Wuthering Heights 2
Throughout the novel Wuthering Heights, Emily Brontė effectively utilizes weather and setting as methods of conveying insight to the reader of the personal feeling of the characters. While staying at Thrushcross Grange, Mr. Lockwood made a visit to meet Mr. Heathcliff for a second time, and the horrible snow storm that he encounters is the first piece of evidence that he should have perceived about Heathcliff's personality. The setting of the moors is one that makes them a very special place for Catherine and Heathcliff, and they are thus very symbolic of their friendship and spirts. The weather and setting are very effective tools used throughout the end of the novel as well, for when the weather becomes nice it is not only symbolic of the changing times, and the changing people, but also a new beginning. During his stay at Thrushcross Grange Mr. Lockwood made the perilous journey to Wuthering Heights only a few times. On the occasion of his second visit, "the snow began to drive thickly"(7) during his walk, and this horrible weather should have been foreshadowing to Lockwood about Heathcliff's, and the other member's of the household's true personalities. Upon arriving he was forced to bang continually upon the door before someo
ne would take the care to let him in out of the cold. The dinner that Lockwood was permitted to have with the 'family' was anything but hospitable. Lockwood was treated not unlike an ignorant and unworthy guest, and hence the visit was in no way enjoyable for him. Upon desiring to leave the destitute home, Lockwood finds the weather too intolerable for him to even consider venturing out on his own, and upon being attacked by one of the dogs, "he was pulled into the kitchen"(15) and allowed, however ungraciously, to stay the night at Wuthering Heights. Once his walk home commenced the following day, Lockwood found himself being escorted by Heathcliff himself. The path that is used as a means of connection between the two houses does well to exemplify the feeling contained within each. The path that is nearest to the Heights is long and winding, with "many pits, at least, were filled to a level; and entire ranges of mounds, the refuse of the quarries . . . blotted from the chart"(28). This description is a disheartening one, and causes the reader to associate this kind of representation with the Heights. Upon reaching the pass between the Heights and the Grange, Heathcliff did not continue to direct Lockwood's travels. He stated that he "could make no error there"(28), for the path is transformed into one that is straight and easy for Lockwood to follow. These preliminary descriptions of the path between the two houses, and the weather upon first being introduced to the characters, help in conveying the personalities of the characters in a more subtle manner. The area surrounding both the Heights and the Grange are referred to as the moors, and they are an important setting for many characters throughout the course of the novel. The two characters that the moors are most symbolic of, however,
Some common words found in the essay are:
Wuthering Heights, Heights Catherine, Lockwood Heathcliff's, Thrushcross Grange, Grange Heathcliff, Catherine Linton, Grange Lockwood, Catherine Heathcliff, Cathy Linton, Heathcliff Heathcliff, wuthering heights, weather setting, thrushcross grange, personalities characters, thrushcross grange lockwood, grange lockwood, setting moors, twisted fir, brontė able, brontė reader, changing times,
Approximate Word count = 1214
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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