After discovering that the novel we would focus on this semester would be Wuthering Heights (which I read in honors World Literature in the tenth grade), I figured that reading it again would be a piece of cake. Oh, how wrong I was. I was truly amazed at how much of the plot I had actually forgotten. I had also forgotten how much I loved the character Heathcliff-- the loner with mysterious origins; the black sheep, the dark protagonist that spoke to my fifteen year-old heart, and still resonates with me today five years later.
In the first couple of chapters of the novel, the adult Heathcliff is portrayed as a callus and bitter man with a personality disorder. However, as I continued to read and remembered the back and forth rags to riches story of Heathcliff, it made me remember why I felt so deeply for this character. His mistreatment from society and living on the streets of Liverpool makes me sympathize and then feel joyous after his discover and adoption from Mr. Earnshaw. Sadly, his happiness is not permanent. He is teased and talked down to constantly and is constantly called a “dog” or “vagabond”. After practically losing his best friend and love, Catherine, he is again forced to live in a hell of torment and slavery from people who, for lack of a better phrase, think they are “all that and a bag of chips”. This is when I felt like I could personally relate to Heathcliff and his struggles. Perhaps it was just because I was picked on a lot in high school and was not one of the cool kids, but I still cannot help but smile when I read the text “I shall be as dirty as I please, and I like to be dirty, and I will be dirty!” (p. 65). It makes the little rebellious teenager inside me want to high-five Heathcliff and go throw hot applesauce in a stuck-up kid’s face.
Hey Chelsea, I've grown to be grateful for being an outsider in high school. It gave me the opportunity to become myself and not fit into the mold of a clique. I drew strength in being me and have developed the tools to deal with situations that the more popular ppl seem to lack the ability to handle. We need to have a hot applesauce day!
ReplyDeleteOh my! It's uncanny how much I can relate to your post. Yes, I was an "outsider" in highschool. I definitely wasn't one of the "cool kids" either.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoy how you related the struggles of Heathcliff growing up to your experiences in highschool. I wouldn't have even thought of his struggles as those of a highschooler but it's easy to forget that is around the age of these characters.