Wuthering Heights

Ha-rin Bae
sophomore
English Language&Literature

“Nelly, I am Heathcliff – He’s always, always in my mind – not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself – but as my own being – so, don’t talk of our separation again: it is impracticable.”

I read this quote on internet and soon I was fascinated with the literary style and atmosphere.

Before I read the book I thought as a romance novel with complicated relationship.

But after I close the book I realized I have guessed it totally wrong.

I would like to define this book as a revenge novel. A man who was betrayed by his lover and his family returns later, rich and educated, and sets about gaining his revenge on the two families that he believed ruined his life.

The story has two narrators, new comers to the locale of Wuthering Heights called Mr. Lockwood and the servant Nelly.

However Mr. Lockwood’s story is based on Nelly’s story focusing only what she has seen and heared or indirectly she had found.

So the story is Nelly’s subjective point of view. Heathcliff was adopted by Mr. Earnshaw, the owner of the Wuthering Heights, and the story begins.

Heathcliff and Earnshaw’s daughter Catherine grew up together since they were child.

As they grew up they fell in love each other but the circumstance around the main character was getting worse. Betrayal of Catherine and Hindley’s abuse were the biggest reason that lead him to be cruel and hatred.

Catherine’s death is the climax of the story because it removes any possibility that their conflict could resolved positively.

After Catherine’s death Heathcliff began mad and he kidnapped Catherine and Edgar’s daughter Catherine forces her to marry his son Linton but Linton soon dies so do Heathcliff.

The story ends Hindley’s son Hareton and young Catherine are to be engaged and promise to end this cruel destiny.

There is a quote that you can feel the love of Heathcliff to Catherine. “I cannot look down to this floor, but her features are shaped on the flags!

In every cloud, in every tree filling the air at night, and caught by glimpses in every object by day... my own features mock me with a resemblance.

The entire world is a dreadful collection of memoranda that she did exist, and that I have lost her.”

He fell in love with catherine purely and enthusiastically but soon the love became obsession.

Catherine’s desire to be a gentleman’s wife and love of Heathcliff hurt Heathcliff.

But Catherine choose Heathcliff and had a confession with Nelly.

However Heathcliff misunderstood the confession and felt he was betrayed. From this part the tragedy began.

As you read you can feel the madness of love from Heathcliff which it brings him to the death.

This is the main reason that I felt fascinated.

After I read this book I started to think how love can change everything of one man’s life. I admire Heathcliff’s blindness pursuit of love.

If I were him I would give up and plainly accept the situation.

Though Heatcliff and Catherine ended love as a tragedy this being so it remains effectively.

So I strongly recommend this book to students who are interested about what is love.

Miss Granny

Tae-hoon Kim
Sophomore
Sociology

This movie is a comedy about the story of 70 year old grandmother who goes back to her youth and turns 20 again. Suddenly, she is experiencing the twilight period of her life but she has skeptical feeling and doubt about her life. Like magic, she suddenly gets back to her period of youth and can achieve her dreams that she couldn’t do before. However, she gets back to the her original appearance in front of her grandson.

This movie is very much a comedy but at the center of it there is an aging problem that is a big issue in our society. The main character is an old woman who has a young woman’s body. This movie illustrates the prejudice towards old people. For example, we can see students having negative thoughts towards old people disliking wrinkles, age spots and their smell. Also, they were saying that old people are lazy. What does it feel to become an old person? Someday, we will be old too, then how do we feel about our own image?

I could find answer about this question in last part of movie. The grandmother’s ultimately chooses her own original form rather than the appearance of a flower maiden in her 20s. Why did she choose the appearance of an old and ugly 70 year old woman rather than the appearance of a 20 year old pretty girl? She must have realized that true happiness exists in the now.

Who is a truly happy person? I think that a person who feels happy at ‘this moment’ is really a happy person. Here is the answer of the movie. People who have been the best don’t have to miss the past and there is no need to look back to those days again. They are satisfied with this moment and find true happiness in this importance, because they already know that the best results are in the present moment. There is no need to depend on what’s gone already in the past and the uncertain future. The important thing is the present, whether you are young or old.

This movie is not only comedy but also an instructive movie that makes people think again about their youth, aging and family values.