid class system in which people remain in the class into which they are born— lower, middle, or upper—regardless of their accomplishments. In your opinion, does the United States have a class system? If so, how would you describe it?
Background Sally Mitchell, a professor of English and women’s studies, has written several books about literature and culture. In this selection from Daily Life in Victorian England, Mitchell describes the traits that differentiated one social class from another.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Mitchell, what three major social classes existed in Victorian England? Briefly describe each.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2. If you were the child of a Victorian squire, what might your life be like? How would that life be different if you were the child of a Victorian farm laborer?
3. Mitchell states that in Victorian England \'class was revealed in manners, speech, clothing, education, and values.\' In your opinion, do contemporary Americans use these same standards to judge the class to which a person belongs? Support your opinion with examples.
4. Making Connections On the basis of the information in this selection, to what social class would you say that Heathcliff belongs? How does Heathcliff’s social rank affect his relationship with Catherine?
Sociology Connection With a small group of classmates, research a culture that still has a well-defined class system. In a brief oral report to your class, identify and describe the culture and its class system.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
27
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew Daniel Pool Before You Read Focus Question In Victorian England, people were expected to choose a marriage partner whose social rank and economic status were similar to their own. In your opinion, do young people in the United States today still choose marriage partners on the basis of social rank and economic status? Explain.
Background Daniel Pool is the author of several books about British literature and culture. In these selections from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Pool describes the rural landscapes in which many nineteenthcentury British novels are set as well as the social structure and marriage customs of Victorian England.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Pool, what is the difference between a moor and a heath?
2. Briefly describe the various social classes that one might have encountered in a nineteenth-century English village.
3. Based on Pool’s description, how would you describe the status of women in nineteenth-century England? How did their status differ from the status of women today?
Geography Connection With a partner, research \'Brontë Country\'—the land in which Emily Brontë was raised and Wuthering Heights is set. Using library sources or the Internet, read about the terrain and possible prototypes for Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. If possible, find photographs or create a map. Then present your findings in an oral report to your class.
28
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Making Connections What is the social rank of the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights? The Linton family? How do these social ranks affect the lives of the major characters?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Heathcliff
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Jeffrey Caine
Before You Read Focus Question Think about your favorite book or movie. Does it have any unresolved situations that could serve as the basis for another book or movie?
Background Where did Heathcliff go when he disappeared from Wuthering Heights for three years? How did he make his fortune and become a refined gentleman? In the novel Heathcliff, writer Jeffrey Caine answers the questions that Emily Brontë does not answer in Wuthering Heights.
Responding to the Reading 1. Who is the narrator of this story? How does the narrator get this information about Heathcliff?
2. Do you think Caine is successful in his interpretation of Heathcliff? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Making Connections In your opinion, might the events in Wuthering Heights have been different if the letter described in this reading had been given to Catherine? Explain.
Write a Sequel Think about your answer to the Focus Question. Devise an idea for a spin-off of your favorite book or movie. Make an outline of the events that need to occur in order to wrap up the unresolved situation of the original.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
29
Wuthering Heights study guide contains a biography of Emily Bronte, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes,. Wuthering Heights Chapter Questions and Answer Key: These study guide questions and answer keys for Bronte\'s Wuthering Heights cover the entire novel, and are ready to print and use immediately. Thare bina lage nahi mara jiya re movie name. You can use these for the creation of tests and quizzes as well.
...'>Wuthering Heights Study Guide Answers(20.03.2020)Although it was not as original as before, I was still excited. Gone were the groove-oriented breakdowns or the guitar duals, and went for a more forward deathcore approach, \'Sin City\' especially. Upon a burning body red white green rar.
THE GLENCOE LITERATURE LIBRARY
Study Guide for
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
0002
i
Meet Emily Brontë
I have never seen her parallel in anything. Stronger than a man, simpler than a child, her nature stood alone. —Charlotte Brontë, in the “Biographical Notice” she wrote to accompany the 1850 edition of Wuthering Heights
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
E
mily Jane Brontë was born in 1818, the fifth child of Patrick Brontë, a Cambridgeeducated clergyman born in Ireland, and Maria Branwell, the daughter of a Cornish merchant. When Emily was two, her father was appointed to a church in Haworth, a remote village in Yorkshire. Her mother died of cancer a year later, and her aunt, Elizabeth Branwell, moved into the parsonage to take care of the children. In 1824 Mr. Brontë sent his four eldest daughters—Elizabeth, Maria, Charlotte, and Emily—to boarding school. While at school, they were frequently cold and undernourished, and Maria and Elizabeth contracted tuberculosis. Soon after being sent home to recuperate, they died. Alarmed, Mr. Brontë brought Charlotte and Emily home to be educated. Haworth was a relatively isolated community, and so the Brontë children turned to one another for amusement and companionship. With some wooden soldiers that belonged to Branwell, the only son in the family, Charlotte, Emily, Anne, and Branwell developed elaborate Wuthering Heights Study Guide
sagas set in imaginary kingdoms and in tiny manuscripts recounted the soldiers’ exploits. Throughout their lives the world of fantasy continued to exert a powerful influence over the Brontës. When Branwell was thirty-one, he was still signing his letters “Northangerland,” after one of the characters in the stories. During the 1830s, the Brontë children left home to study or work, but their attempts were relatively unsuccessful. Branwell became a self-destructive alcoholic, Emily pined for the moors, Charlotte fell hopelessly in love with a married man, and Anne was fired from her job as a governess. By the mid-1840s, the Brontë children were once more back in the parsonage at Haworth. Charlotte and Anne, always interested in writing, planned to publish a collection of poems. When Charlotte accidentally discovered a secret notebook of Emily’s poems, she was impressed by their power and originality and persuaded Emily to include them in the collection. To shield their privacy and conceal the fact that they were women, the sisters self-published under the names Currer, Ellis, and Acton Bell. Emily was Ellis. The book sold only two copies. Undaunted, Charlotte, Emily, and Anne turned to writing fiction. Charlotte’s novel, Jane Eyre, was published in 1847 and was an immediate success. Emily’s Wuthering Heights came out the same year to negative reviews. Critics called it “misshapen,” “grotesque,” and “shocking.” Even Charlotte thought that her sister’s novel was “a rude and a strange production.” Although Emily was strong and fiercely independent, she was deeply hurt by the reviews. In 1848 Branwell died of tuberculosis. Emily caught a cold at Branwell’s funeral and soon became extremely ill, also with tuberculosis. Later, Charlotte wrote about her sister’s dying days, “Never in all her life had she lingered over any task that lay before her, and she did not linger now.” A few days later, on December 14, Emily died—as implacable as any of her fictional characters.
9
Introducing the Novel Wuthering Heights was hewn in a wild workshop with simple tools, out of homely materials. —Charlotte Brontë, in the preface for the 1850 edition
10
THE TIME AND PLACE Wuthering Heights opens in 1801, when Mr. Lockwood meets Heathcliff, the owner of the isolated farmhouse that he has rented. The story then jumps back in time to 1771, when Heathcliff, an orphaned child, was brought home by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of Wuthering Heights. The events of the story, which ends in 1803, take place in a few square miles of the West Yorkshire moors. The remote heath in which the story is set is no mere backdrop to the events of the story. The heath, along with the people of Yorkshire, is central to Emily Brontë’s vision. Unlike the soft, smallscale prettiness of the landscapes of southern England, the heath is bare, rolling, and wild. Charlotte Brontë realized that one reason that so many British readers and critics were horrified by Wuthering Heights was that the novel represented a world that was alien to them. Charlotte understood that people in the south of England had been raised to “observe the utmost evenness of manner and guardedness of language”—in other words, to behave calmly and politely, no matter how they felt inside. The people in the Brontës’ part of the world were different. Living in scattered farms and villages, fiercely independent and suspicious of outsiders, they tended to speak their minds, often harshly, and show, rather than hide, their emotions. For most of the novel, Heathcliff is obsessed with revenge to a degree that may seem implausible. But critic V. S. Pritchett observes that the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Written by a reclusive twenty-eight-year-old who was a mystery even to her family, Wuthering Heights is generally considered a masterpiece that stands outside the mainstream of Victorian literature. The novel tells the story of Heathcliff, an orphan rescued from city slums and brought to a farm named Wuthering Heights in the wilds of Yorkshire. There, the young boy develops a close attachment to the high-spirited daughter of the household, Catherine. Wuthering Heights is a blend of the fanciful and the ordinary. The two main narrators, Mr. Lockwood and Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean, are rather ordinary people. They, like the reader, are fascinated by the larger-than-life dramas played out between the houses of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. Although the book contains many emotionally charged scenes and suggests that supernatural events may have occurred, it is anchored in everyday reality. Brontë knew how to describe a scene by using vivid details to create convincing settings. She also had a good ear for the way people spoke—from the dialect of Yorkshire peasants to the speech of the upper classes. Brontë manages to maintain the reader’s sympathy for her two main characters, Heathcliff and Catherine, even though both frequently behave abominably. Her tale is full of suffering and cruelty but is tempered with lighter elements, such as the endless grumpiness and self-righteousness of Joseph, an old servant, and the wry comments of Nelly Dean. Over the years, the book has received mixed reviews. One early critic saw the novel as a poetic dream, “a world of brilliant figures in an atmosphere of mists,” and assumed that it was the “unformed” work of an immature artist. One hundred years later, British writer V. S. Pritchett, who spent much of his childhood in the north of England, praised Wuthering Heights as “the most
realistic statement about the Yorkshire people of the isolated moorland and dales that I have ever read.” Far from seeing Emily Brontë as a naively poetic artist, Pritchett and many others have viewed her as a masterful writer, whose book reveals, among other things, a surprisingly accurate grasp of British law at the time. Unusual as it may be, Wuthering Heights is masterfully written. When you read it, you care about the characters (whom you may not always like), and you want to know what happens next.
local people were capable of “unending” hatred. From this point of view, Heathcliff is not a monster but a realistic example of a Yorkshireman who feels he has been mistreated. Also essential to an understanding of Wuthering Heights is an understanding of the time period in which it is set. In the late 1700s and early 1800s, telephones and automobiles did not link remote Yorkshire farmsteads with the rest of Britain. Although railroads were common when Brontë wrote the novel, she set the story in a time when people still traveled on foot or by horse. Thus, when Mr. Earnshaw travels the sixty miles from his farm to Liverpool, a distance that would take an hour or two today, he must walk there and back—a journey of three full days.
In Wuthering Heights, many deaths occur: over the course of thirty years, eleven characters die—none of them beyond middle age. To a modern reader, familiar with antibiotics and other common medicines, a novel with so many deaths may seem melodramatic. In the world of the Brontës, however, death was a constant presence. All six Brontë children died from disease in childhood or before they reached middle age. In the early 1800s, the average working man in Leeds (an industrial city in Yorkshire) died at the age of nineteen. In the village of Haworth, 40 percent of the children died before the age of six. Tuberculosis, a disease that usually attacks the lungs and thrives in damp and crowded conditions, was rampant in Haworth.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Did You Know? In 1861, Patrick Brontë died, and the contents of his house were sold in an auction. In 1893 the Brontë Society was formed in an attempt to reclaim the Brontës’ possessions for preservation purposes. Today, Haworth parsonage is a museum. Many of the family’s original belongings are on display. These include paintings and drawings, clothing and jewelry, the
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
piano that the children played, and even a settee that is believed to be the one on which Emily died. The museum is open year-round except for several weeks in midwinter. For more information, you can write to the following address: The Brontë Parsonage Museum, Haworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire, BD22 8DR, Great Britain.
11
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 FOCUS ACTIVITY What are the most influential forces in the shaping of a child’s values and behavior? Parents, guardians, or other family members? Schooling? Friends? Think-Pair-Share With a partner, list influences that are, in your opinion, important in a child’s development. Together, rate the importance of each influence. Then speculate on what may happen to a child if any of these influences are missing in his or her life. Setting a Purpose Read to discover what forces are important in making Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley who they are.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW annihilate [ə n0005¯0007ə l ¯at] v. to destroy completely caprice [kə pre¯ s0007] n. whim; illogical or unpredictable action or idea degradation [de0012´rə da¯0007shən] n. a lowering of rank, status, or moral character laconic [ lə kon0007ik] adj. using few words; terse to the point of rudeness malignity [mə li00120007nə te¯ ] n. the quality of wishing or causing harm or evil to others misanthropist [mis an0007thrə pist ] n. one who hates other people morose [mə ro ¯ s0007] adj. gloomy; depressed
12
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Inheritance Laws In England around the time in which Wuthering Heights is set, the property rights of female heirs were generally in the hands of their husbands and brothers. Until the coming of the Industrial Revolution (beginning in the late 1700s), European inheritance laws and traditions generally favored the eldest sons in landowning families. Because landowners wanted to keep family holdings intact, property was not divided among the children at the death of the father. Often, the eldest son of the family inherited most or all of his father’s land and wealth, with the other sons receiving little or nothing. Eldest sons were expected to accept responsibility for the financial welfare of their mothers and sisters and for maintaining the social status of the family. As you read, note the importance of inheritance laws in shaping the plot of Wuthering Heights. Did You Know? In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë employs several narrative devices: She uses the voices of two minor characters, Mr. Lockwood and Nelly Dean, to give eyewitness accounts of the lives of the main characters. When neither Lockwood nor Nelly can observe what is happening, Brontë describes events through letters or diary entries of the main characters. As you read, think about the effects of these literary devices in shaping your impressions of the characters.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 In chapters 1–9, the two houses—Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange—and most of the main characters of the novel are introduced. As you read each chapter, pay attention to who is living in each house and who is no longer there because of marriage, disappearance, or death. For each chapter, in order to keep track of the characters’ movements back and forth between the two houses, fill in the chart below with the names of the persons residing in each house. Chapter
Wuthering Heights
Thrushcross Grange
1
Heathcliff, Joseph, Zillah, Mrs. Heathcliff, Hareton Earnshaw
Mr. Lockwood, Mrs. Ellen (Nelly) Dean
2
3
4
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
5
6
7
8
9
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
13
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Personal Response If you could talk to the characters, what would you ask them? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Briefly describe the setting of chapters 1–2. Where is the Wuthering Heights mansion located and what is it like? How did the estate get its name? What is the weather like during Mr. Lockwood’s first visit? What atmosphere, or mood, do these details of setting establish?
2. Briefly describe the dreams Mr. Lockwood has when he spends the night at Wuthering Heights. How do the dreams help create a sense of mystery and suspense?
4. Why does Heathcliff run away? What does Catherine admit to just after he leaves? Do you think Heathcliff would have stayed at Wuthering Heights if he had heard all of Catherine’s confession? Why or why not?
14
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What is Heathcliff’s status at Wuthering Heights before Mr. Earnshaw dies? What is it afterward? How does the change in status affect Heathcliff’s behavior?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 1–9 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 5. How does Nelly’s description of life at Wuthering Heights influence your opinion of Heathcliff? How might your opinion change if the Lintons narrated the story?
6. Do you think that Catherine’s motives for marrying Edgar Linton are sound ones? Why or why not?
Literature and Writing
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Analyze a Dream In Chapter 9, Catherine Earnshaw describes a disturbing dream that she has had. In a paragraph or two, sum up the content of Catherine’s dream and describe what the dream reveals about her and about her feelings for Wuthering Heights and Heathcliff. Then analyze the connection between Catherine’s dream and Mr. Lockwood’s second dream (in chapter 3). How does Catherine’s dream help explain Mr. Lockwood’s?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups For more than a hundred years, critics have disagreed about whether Catherine and Heathcliff feel true love for each other. What do you think? Find passages in chapters 1–9 to back up your opinion; then debate the question with the rest of your group. Sum up the group’s opinions and explain them to others in your class. Learning for Life Pretend that you are a servant working for Hindley Earnshaw after the death of his wife. You are concerned about the welfare and living conditions of the children left in Hindley’s care. Write a letter to the proper authorities in which you detail specific observations that have caused your concern. Look back at your response to the Focus Activity to gather ideas about the factors that shape children’s lives.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
15
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 FOCUS ACTIVITY Do opposites really attract? Discuss Why might a person be attracted to someone whose temperament, personality, or background is different from his or her own? What might some of the benefits of such a relationship be? What might the drawbacks be? Setting a Purpose Read to find out what “opposite” is attracted to Heathcliff.
BACKGROUND
VOCABULARY PREVIEW avarice [av0007ər is] n. greed for money despondency [di spon0007dən se¯] n. loss of hope expedient [iks pe¯0007de¯ ənt] adj. suitable for achieving a particular end in a given circumstance (implying what is immediately advantageous without regard for ethics or principles) lamentation [lam´ən ta¯0007shən] n. an expression of sorrow, mourning, or regret obliterate [ə blit0007e ra¯ t´] v. to destroy; to wipe out ominous [om0007ə nəs ] adj. threatening paroxysm [par0007ək siz´əm] n. a sudden, violent emotion or action presumptuous [pri zump0007choo ¯¯¯ əs] adj. arrogant; bold
16
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Heathcliff and the Gypsies Edgar Linton refers to Heathcliff as a “gipsy,” a colloquialism derived from the word Egyptian. Formerly, the nomadic people known as Gypsies were thought to have come from Egypt. Actually, they originally came from India. First migrating to Europe at least one thousand years ago, the Gypsies have managed to keep certain elements of their culture intact. They call themselves Rom, and many of them still speak a language called Romany. Gypsies can be found on every continent but live primarily in Europe. Throughout the centuries they have been the object of prejudice. Heathcliff is called a Gypsy because of his dark hair and complexion and because he is an outsider in the closed, settled world of the Yorkshire moors. Did You Know? Novelists of the mid-1800s did not have the modern-day advantage of being able to read about psychology; but if they were good observers of human nature, they recognized the personality traits and psychological processes that scientists study today. Emily Brontë would probably not be surprised by the following findings related to stress: (1) Many life changes—including pregnancy, arguments with a loved one, and separation from a loved one—can trigger stress. (2) Certain individuals create personal stress by seeing themselves as victims of circumstances and holding others responsible for their unhappiness. (3) Seeking others’ constant love and insisting that everything must go one’s way can cause stress. (4) Chronic stress suppresses the immune system and makes an individual more susceptible to illness. (5) Anxiety and depression can make an individual more prone to physical disorders. As you read chapters 10–17, notice how these observations about stress, psychological disorders, and physical health apply to Catherine Linton.
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 When you reach the end of chapter 17, you will have been introduced to all members of the two families in Wuthering Heights. The relationships among the children of the Earnshaws and Lintons are somewhat complex. Fill out the genealogical chart below to help keep track of the relationships. (The abbreviation m. stands for “married.”)
Mr. and Mrs. Earnshaw
Hindley
Mr. and Mrs. Linton
Catherine m.
m.
m.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
m.
m.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
17
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Personal Response Who, do you think, was most responsible for Catherine’s unhappiness? Why?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. How does Catherine react when Heathcliff returns to Thrushcross Grange to see her? What does her reaction suggest about her feelings for Heathcliff?
2. How does Heathcliff discover that Isabella is attracted to him? Why does he pursue the relationship? How does Edgar feel about his sister’s attraction to Heathcliff? Why?
4. After Catherine dies, what is Heathcliff’s one prayer? What are his reasons for this prayer?
5. How does Heathcliff gain possession of Wuthering Heights? How does this acquisition further his ultimate goal?
18
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. What cruel action does Heathcliff take to warn Isabella not to marry him? In what ways does the action symbolize, or represent, their married life?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 10–17 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 6. Review your response to the Focus Activity. Which reasons, if any, apply to Isabella’s attraction to Heathcliff? In your opinion, is the attraction believable or just a convenient plot device? Explain.
7. If you were a lawyer looking into Heathcliff’s claim to the Wuthering Heights estate, what objections might you raise?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Literature and Writing Contrast Settings Contrast life at Wuthering Heights with life at Thrushcross Grange. How does the name of each estate help characterize what the estate is like? What do you think the people who grew up on each estate are like?
Extending Your Response Literature Groups In this section of the book, Nelly Dean is more than the narrator of the events. She is involved in much of what happens and makes several decisions that alter the course of events, such as deciding to announce Heathcliff when he first returns and refusing to pamper Catherine when she hides in her room. With members of your group, review Nelly’s actions, analyze the ethical and practical issues involved in her decisions, and evaluate the overall appropriateness of her behavior. Performing In a small group, select one of the dramatic high points from chapters 10–17 and choose parts. Practice reading your lines aloud with expression; then perform the scene for others in your class. As an alternative, audiotape or videotape the scene and play the tape for your class.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
19
Before You Read Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 FOCUS ACTIVITY Recall a time when you tried to help someone come to terms with feelings of hurt and anger. What did you say? Journal In your journal, describe what caused the person to feel so upset and what you said (or did) to help the person cope. Setting a Purpose Read to find out how the characters in Wuthering Heights learn to cope with their feelings.
BACKGROUND Brontë and the Law In chapters 18–34, Heathcliff, who has seized ownership of Wuthering Heights, uses his knowledge of British law to gain control of even more property. Scholars who have studied British property law say that Emily Brontë correctly applied the law to the situation she describes, taking into consideration the different rules applying to male and female heirs, husbands and wives, and minors. Did You Know? Eighteen-year-old Hareton is unable to read basic written information, such as the inscription over the doorway to his house. Today he would be called functionally illiterate. Adult illiteracy is still a problem: just as in Hareton’s time, illiteracy poses major obstacles to personal development and freedom. In the United States, an estimated 27 million adults cannot read. Literacy Volunteers of America, a nonprofit organization, provides tutoring to illiterate adults. The volunteer tutors receive training on how to teach reading skills. For information, you can contact: http://www.literacyvolunteers.org.
VOCABULARY PREVIEW cogitation [koj´ə t a¯0007shən] n. serious thought expostulate [iks pos0007chə l a¯t´] v. to argue with indisposition [in´dis´pə zish0007ən] n. a slight illness; a disinclination obdurate [ob0007dər it] adj. hardhearted, stubborn peruse [pə roo ¯¯¯ z0007] v. to read carefully perversity [pər vur0007sə te¯] n. the quality of being obstinate in opposing what is right, reasonable, or accepted transgress [trans 0012res0007] v. to break a rule or limit vapid [vap0007id] adj. dull
20
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
antipathy [an tip0007ə the¯] n. strong dislike
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Active Reading Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Catherine Earnshaw Linton and her daughter are very different, but they do share some similarities. Each time you find a difference or a similarity between the elder Catherine and her daughter, note it in the graphic organizer below. Elder Catherine
Younger Catherine
cruel
loving
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
beautiful
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
21
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Personal Response Did the conclusion of Wuthering Heights surprise you? Why or why not?
Analyzing Literature Recall and Interpret 1. Why doesn’t Edgar Linton tell Catherine where Linton Heathcliff has gone?
2. How does Heathcliff trick Catherine into marrying Linton? Why?
22
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. When Mr. Lockwood returns to Wuthering Heights a year after his first visit, what two major changes does he discover?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Chapters 18–34 Analyzing Literature (continued) Evaluate and Connect 4. How does Heathcliff change during the last years of his life? What causes these changes?
5. While Catherine is trapped at Wuthering Heights by Heathcliff, she becomes unpleasant and cruel, especially to Hareton. In your opinion, why do difficult circumstances cause good-natured people to commit unkind acts? Explain your answer.
Literature and Writing Contrast Characters In a few paragraphs, evaluate the relationship between the young Catherine and Hareton. In what ways is it similar to the relationship between Catherine Earnshaw Linton and Heathcliff? In what ways is it different? In your opinion, which couple’s relationship is healthier and why? Share your written conclusions with others in your class. Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Extending Your Response Literature Groups The ending of Wuthering Heights is deliberately ambiguous. Evidence is provided for at least two points of view: that Heathcliff and Catherine are now peacefully asleep or that they “walk” the moors. Identify the evidence for both points of view and evaluate it. Try to come to a consensus of opinion about which point of view is right; then explain your opinion to others in your class. Learning for Life Create a brochure to promote travel and tourism around the West Yorkshire moors. Paraphrase descriptions from Wuthering Heights to convey the appeal of this wild, remote area of Britain. Pay special attention to the scenes in which Catherine is exploring the moors.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
23
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Responding Wuthering Heights Personal Response Wuthering Heights contains many dramatic scenes and poetic speeches. Which scene, speech, or bit of dialogue is your favorite? Why do you find it memorable?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
Writing About the Novel Although it was written long ago, Wuthering Heights can still appeal to modern readers. Write a review for the school newspaper in which you encourage your peers to read the novel. Pique students’ interest with a few dramatic quotations, and describe just enough of the plot to draw students in without giving away anything important.
24
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Catherine, Her Book
John Wheatcroft
Before You Read Focus Question Why do people keep diaries? What purpose might a personal diary serve?
Background In Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontë presents excerpts from Catherine Earnshaw’s girlhood diary. In Catherine, Her Book, author John Wheatcroft picks up where Brontë left off, creating diary entries that Catherine might have written as an adult.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Catherine’s feelings for her husband as expressed in the entry for August 1, 1783.
2. From the entry for August 1, would you say that the marriage is a successful one? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Sum up Catherine’s feelings about her childhood home as expressed in the entry for August 10, 1783. Does she seem to prefer her old life or her new? What makes you say so?
4. Making Connections Do you feel that the diary entries Wheatcroft created for Catherine accurately capture her feelings about Edgar? About Wuthering Heights? Support your opinion with evidence from the novel.
Learning for Life Imagine that you are a marriage counselor and that Catherine and her husband, Edgar, have come to you for advice. On the basis of the August 1 entry, what would you say to them? With a few classmates, role-play a counseling session. Wuthering Heights Study Guide
25
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Heathcliff’s Depths Thwart New Heights Janis D. Froelich Before You Read Focus Question Recall movie reviews that you have read or watched on TV. What factual evidence did the reviewers use to support their opinions?
Background The story of the doomed sweethearts Heathcliff and Catherine has captured the imaginations of generations of moviemakers. Since the 1930s, three film versions of Wuthering Heights have been made. This review, by critic Janis D. Froelich, is an evaluation of the 1992 made-for-TV version, in which Ralph Fiennes plays Heathcliff and Juliette Binoche plays the dual role of Catherine Earnshaw and her daughter, Catherine Linton.
Responding to the Reading 1. Sum up Froelich’s opinion of the film. What strengths does she praise? What weaknesses does she criticize?
2. Describe Froelich’s writing style. In your opinion, is the style appropriate to the subject? Explain.
4. Making Connections If you were to film Wuthering Heights, whom would you choose to play the roles of Heathcliff and Catherine? Why?
Write a Review Rent the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, and write a brief review of the film. If you wish, use Froelich’s review as a model. Compare the 1939 version with the 1992 version.
26
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Does the review make you want to see the made-for-TV version of Wuthering Heights? Why or why not?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Daily Life in Victorian England
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Sally Mitchell
Before You Read Focus Question Some societies have a rigid class system in which people remain in the class into which they are born— lower, middle, or upper—regardless of their accomplishments. In your opinion, does the United States have a class system? If so, how would you describe it?
Background Sally Mitchell, a professor of English and women’s studies, has written several books about literature and culture. In this selection from Daily Life in Victorian England, Mitchell describes the traits that differentiated one social class from another.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Mitchell, what three major social classes existed in Victorian England? Briefly describe each.
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
2. If you were the child of a Victorian squire, what might your life be like? How would that life be different if you were the child of a Victorian farm laborer?
3. Mitchell states that in Victorian England \'class was revealed in manners, speech, clothing, education, and values.\' In your opinion, do contemporary Americans use these same standards to judge the class to which a person belongs? Support your opinion with examples.
4. Making Connections On the basis of the information in this selection, to what social class would you say that Heathcliff belongs? How does Heathcliff’s social rank affect his relationship with Catherine?
Sociology Connection With a small group of classmates, research a culture that still has a well-defined class system. In a brief oral report to your class, identify and describe the culture and its class system.
Save your work for your portfolio.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
27
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew Daniel Pool Before You Read Focus Question In Victorian England, people were expected to choose a marriage partner whose social rank and economic status were similar to their own. In your opinion, do young people in the United States today still choose marriage partners on the basis of social rank and economic status? Explain.
Background Daniel Pool is the author of several books about British literature and culture. In these selections from What Jane Austen Ate and Charles Dickens Knew, Pool describes the rural landscapes in which many nineteenthcentury British novels are set as well as the social structure and marriage customs of Victorian England.
Responding to the Reading 1. According to Pool, what is the difference between a moor and a heath?
2. Briefly describe the various social classes that one might have encountered in a nineteenth-century English village.
3. Based on Pool’s description, how would you describe the status of women in nineteenth-century England? How did their status differ from the status of women today?
Geography Connection With a partner, research \'Brontë Country\'—the land in which Emily Brontë was raised and Wuthering Heights is set. Using library sources or the Internet, read about the terrain and possible prototypes for Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. If possible, find photographs or create a map. Then present your findings in an oral report to your class.
28
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
4. Making Connections What is the social rank of the Earnshaw family of Wuthering Heights? The Linton family? How do these social ranks affect the lives of the major characters?
Name 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Date 0002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
from Heathcliff
Class 00020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002000200020002
Jeffrey Caine
Before You Read Focus Question Think about your favorite book or movie. Does it have any unresolved situations that could serve as the basis for another book or movie?
Background Where did Heathcliff go when he disappeared from Wuthering Heights for three years? How did he make his fortune and become a refined gentleman? In the novel Heathcliff, writer Jeffrey Caine answers the questions that Emily Brontë does not answer in Wuthering Heights.
Responding to the Reading 1. Who is the narrator of this story? How does the narrator get this information about Heathcliff?
2. Do you think Caine is successful in his interpretation of Heathcliff? Why or why not?
Copyright © by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. Making Connections In your opinion, might the events in Wuthering Heights have been different if the letter described in this reading had been given to Catherine? Explain.
Write a Sequel Think about your answer to the Focus Question. Devise an idea for a spin-off of your favorite book or movie. Make an outline of the events that need to occur in order to wrap up the unresolved situation of the original.
Wuthering Heights Study Guide
29Wuthering Heights study guide contains a biography of Emily Bronte, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes,. Wuthering Heights Chapter Questions and Answer Key: These study guide questions and answer keys for Bronte\'s Wuthering Heights cover the entire novel, and are ready to print and use immediately. Thare bina lage nahi mara jiya re movie name. You can use these for the creation of tests and quizzes as well.
...'>Wuthering Heights Study Guide Answers(20.03.2020)