The Themes Of Heathcliff's Revenge In Wuthering Heights

1239 Words3 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: discuss the setting of wuthering heights

Wuthering Heights -
“Revenge is best served cold” An old quote yet still impacting us today. We see that it impacted and could have been Heathcliff’s main motive, a man that never forgot his past and made everyone that did he him wrong pay for it. I support Heathcliff as he was a real wise man and got revenge from everyone that did him wrong without them being able to anything to stop him. Baby Heathcliff enters the Earnshaw home as a poor orphan. He is immediately made fun of his dark color is began to be called a gipsy and his language being “gibberish”. This poor treatment is not much of an improvement on his "starving and houseless" childhood, and he quickly becomes a product of neglect and all of the abuse.
Arriving at the Earnshaw is
When Heathcliff returns to Wuthering Heights he brings with him his new wife, Frances, who is pregnant and later gives birth to Hareton, the last of the Earnshaw family. After Heathcliff and Catherine get caught by the dogs at the Thrushwood Grange and Catherine is injured, Hindley decides to separate the pair. He makes Heathcliff a servant of Wuthering Heights and deprives him from education. He decides to make Catherine a lady. Heathcliff saves Hareton’s life after Hindley drops him, however Hindley shows no gratitude. After Heathcliff has been gone for three years, he comes back with money to Wuthering Heights. He decides he will be getting revenge from Hindley by taking away Wuthering Heights and depriving Hindley from education. He first starts by playing poker with drunk Hidley. During the poker games, Hindley bets shares of Wuthering Heights in exchange to keep on playing against Heathcliff. When Heathcliff decides to marry Isabella and brings her to the house. When she arrives at the house, Hindley shows her the gun he will use to kill Heathcliff. Time passes and Hindley finally decide to try to kill Heathcliff and gets beaten
From Hindley, he is able to own Wuthering Heights after his death, deprive young Hareton of education, and his love for Cathy. From Catherine, he is able to get her jealous by marrying with Isabella which by doing this also affects Edgar at the same time. From Edgar, he is able to make his son, Linton, and Edgar’s daughter, Cathy Linton, get married and once Linton dies, he became the owner of Thrushwood Grange. I support Heathcliff as he is very wise in the way he does everything and at the end he was able to accomplish everything he

Show More
Related

  • Analysis of Susan Jaret McKinstry’s Desire’s Dreams: Power and Passion in Wuthering Heights

    660 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...rder to be able to inherit Thrushcross Grange. It seems that Heathcliff is mainly intent in gaining control of the manors to not only gain economically advantageous positions, but to also prove to the ghost of Catherine, which still wandered around the moors, that he would have been worth marrying and that she made the wrong decision. Catherine also had very strong desires for power, which are shown by her telling Nelly that she would never be able to marry Heathcliff because he had been put so far below that she believed it would be degrading to her to marry him, and therefore she decided to marry Edgar Linton instead due to his stability.

    Read More

  • Heathcliff, the Non-Conformist Portrayed in Bronte's Wuthering Heights

    662 Words  | 2 Pages

    As a child and adolescent, both Heathcliff’s sullen manner and unpleasant appearance fail to comply with the so called heroic characteristics that are often encompassed by the genuine romance hero. He does however pursue many similar traits to that of the Byronic hero including his arrogant and selfish morality. “Is Mr. Heathcliff a man? If so, is he mad? And if not, is he a devil? I sha'n't tell my reasons for making this inquiry; but I beseech you to explain, if you can, what I have married”. Bronte commonly uses other characters prejudice outlooks to emphasise Heathcliff’s unruly behaviour and appearance. One character ...

    Read More

  • Essay On Outsiders In Things Fall Apart

    858 Words  | 2 Pages

    Due to the conflict between his untouched nature and the social norms prevalent in the new society, he starts to challenge them when he experiences the suppression and exclusion. Therefore, his revenge could not have taken place if he were not considered an outsider. And as a result of his revenge, Heathcliff is able to cause drastic changes in the society he enters as an outsider. When Hindley becomes owner of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff is suddenly degraded as a servant because Hindley still considers him the despicable creature. As Heathcliff is informed of his degradation, he says to Nelly: “I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do,” (Chapter 7). The compulsion to revenge and challenge the social standards is deeply rooted in his mind due to the humiliation he experiences. Heathcliff’s coming back to Wuthering Heights as a wealthy gentleman challenges the standards that were once set for him. With power and money, he destroys Hindley and ultimately becomes the possessor of Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange. This clearly shows that Heathcliff’s essence drives him to challenge the social standards and radically affects the society he lives

    Read More

  • The Character Of Heathcliff In Brontë's Wuthering Heights

    951 Words  | 2 Pages

    In Wuthering Heights, Brontë presents Linton Heathcliff as arguably one of the most unlikeable, unsympathetic characters of the novel: he is often described as 'peevish', is constantly unwell ('faint-hearted creature') and resorts to fits of coughing when he doesn't get his way. He plays a key role in Heathcliff's revenge plot – marrying Cathy to award Heathcliff control of both Thrushcross Grange and the Heights (although this eventually fails) – and reveals its futility in the mean time.

    Read More

  • Heathcliff - A Character Defined By His Past, in Wuthering Heights

    1226 Words  | 3 Pages

    Hindley, being the only biological son of Mr Earnshaw was envious of the relationship shared between Mr Earnshaw and Heathcliff and burned with fury. He made no effort to hide his resentment toward Heathcliff. Hindley despised Heathcliff to such an extent that when Mr Earnshaw died, he treated Heathcliff more like a servant and for bided him to talk to Catherine. Life then became miserable for Heathcliff and then became revenge driven. Hindley’s abusive and arrogant attitude toward Heathcliff, resulted in the chain of revengeful events that occurred in the novel. Hindley was instrumental in moulding Heathcliff into the destructive character he became.

    Read More

  • Character Analysis Of Wuthering Heights

    995 Words  | 2 Pages

    The complicated nature surrounding Heathcliff’s motives again adds an additional degree of ambiguity to his character. This motivation is primarily driven by Catherine’s marriage to Edgar and past rejection of Heathcliff, since he was a servant whom Hindley disapproved of. Prior to storming out of Wuthering Heights, Heathcliff overhears Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now…” (Brontë 87). The obstacles that ultimately prevent Heathcliff from marrying Catherine provide insight into Heathcliff’s desire to bring harm to Edgar and Hindley. The two men play prominent roles in the debacle, Edgar as the new husband and Hindley as the head figure who refused Heathcliff access to Catherine. Following this incident, Catherine says, “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same…” (Brontë 87). Catherine’s sentiment indicates she truly would rather be with Heathcliff, but the actions of others have influenced her monumental decision to marry Edgar. Furthermore, Heathcliff is motivated to not only ruin Edgar’s livelihood, but also gain ownership of his estate, Thrushcross Grange. This becomes clear when Heathcliff attempts to use Isabella

    Read More

  • Selfishness in "Wuthering Heights"

    797 Words  | 2 Pages

    Heathcliff is a character who was abused in his childhood by Catherine’s brother, Hindley, because of his heritage as a “gypsy”, and Hindley was jealous of the love that Heathcliff got from Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley’s father. This is also selfishness upon Hindley’s part since he only wanted his father’s love for his sister and himself. So to reprimand Heathcl...

    Read More

  • Events that Affect Heathcliff in Wuthering Heights

    398 Words  | 1 Pages

    From the beginning of the novel and most likely from the beginning of Heathcliff's life, he has suffered pain and rejection. When Mr. Earnshaw brings him to Wuthering Heights, he is viewed as a thing rather than a child. Mrs. Earnshaw was ready to fling it out the doors, while Nelly put it on the landing of the stairs hoping that it would be gone the next day. Without having done anything to deserve rejection, Heathcliff is made to feel like an outsider. Following the death of Mr. Earnshaw, Heathcliff suffers cruel mistreatment at the hands of Hindley. In these tender years, he is deprived of love, friendship, and education, while the treatment from jealous Hindley is barbaric and disrupts his mental balance. He is separated from the family, reduced to the status of a servant, undergoes regular beatings and forcibly separated from his soul mate, Catherine. The personality that Heathcliff develops in his adulthood has been formed in response to these hardships of his childhood.

    Read More

  • The Presentation of Childhood in "Wuthering Heights"

    1832 Words  | 4 Pages

    The presentation of childhood is a theme that runs through two generations with the novel beginning to reveal the childhood of Catherine and Hindley Earnshaw, and with the arrival of the young Liverpudlian orphan, Heathcliff. In chapter four, Brontë presents Heathcliff’s bulling and abuse at the hands of Hindley as he grows increasingly jealous of Heathcliff for Mr. Earnshaw, his father, has favoured Heathcliff over his own son, “my arm, which is black to the shoulder” the pejorative modifier ‘black’ portrays dark and gothic associations but also shows the extent of the abuse that Heathcliff as a child suffered from his adopted brother. It is this abuse in childhood that shapes Heathcliff’s attitudes towards Hindley and his sadistic nature, as seen in chapter 17, “in rousing his rage a pitch above his malignity” there is hyperbole and melodrama as the cruelty that stemmed from his abuse in childhood has been passed onto Isabella in adulthood.

    Read More

  • Heathcliff Character Analysis

    1009 Words  | 3 Pages

    Heathcliff’s arrival at Wuthering Heights impacted him both positively and negatively. Catherine Earnshaw was highly welcoming of him, but her brother Hindley

    Read More

  • Love And Hate In Heathcliff's Wuthering Heights

    899 Words  | 2 Pages

    His strong, merciless hate towards others is a result of the events that occurred in his childhood. “I’m trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back.I don’t care how long I wait, if I could only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!” (69) Because of all the torturous things Hindley did to Heathcliff back when they were children, “Hindley had blamed our father for treating Heathcliff too liberally; and swears he will reduce him to the right place,” (30) he hopes Hindley will not die before him just so he can carry out his revenge-driven plan. He is shaped by what has happened in his life previously which then causes meticulous actions that signify his intense hate towards everyone at Wuthering Heights. Although it is essentially not his own fault, some argue that there is no excuse for Heathcliff to act vindictively. In contrast, though, the psychological problems that he experienced have hand-crafted Heathcliff into the person he is. “It expressed, plainer than words could do, the intensest anguish at having made himself the instrument of thwarting his own revenge.” (58) This only adds to the complete and serious hatred he has for everyone that even saving his nephew from falling from the balcony was a thwart to his own revenge. The audience can conclude based on the characterization of Heathcliff as malicious that he is only focused on

    Read More

  • The Relationship Between Hindley And Heathcliff

    923 Words  | 2 Pages

    When Hindley is drunk, Heathcliff “cheat[s] Mr. Hindley”(63) at cards. This is part of Heathcliff’s revenge on Hindley. Eventually, Hindley has to mortgage Wuthering Heights in order to pay his debts, and Heathcliff is able to gain possession of Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff tells Cathy, Catherine and Edgar’s daughter, that Linton, his son, “is on his deathbed”(255) and that she should come visit him. Cathy feels obligated to go help Linton, so she and Nelly go to Wuthering Heights. Once they arrive, Heathcliff locks them in and tells them “you shall not quit this place till it is fulfilled”(261); implying that they will not be able to leave until Cathy marries Linton. Heathcliff wants them to marry so that he can get the inheritance. While Heathcliff gains money from his connections, d Cathy and Hindley loses their inheritance, money, and

    Read More

  • Revenge and Love in Wuthering Heights

    1529 Words  | 4 Pages

    There can be no question as to the motivations of Heathcliff for the vast majority of the book, as he is quite clearly obsessed with revenge (Which is nothing unusual in Wuthering Heights2) , be it against his adopted sister Catherine Linton (for denying him her love), his adopted brother Hindley Earnshaw (for years of abuse), his archrival and, to an extent, foil Edgar Linton (for marrying the woman he loved), or the child...

    Read More

  • Theme Of Social Class In Wuthering Heights

    1518 Words  | 4 Pages

    At first, the children of Wuthering Heights (Hindley, Cathy, Nelly) all rejected him for his appearance as a gypsy- they thought of him as knavish, grimy, and uneducated. Despite this, Mr. Earnshaw treated with a certain respect by letting him live as with the Earnshaws while still being an outsider to the family. Yet the spectrum of hostility didn’t end with the children. Mrs. Earnshaw questions her husband’s insight, “asking how [Mr. Earnshaw] could fashion to bring that gipsy brat into the house” when he added another mouth for her to feed at the dinner table. (Chapter 4). Mr. Earnshaw’s attempt to integrate Heathcliff fails once Hindley takes over Wuthering Heights. Despite basically being middle class under Mr. Earnshaw, Hindley takes it on his own to oppress and torture him. Before this, Heathcliff was on a level playing field class wise compared to the Earnshaws. Heathcliff now finds himself as a servant, a laborer working the fields. By subjugating Heathcliff, Hindley drew the line in the sand. Hindley has effectively forced Heathcliff into a lower class, Hindley has colonized

    Read More

  • Theme Of Revenge In Wuthering Heights

    648 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the novel Wuthering Heights, the dark and mysterious Heathcliff once began his life with an open heart, but after mistreatment from Edgar and Hindley he turns to revenge. Heathcliff's actions are reasonable; he has been hurt from the unfair reason of discrimination. Heathcliff slowly becomes sickly obsessed with planning an elaborate revenge after eavesdropping a conversation between his beloved Catherine to Nelly. He hears his young beautiful and idolized Catherine say, “It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff” (77). Heathcliff, heartbroken and hopeless, abruptly leaves Wuthering Height for two years. Catherine is left wondering where he is. Heathcliff leaves in search of revenge.

    Read More

More about The Themes Of Heathcliff's Revenge In Wuthering Heights

Open Document