Marxist Criticism-Review

The Marxists criticisms about Wurthering Heights are very interesting. I found Terry Eagleton's comment on page 396 to be very interesting, "Wurthering Heights, on the other hand, confronts the tragic truth that the passion and society it presents are not fundamentally reconcilable" because these are two factors that Emily Bronte successfully tackles in her novel. I think that the comparison of Charlotte Bronte and Emily Bronte's writing shortly before the above quotes does a good job of describing the difference in their writing. I believe that there is an "unevenness" (396) out in Charlotte Bronte's writing. I feel that she was trying to write Jane Eyer as a gothic novel but that she decided that she wanted a happy ending. Where as in Wuthering Weights Emily Bronte grasps the concept of a gothic novel though her use of passion and society. Obviously there was some form of passion between Heathcliff and Catherine, but due to societal standards there was no way that they could actually be together. This is where Emily Bronte achieves an evenness that Charlotte Bronte did not have.

Wuthering Heights blog post #2

Emily Bronte's novel was exceptional. I have read a few other gothic novels such as Frankenstein, and I did not particularly appreciate the genre. Even though there was no one specific character that I connected to in Wuthering Heights I still enjoyed the novel because of its many characters and their elaborate relations to each other. There were so many tragic relationships and love triangles, of sorts, I almost felt that I was reading a Shakespeare play versus a gothic novel.

Heathcliff is one of the most powerful characters that I have read about in a long time. The entire novel revolves around him. It begins with his arrival at Wuthering Heights, continues to reveal his devious plan to take control of Wurthering Heights (and subsequently Thrushcross), and then the novel ends with his death. Also as we have perviously discussed, but I feel should be mentioned again, the importance of weather in Wurthering Heights. Heathcliff is surrounded by the presence of bad weather. When Mr. Earnshaw bring him home for the first time it is a stormy night, then when Heathcliff dies he dies in a storm. A possible interpretation of this is Heathcliff's life was turbulent because he came into "the world" of Wurthering Heights and brought anger and confusion to the Earnshaw's (especially Catherine). Also just like the end of a storm Heathcliff was menacing, leaving a trail of debris behind.

George Orwell's "Politics and the English Language"

      I found this article to be very informative because I like reading about things that will help me improve my writing. George Orwell does not waste any time with a lengthy introduction in his article, he jumps straight to the point. Often when I am reading an article that is printed off the internet I have trouble reading it, but this one was an easy read. Orwell makes it clear through example that he wants readers to be informative and concise writers. I feel that Orwell is saying, "this is how you writer, but look, this is how you should write".
      Orwell's explanation of "meaningless words" was very interesting and I felt that it was the main point of the article. In his explanation of meaningless words Orwell writes, "...the person who uses them [words] has his own private definition, but allows his hearer to think he means something quite different" (Orwell 4). This is a classic example of writing and thinking with a political purpose. This also relates directly to using coined terms. For example, if a politician uses a term or phrase that he has coined without providing his constituents a useful definition the term can be deemed a meaningless word.
      Orwell's explanation of the five sample writings is well written because he points out exactly what was wrong with each example without over complication. I thought his explanations were helpful because I often feel that it is easy to over complicate writing. I sometimes think too hard about a topic even before I write about it causing the thought to be over complicated; this is why I find it easier to get my thoughts out then go back and revise.
      Orwell's article is another fine example of the importance of being a wise reader and therefore competent writer.