Mason High School

  Can’t Be Tamed

Wuthering Heights Prose Essay

Kylie McCalmont

Ap Literature and Composition

Ms.Wilson

April 10, 2016

 I have read and understand the sections in the Student Handbook regarding Mason High School's Honesty/Cheating Policy. By affixing this statement to the title page of my paper, I am certifying that I have not cheated or plagiarized in the process of completing this assignment. If it is found that cheating and/or plagiarism did take place in the writing of this paper, I understand the possible consequences of the act, which could include a "0" on the paper, as well as an "F" as a final grade in the course.

2014 AP® ENGLISH LITERATURE AND COMPOSITION

FREE RESPONSE QUESTIONS

Question 2

(Suggested time—40 minutes. This question counts as one-third of the total essay section score.)

2005 Emily Bronte’s “Wuthering Heights” (1847): Write an essay in which you show how the author uses literary devices to achieve her purpose.

(1)Merely, the branch of a fir-tree that tou-

ched my lattice, as the blast wailed by,

and rattled its dry cones against

the panes! I listened doubtingly an instant;

detected the disturber, then turned and

dozed, and dreamt again: if possible,

 still more disagreeably than before.

This time, I remembered I was lying

(9)In the oak closet, and I heard distinctly

the gusty wind, and the driving of the

Snow: I heard, also, the fir-bough repeat

Its teasing sound, and ascribed me so much,

That I resolved to silence it, if possible;

And, I thought, I rose and endeavoured to

Unhasp the casement. The hook was sol-

dered into the staple: a circumstance ob-

served by me when awake, but forgotten.

(18)“I must stop it, nevertheless!” I muttered,

Knocking my knuckles through the glass,

And stretching an arm out to seize the im-

Portunate branch: instead of which, my

Fingers closed on the figures of a little, ice-

Cold hand! The intense horror or night-

Mare came over me: I tried to draw back

My arm, but my hand clung to it, and a

melancholy voice sobbed, “Let me

(27)in--- let me in!” “Who are you?” I asked,

Struggling, meanwhile, to disengage my-

Self. “Catherine Linton,” it replied, shiv-

eringly (why did I think of Linton? I had

read Earnshaw twenty times for Linton);

“I’m come home: I’d lost my way on the

Moor!” As it spoke, I discerned, obscurely,

A child’s face looking through the window.

Terror made me cruel; and, finding it use-

(36)Less to attempt shaking the creature off, I

Pulled its wrist on to the broken pane, and

Rubbed it to and fro till the blood ran down

And soaked the bedclothes: still it wailed,

(40)“Let me in!” And maintained its tenacious

grip, almost maddening me with fear.

“How can I?” I said at length. “Let me 

Go, if you want me to let you in!” The

Fingers relaxed, I snatched mine through

the hole, hurriedly piled the books up in a

Pyramid against it, and stopped my ears

(47)To exclude the lamentable prayer.

Kylie McCalmont

Ms.Wilson

AP Language and Composition

10 April, 2016

Wuthering Heights Prose Essay

After reading Wuthering Heights, if one doesn’t remember anything else, they will at least remember the passionate love without boundaries between Heathcliff and Catherine and their endearing personalities that allowed this love to hold strong and true.  In Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte exemplifies an unchanging love that defies social boundaries. Through the character of Catherine Linton, Bronte argues that a women is nurtured into her mannerisms; her transformation to adulthood it is nowhere near natural, especially in the budding Victorian time period. Through the use of gothic imagery, symbolism, and several motifs, Bronte effectively demonstrates the strength in women, and makes an argument that the Victorian Era in England shapes a woman; she doesn’t mold herself.

        Mr.Lockwood, one of the two narrators, has a nightmare in the house of Wuthering Heights that the older Catherine Linton shatters the window and retains grasp on him, begging to be let into the house. This scene starts out slow, explaining the eerie mood and using many descriptive verbs such as wailed and rattled that describe the tree that stirred the nightmare. Slight pauses through the use of colons and semicolons are used to aid with the description of this scene that allow for a short moment to be drawn out, demanding importance of the passage. Mr.Lockwood said, “I listened doubtedly an instant; detected the disturber, then turned and dozed, and dreamt again.” (Line 4-7) This use of consonance is added as well that aids to the flow of the piece and exemplify the fact that Mr.Lockwood is an a somewhat unconscious state, leaving the reader to be the judge that if this paranormal activity could have occurred or it may just be a harmless nightmare.

        The tone shifts from this eerie vibe to a tone of terror as Catherine’s “little, ice cold hand” pierces through the glass window. (Line 22-23) The imagery of the tree was sophisticated as it was called the “importunate” branch but when describing the ghost the characteristics become bland. The “melancholy” voice of Catherine is “sobbing” and “wailing” almost like the tree. Catherine ironically is called “Catherine Linton” her married name when she married the wealthy Edgar Linton, she refrained from saying “Earnshaw”. Lockwood thinks “(why did I think of Linton? I had read Earnshaw twenty time for Linton.)” (Line 30-31) This rare use of thoughts in parenthesis signaled that the name she identified herself with was important in this nightmare. Catherine came back in the form of a child playing who was lost in the Moor. The Moor in this text is a symbol of adventure and her deviance from what makes a respectable women. In addition, this represents Heathcliff’s love as this is the playground where it was kindled when they were young. When Catherine says, “‘I’ve come home: I’d lost my way on the Morr!’”, it isn’t exactly literal. (Line 32-33)  Bronte uses Catherine as a symbol. Catherine is saying that she lost her way in life due to the wild and uncontrolled love that she had for Healthcliff. She wasn’t able to be satisfied with a marriage that would have satisfied countless women because although Catherine may have looked like she followed society during the 18th century, she had a wild side that couldn’t be masked through nurture and was definitely not natural. She identified herself as a “Linton” because she was branded with that name but was wondering the Moor in search of something that was beyond what her married and proper life could give her.

        The tone changed again to a tone of violence. Lockwood rubbed her arm raw on the shattered class as he was scared that he may be hurt by her. Emily Bronte uses this vicious action as another symbol. Lockwood said, “Terror made me cruel.” (Line 35) This is the treatment that Catherine and the other two women in the novel, Isbella and Nelly, received as well from the prominent men characters. Catherine was nurtured at the Linton’s as a child and became a women, but this is not what comes natural to women. Catherine only kept up this mannerisms because of the strong male figures in her life. Edgar Linton loved her because she was a “proper woman” and her brother Hindely didn’t order her to be flogged when she behaved “as a lady should.” Both these men tried to shape Catherine in this way because they were afraid of the power she may have if they didn’t rein her humanistic drives in, such as her love for Heathcliff. This is the same purpose that Lockwood had as he made her shed blood on the glass. He acted out of terror.

        Throughout this novel, repetition is a prominent motif used by Bronte. Catherine constantly tries to break society bounds and defy the men that enforce society’s change on her. That is one reason why Heathcliff’s love never fades in her because it is the hope that there is more to life than a wealthy marriage. The motif of pairs showed up at recurring times throughout Wuthering Heights. The fact that Catherine has two love interests isn’t a coincidence. Also, the two different households in Wuthering Heights support this use of pairs as well.

        Throughout Wuthering Heights, Bronte uses the distinct imagery, Catherine and Lockwood’s nightmare as a symbol and the repetitive motifs that ultimately make the argument that a woman is nurtured and not a women by nature.