Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
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Post by Kristie on Apr 25, 2010 11:39:25 GMT -5
I suppose you both have valid points. Isa, I can definitely understand where you're coming from when you say that Heathcliff had no problems with seduction before. He did seduce Isabella to get revenge in the beginning, so what would be his problem with doing it again? I wonder, however, that since he said he loathes Cathy if even he would be able to pretend he didn't and pretend to love her, even for a short while. Plus, if he had tried to seduce her, especially when her father was alive, he would've had to retrieve her from wherever her father sent her (at least I would send her as far away as possible if I knew that was happening. Just kidnapping her seems like such an easier way to go about it--he would never have to pretend to love/like her that way.
Thinking back on the ending, I'm not sure if I really like it after all. I mean, yes, I like happy endings. But the ending was so different from the rest of the story. There was never as happy a time as at the end. But, on the other hand, I can see how this happy ending does fit because it just shows us how happy life would have been had Heathcliff never been involved in anything. I'm torn!
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Kristie
Novel turned into BBC miniseries
"If a book is well written, I always find it too short."
Posts: 7,214
|
Post by Kristie on Apr 25, 2010 12:33:57 GMT -5
1) To what extent do you think the setting of the novel contributes to, or informs, what takes place? Do you think the moors are a character in their own right? How do you interpret Bronte's view of nature and the landscape? I think the setting of the novel makes a lot of difference in the story. To begin with, the fact that the families that were living out on the moors had only each other to get acquainted with, for the most part, that meant the families were bound to marry with each other, across the generations. I think that, had Cathy been able to know more of Heathcliff than what Nelly and her father told her, she might not have wanted to go see Linton no matter if she was in love with him. Also, the moors help important characters in the novel pass on. Catherine might not have died because of the moors, but the seclusion she felt while still living was mimicked in the way Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange were likewise secluded. As far as Linton goes, he might not have died had Isabella not taken him away from the moors to raise him as a weakling elsewhere—when he returned to the moors, he was not healthy enough to live there, especially with a father as cruel as Heathcliff. And then Heathcliff died much like Catherine, in seclusion and it wasn’t helped by the fact that he allowed himself to get sick and then sicker, most likely in hopes of actual death so he could be with her again. I think Bronte’s view of nature and the landscape was to mimic the characters and their feelings. As the characters, or many of them, were pretty miserable for most of the novel, the fact that their surroundings were unable to cheer them up plays a part. I mean, I know I tend to feel sad or more depressed on days when it is raining outside, so I can see how an author would like to reiterate the depressing mood of the novel many times over, in different ways. 2) Discuss Emily Bronte's careful attention to a rigid timeline and the role of the novel as a sober historical document. How is this significant, particularly in light of the turbulent action within? What other contrasts within the novel strike you, and why? How are these contrasts important, and how do they play out in the novel? Taking a story and having it solely rely on what a person has to say is not very reliable, speaking from a history teacher’s point of view However, as this is a story of fiction, it is easier for me to take one person’s view as a good source. I think that, in this case, the story being written in third-person as a history was really interesting. I did however, wish that we could have known more of Heathcliff’s feelings and what was going through his mind. It could have been interesting to hear this story from multiple perspectives, especially because of the wide range of characters and their personalities that were present. And, since there was so much happening, it could have been interesting to see what was going on that Nelly might have missed. Plus, Nelly was obviously biased against Heathcliff and she could have easily blown things he did out of proportion.3) Do you think the novel is a tale of redemption, despair, or both? Discuss the novel's meaning to you. Do you think the novel's moral content dictates one choice over the other? [/font][/quote] I definitely think that this novel was mostly focused on redemption. There was hardly anything that didn’t lead up to the estranged relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine, her death, and Heathcliff’s revenge on Cathy. While I think Catherine and Heathcliff were both in despair as they couldn’t have each other and wanted each other, these feelings were only present for a short time throughout much of the novel—around the time both of them died. But I think that the majority of the novel was taken up by Heathcliff planning and then carrying out his revenge on Catherine for not choosing him and then subsequently Cathy for being a result of that “betrayal.” They both play a part, but redemption receives a majority of the attention, I think.
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