Ghulam-Nabi Sallman Period 6 AP Literature, Caulfield Wuthering Heights Essay In the book Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte contrasts

and juxtaposes the two main houses, Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange, and shows how they are polar opposites. Wuthering Heights is dark, stormy, and full of savagery while Thrushcross Grange is bright, calm, and civilized. The physical characteristics and the residents of each house show the differences between the two. Lockwood gives the first description of Wuthering Heights, containing narrow windows that are deeply set in the wall (6). The house is constantly hit by powerful winds and fierce and stormy weather, as the word Wuthering suggests. Stormy weather produces a dark, spooky, and gloomy atmosphere and this same atmosphere can be associated with Wuthering Heights. The darkness of Wuthering Heights deprives the few stunted firs and gaunt thorns (6) that exist, thus making them slant one way in order to somehow catch a mere sunray. Just as Lockwood enters Wuthering Heights and sits down, a group of vicious dogs attacks him and the housekeeper rushes in to save him. This assault adds to the mysterious and dark feeling of Wuthering Heights and the characters that live within. On the other hand, Heathcliff describes Thrushcross Grange when he and Catherine I (the first) go to see what the Grange and the Lintons are like, describing it as a beautiful house with crimson-covered carpets and chairs and a pure white ceiling (47). The Grange is immensely bright and open, with intricate and expensive designs, showing the wealth and the high-class of the Lintons. This description differs from the dark and colorless Wuthering Heights. When

Heathcliff and Catherine I are caught snooping, a dog attacks both of them. The Lintons kick Heathcliff out but help Catherine inside to help her wounds heal. They treat her like a princess, washing and combing her hair and giving her food while her wounds heal from the dogs attack. This is a sign of civilization, unlike the dangerous and savage environment of Wuthering Heights. Besides the physical characteristics of each house, the inhabitants of each house also contribute to the descriptions. Savagery and revenge are clearly visible at Wuthering Heights since the beginning of the book. When Mr. Earnshaw brings back Heathcliff from his trip, a rivalry begins between Hindley and Heathcliff. Heathcliff becomes the object of abuse in the Earnshaw family and Mr. Earnshaw is the only person that protects him, especially from Hindley. As Heathcliff becomes close with Catherine I and Mr. Earnshaw dies, Hindley becomes the boss of Wuthering Heights and continuously puts Heathcliff down, depriving him of an education and degrading him by making him a manual laborer. This intense rivalry continues when both Hindley and Heathcliff start gambling, trying to take revenge against the other. As a result of Hindleys treatment, Heathcliff takes his revenge on Hindleys son, Hareton. He puts Hareton down just like Hindley did to him. Wuthering Heights is also the place where Heathcliff traps Catherine II and Nelly, preventing then from going to a dying Edgar. Wuthering Heights is the house where all the fights, revenge, and savagery happens. The residents of Thrushcross Grange are nothing like those of Wuthering Heights. Edgar Linton has light hair and fair skin (55), is well behaved, and definitely civilized. Catherine I ends up marrying Edgar instead of Heathcliff because of Edgars graceful and sophisticated character. Even though Heathcliff visits Catherine I at Thrushcross Grange behind Edgars back, Edgar stays true to his character and doesnt become a savage like Heathcliff. He continues to

love Catherine I. Catherine eventually dies because she is uprooted from a wild and free lifestyle at Wuthering Heights and put in a totally opposite lifestyle at Thrushcross Grange. She tries to adapt to the new environment but continuously misses her adventures with Heathcliff around the moors. Thrushcross Grange is a quiet and calm place where there isnt much conflict compared to Wuthering Heights where there is a savage atmosphere. The end of the novel unites the two families with the marriage of Hareton and Catherine II, resolving the passion and rage that plagued the Earnshaws and Wuthering Heights and the Lintons and Thrushcross Grange throughout the book. The couple decides to move to Thrushcross Grange and leave the haunted Wuthering Heights, symbolizing the movement to a more civilized world for generations to come.