Third Stop: Withering Heights by Emily Bronte

  The New Social Order Against the Old 

In the article “ The Reality of Fantasy: Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights” by Carole Gerster, the author counteracts the misjudged view that the novel is just a fantasy, and states that Emily Bronte creates a vision of a new social order through the novel.

Gerster expresses that the novel reveals “ about being a woman in a male- dominated society as it delineates her envision of new social structure based on relationships of equality” (Gerster). Furthermore, Gerster explains that Bronte uses Heathcliff and Catherine as an example to contradict the social norm and create a vision that goes beyond the regular social roles that control behavior of gender. Gerster also mentions that the second generation Hareton and Cathy support the idea that there is a possibility to uphold Bronte’s vision of a new social order. To explain further, Bronte’s new vision, Gerster adds that by using Lockwood as a narrator to juxtapose the society with Bronte’s new vision. In the article Gerster analyzes Lockwood’s role in the novel to emphasize the meaning of the new social vision. Lockwood is viewed as someone who has experience the normal societal norms, as he encounters the unusual social endeavors at Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights; his confusion is required to be solved by Nelly Dean telling the story of Catherine and Heathcliff and how they formed and equal relationship. After the story Lockwood experiences what an equal relationship is through the second generation, Cathy and Hareton.

 Gerster’s point of view of the meaning of the novel is agreeable; Bronte portrays her vision of a new social order as she uses Lockwood’s view to juxtapose her views. Carole Gersters examples are very compelling to persuade the readers with this idea. Gester suggests that Lockwood “ has adopted a stereotypical male role” (Gerster), which is placed to contrast with Bronte’s idea of no particular role, but instead an equal relationship. The equal relationship Bronte tries to emphasize is seen when Catherine claims that she is Heathcliff and that they are the same. This indicates that despite the gender roles society inflicts on them Catherine and Heathcliff are seen as one; neither of the two take on a definite role in the relationship. However Bronte goes about to show the audience how societies view on gender roles can damage a relationship as Catherine is taught at the Linton’s household how to be a “proper lady”, this cause a rift in the relationship between Heathcliff and Catherine. Bronte displays how society detriments a relationship between two human beings. With the second generation brought up, Bronte further demonstrates that although society interfered with Heathcliff and Catherine’s relationship, they equal relationships will always form out of the ordinary, as seen through Cathy and Hareton, which leaves Lockwood in disbelief of what happened between the two. 
With the article “The Reality of Fantasy: Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights” by Carole Gersters, Bronte’s new vision of social order is explained to contradict those critics who have misjudged the novel throughout the years. Gersters analyzes the novel and comes to an idea that Wuthering Heights is about rejecting society's gender role and foreseeing a new society where everyone is equal. The points and ideas Gerster suggest are agreeable greatly. Although Wuthering Heights is controversial, there are many views that contradict and proves the literary merit title it deserves.

Gerster, Carole. "The Reality of Fantasy: Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights". Nineteenth- Century Literature Criticism 35 (1992): 190- 194. 19th Century Literature Criticism Online.Web. 02 April 2017.

New Year, New Challenges.

 The new year,  2017, is a big year for me since I am graduating high school and entering college this year. As I will be making an exciting and yet frightening transition in my life, there will be many new adventures that I will take. For the first half have the new year I want to prepare myself for the important event in most lives of young adults. One goal I care to address is (obviously) my goal for reading. This year I want to try to read books books that are difficult and are at the ‘college level’, which I mean can be read in classes in college. One of my reasons is to be ready when I do encounter difficult books in college; AP Literature and Composition, which I am taking right now does help with that too, but it is always great to read on your own and practice your analyzing skills you learn from class by applying them when reading a difficult book. Reading a difficult book helps you think and gets your brain turning; it’s like exercising the brain, which will be helpful in college because my brain will be strong enough to take on any challenges it throws at me. There is one last goal I have for reading this year, and it is that I want to have diversity in the books I read. What I mean by this is not in genre or time period, but country/culture. Whether the book was written in a different country, the author is from a different country, it takes place in a different country, or the book express a different culture, I want to read it. I have a deep interest in the different cultures countries have that make up this world, and through reading it would be great to learn more, so if anyone has suggestions that fit these criteria, difficult and/or diverse, please comment below!