Book Report for IE3

Book report

11310010

Yurika Arita

Emily Bronte, Wuthering Heights, England Oxford University press, 104 pages,1801.

Responding to the Plot: (e) Which incident in this novel did you find wonderful, surprising, comical, or even shocking?

I was very shocked when I read the part that Catherine told Nelly that she wished to marry Edgar Linton, as it would give her status and riches; despite her love for Heathcliff. She had spent much time with Heathcliff, so she loves him more than Edgar, but Heathcliff was an orphan and he wasn’t rich enough. At last, she married Edgar and this gave Heathcliff a very big shock and he left Wuthering Heights. I couldn’t understand why she married another man for her status and riches despite having a lover. When I was reading this part, I thought Heathcliff was so poor.

Literary Analysis:

(1)  Setting: England

(2)  Conflict: Heathcliff was in conflict with other people who had punished him such as Edgar and Hindley. He was punished because he was a dirty orphan. So, he started to revenge them after he left Wuthering Heights.

(3)  Point of view: This story is told in third person. Nelly Dean, the housekeeper of Wuthering Heights, saw the whole story of Wuthering Heights and told this story.

(4)  Climax: After Heathcliff got his revenge, he seemed to suffer a mental breakdown and began to see Catherine’s ghost. He seemingly abandoned his life-long vendetta and dies. Nelly, the house keeper of Wuthering Heights, found Heathcliff lying on the bed, stiff with rigor mortis. He was buried next to Catherine in the grave yard, and his long vengeful story was finished. After his death, Cathy and Hareton inherited Wuthering Heights and planed their wedding. This is the climax of the story.

(5)  Symbol: Heathcliff’s vengeful spirit is the symbol of this story. He had been punished by Edgar and Hindley for a long time and his lover Catherine married Edgar. These big shock made his vengeful spirit big.

(6)  Irony: The irony of this story is when Heathcliff started to live Wuthering Heights with Cathy and Hareton. Cathy was Catherine’s daughter and Hareton was Hindley’s son, so he tried to revenge them too, but their relationship was like his relationship with Catherine. It seemed the history was repeating. So, he couldn’t revenge them and he died soon after that.

(7)  Theme: I think that the theme of this book is the love of difference in social standing. Heathcliff and Catherine loved each other, but Hindley disagreed with their love and started to punish Heathcliff. And Catherine married Edgar for her status and wealth. The author expressed complicated human feeling about society in those days describing Heatfcliff’s revenge against them.

Reflecting on the story: (b) How does the environment of in the story compare to that in your own country?

I live in Kanagawa prefecture, one of the surplus population cities in Japan. There are many tall buildings and little nature. Compared with Kanagawa prefecture, this book setting “Wuthering Heights” has a lot of nature. Their home Wuthering Heights was in a wide plain. This book’s theme is Heathcliff’s revenge, but it also describes Yorkshire’s climate and beautiful nature. This book includes Gothic style well.