Wuthering Heights Guided Questions Part I- The Thinking Makes it So Part

1 The novel has a first-person narrator named Lockwood. Describe what you know about the narrator from the first chapters. What is he like? WHAT IS HIS FUNCTION??

2 Why is Lockwood so interested in ? He said that Heathcliff "love and hate, equally under cover. . . " and then acknowledge them as his own attributes (p. 5). Do you find it true, considering, for instance, how he deals with the ghost of Catherine (pp. 21-22)?

3 We get to see Heathcliff first from Lockwood's perspective and then in Catherine's diary (chap 3). How is young Heathcliff different from old? What more do we know about bout the Earnshaw family from Catherine's diary.

****** This isn’t a question, but keep in mind: Heathcliff's call to Catherine (p. 25) gets Lockwood, and us, more curious about their past. There might be a reason we see this before we see the rest – it’s called a frame story! The other characters: The second generation Hareton and Catherine will play a more important role later on. (Foils anyone?)

4. The appearance of the ghost is part of what makes a” gothic novel” and not Victorian. Gothic Literature like Fall of the House of Usher is a subgenre of Romanticism. How does the setting of the novel relate to Usher? Is the place Wuthering Heights alive or character unto itself?

5 By the way, is the ghost real or not? We will ask this same question later on in the semester.

6. What is the function of Nelly Dean in the novel? She will be a Foil to just about everyone.

******A frame story is a story inside a story. Keep that in mind. Why isn’t Bronte telling you you this story straight?

7. When Catherine returns from Thrushcross Grange the first time, how is she transformed? Why does she shy away from Nelly? What point is Bronte trying to make about Catherine here? ( Chapter 7)

8. Why does Catherine choose over Heathcliff? What are her reasons for her choice? Do Catherine and Edgar love one another? ( Chapters 9-10)

9. Who is Heathcliff anyway? Is he modelled upon any character(s), figure(s), or archetype(s) you can think of? Is he a "monster:? Is his name significant?

10. Think about Heathcliff's "revenge," and list some of the things he does to get his revenge. What is the complete irony of the revenges he uses- it’s a literary term, I promise. We may not like his methods, but can we at least understand why he is doing what he is doing?

11. At the height of his "triumph" Heathcliff seems to stop and see his victory as a "poor conclusion" (p. 306 / 323). Why?

12. Do you believe that Heathcliff changes at the end of the novel? Does he "repent"? Is he the protagonist? The villain? Is he sympathetic? Or is it Catherine? Whose novel is this?

13. What is it that Heathcliff has finally discovered at the end of the novel?

14. In what ways is the last encounter of Heathcliff and Catherine (chapter 15 /) different from what we might normally expect of a final scene? Why did Bronte write the scene as she did, rather than giving us a more conventional (and certainly more comfortable) scene? Keep in mind, Heathcliff is 19, Catherine is 18

15. The novel can be divided into four major parts, after the introductory material: I. Chapters 4-6 (I.iv-vi) II. Chapters 7-16 (I.vii-xiv; II.i-ii) III. Chapters 17-31 (II.iii-xvii) IV. Chapters 32-34 (II.xviii-xx) What is happening in each of these sections? Consider, for example, the end of chapter 17 / II.iii. Does dividing the novel in this way begin to suggest anything about what Bronte may have had in mind as she structured and composed the novel?

16. At the end, Lockwood observes that he cannot imagine any "unquiet" sleepers in the graves (p. 320 / 338). How does this attitude square, then, with his encounter with the "ghost" in chapter 3 /?

17. Discuss the "calm," "quiet" conclusion of the novel.

18. Why do we see and Hareton Heathcliff at both the beginning and the ending of the novel (and thus is the whole point of the frame) ?

19. What was the point of the frame? How would this story be different if we 1- didn’t see Heathcliff’s reaction to the ghost 2- met young Heathcliff first 3- have an outside narrator like Lockwood to introduce the story

20. Themes? Evidence and quotes please.

Part II The What is Past is Prologue Part- Cite 5 quotes or part of the text that that exemplify one of the following critiques- Marxism, deals with economy, society and power; Feminism considering the roles of masculine and feminine; Psychoanalytical, what moves and motivates our players. Please use the Purdue Owl link as a guide for inquiry -https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/722/1/ ​ Make sure you would be able to explain this quote is an example of that theory of thought. Include Chapter and possibly page number. .