WUTHERING HEIGHTS - MARXIST CRITICISM

I have to admit that I had to do a little more research on Marxist criticism in order to truly understand it.  Now that I have, I can see why "Wuthering Heights" would be a excellent subject for this particular type of criticism.

Before reading the passage on Marxist criticism, I thought that "Wuthering Heights" was just another love story and that the revenge saga was just a way to fill up space in the novel. But the more I think about it, the more I am beginning to realize that Emily Bronte was using her novel as a social commentary about the disparages between the rich and the poor and the lack of rights given to women.  Heathcliff served as a catalyst for both.

In the beginning, Heathcliff is brought to "Wuthering Heights" by the kindhearted Earnshaw.  He was starved and unkempt and it was obvious that he was not in the same social class as the Earnshaws.  As indicated in our class discussion, even though he was fed and clothed and allowed to live with the Earnshaws, he was still an outsider to the original family.  And when the father died, Hindley immediately removed Heathcliff from his position as "family member" to servant.  This was also reinforced by Edgar Linton as well.  As soon as he saw Heathcliff, he knew that he was not in the same class as he and immediately despised him.  And the constant reference to the term "gypsy" made me think of another term that's used to remind someone of their class - "nigger".

Bronte also used Heathcliff as a way to comment on the role of women in her society.  Heathcliff's revenge on Hindley and Edgar rested solely on the fact that women were not allowed to own property and whatever they acquired through death immediately went to their male counterparts, whether it be brother or husband.  If it wasn't for this norm in their society, Heathcliff's plan would have never come into fruition.

THE END OF WUTHERING HEIGHTS

Over the weekend, Turner Classic Movies showed the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights with Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon.  As I read these final chapters of the book,  I notice that the two vehicles tell a very different story.  The movie was a love story.  The book was a revenge plot.  At no point while I have been watching the movie for years, did I think that Heathcliff was consumed with revenge the way that he is in the original novel.  He was able to get back at Hindley, but Thrushcross Grange still belonged to Edgar at the end of the movie.  And of course, Cathy nor Heathcliff had any children in the movie version.  The writer responsible for drafting the script was brilliant.  There was a lot that he had to omit and rework in order to make the movie work and it did.  It's a pity that the movie came out in 1939 along with other classics such as The Wizard of Oz and Gone With the Wind, it would be much more well known if it had been released another year.

As for the end of the novel, I found it disheartening that Heathcliff was so consumed by hatred and envy that he sacrificed his own son in order to enact his revenge.  The way that he played on Cathy's emotions in order to get her to visit Linton for his own benefit was disturbing, not to mention kidnapping her in order to force her to marry Linton.  I also find it interesting how Bronte turns the tables and makes Edgar a hero for being willing to sacrifice his wealth for Cathy's happiness and makes Heathcliff the villain for sacrificing his son's life for revenge.  However, in the end revenge does not give him the happiness that he thought it would, because he is reminded of Catherine through the children's features and personalities.  This, along with Catherine's haunting drives Heathcliff into a deep depression and he eventually dies from a broken heart.  His love for Catherine conquered his hate for Edgar.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS

I first came into contact with Wuthering Heights through the movie staring Laurence Olivier and Merle Oberon, when I was a teenager.  My mother loves old movies and we used to watch them together.  Now, almost 25 yrs later after seeing the movie for the first time, I am now reading the novel behind it and find myself really engrossed in it.  I tend to shy away from books from this era because I am not familiar with the history or culture. I am pleasantly surprised by this novel and find it hard to put down.  There are some discrepancies between it and the movie, and I find myself thinking "hmmm....that's not what I remember from the movie", but anyone who has read a book and then witnessed the movie that it was based on, knows that this is true to form.

I also find the back story of the Bronte clan very interesting.  Especially how the women had to assume masculine identities in order to get their works published.  We tend to think that the practice of marketing and spin is a new concept, but I can see that this is an old practice.  It's tragic that Emily never knew that impact that her novel has had on the generations that followed her, having died so young.  It's also interesting to see how her life is somewhat mirrored in the novel Wuthering Heights.  As we continue to study this volume, it will be interesting to see how the story unfolds and how it relates to Emily's personal history.

POLITICS AND ENGLISH LANGUAGE

I totally agree with what the author is saying.  Some writers, whether political or scholarly, feel the need to write this way because the audience that they are trying to reach need to be pushed to a perceived higher level.  However, it has the opposite effect.  If a piece is too challenging, it will not be finished and the intended reader is no more informed than they were before they attempted to read the piece.

I have often wondered why some authors choose to write this way.  Is it because we are constantly told that we are behind the world as far as academics are concerned?  Or could it be a way of increasing the distance between the college educated and the ones who are not?  Or even worse still, a way to enforce classicism and racism?  And it's not just in the form of politics or academics.  Big business rely on this type of covert language as well.  So does the law.

The most successful writer is one that reaches the most through his thoughts and ideas and not through his thesaurus.

21st CENTURY LITERACIES

It is becoming increasingly clear that in order to compete in today's technology driven publishing world, an aspiring communicator will have to have a strong knowledge of the current ways of transferring information.  It's no longer acceptable just to know how to update your status on Facebook.  A literate person has to know how to use Facebook in order to its full capacity in order to advance the presence, ideas and agenda of her company.

I came kicking and screaming to the new technology, especially social media.  But, now I understand how instrumental it can be.  Through these outlets, I have established not only lasting friendships, but business contacts that will help me once I graduate. 

It's also amazing the amount of information that is available.  If someone wanted to get news from all over the country or world , they would have to subscribe to different newspapers or get watered down versions from a national news organization.  Now it's possible to go online, to any city, state, country or continent and tap in directly to their media. 

Learning the technology is easier than ever.  There are several resources available that can teach how to set up websites, create media outlets and better utilize social networks.  There is no excuse to be left behind.

READING

At my last place of employment, the employees in my department were broken up into teams and each team had a leader.  One of the tasks of the team leader was to send out an email to her team in regards to goals, things that needed improvement and any new updates that we needed to know.  Each time I read one of her emails, I saw that they were riddled with grammatical and spelling errors.  So one day, I was sitting at my desk reading, as I always did when I was on my break or during down time, and she asked me about the book I was reading and so forth and she said "I have never been into reading that much". 

Whenever I hear someone say that, which happens more often than I care to admit, it sounds foreign to me.  But the thing that really clicked was the correlation between her lack of reading and her lack of writing skills.  I always hear politicians and social commentators speaking about how we are not competitive in the world and they want to push math an science.  But no one ever really pushes reading and the link between being a solid reader and a good communicator.

Crain's observations are really not that surprising.  We are a culture of instant gratification and books simply do not meet that need most of the time.  When you turn to your favorite TV show, you are instantly pleased.  When you put on your favorite music, you are instantly overtaken with some sort of emotion whether it be romance, excitement or even the blues.  Video games, sports, shopping, eating - all bring instant pleasure.  But books are an investment in time and patience which we just don't seem to have anymore.

HI!

As you can see by my blog title, my name is Felicia.  I am a senior majoring in English. 

This semester, I will be interning in the PR department at the School of the Arts. 

And that's me...for now.