Timothy Eng
AP English 12
Salomone Pd. 4
12/20/16
WH Essay: “Cruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves” (Paul Tillich) Cruelty functions in literature as a multilayered device, endearing or alienating characters that are the target or perpetrator, respectively. The perpetrators reduce the targets’ humanity to no more than property, which usually entails feeling indifferent or taking pleasure at the suffering of others. In Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, cruelty functions as a meta-tool of to address various aspects of human nature. Three main instances that stem from different areas are Hindley’s cruelty towards Heathcliff, Heathcliff’s towards everyone (especially Linton) and Cathy’s towards Hareton until the development …show more content…
His cruelty stems from jealousy of Mr. Earnshaw’s attention to Heathcliff, showing that his revenge is driven by his desire for his father’s lov3e: “Hindley hated him…[he] had learned to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a friend, and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parent 's affections and his privileges; and he grew bitter” (38). With regards to human nature, Brontë hints that the desire for love can drive people to turn against those they used to or should have cared for. Hindley turns against his father, whom he previously loved, and Heathcliff, who he ought to have loved as a brother. Hindley’s cruelty hurts Heathcliff but also his son, whom he almost kills by accident. The abuse of Heathcliff also acts as a device to foreshadow later abuse of Linton, Cathy, and Hareton (less so); Hindley’s vengeful nature helps to breed Heathcliff’s and later brings about his own downfall. After his descent into drunkenness, Hindley continues to be cruel to Heathcliff. For example, in his gambling with Heathcliff, it seems that Hindley expects that he will eventually win and “get back” at Heathcliff but the reader can see Heathcliff is being manipulative to gain control of Wuthering Heights. Brontë is showing the reader that the cycle of cruelty is being continued by the manipulation and foreshadows the destructiveness of the …show more content…
The description is intense and has vivid imagery: “The ruffian kicked and trampled on him, and dashed his head repeatedly against the flags…He exerted preter-human self-denial in abstaining from finishing him completely; but getting out of breath, he finally desisted, and dragged the apparently inanimate body on to the settle (178-179). First, the short but intense physical confrontation is a release of the tension that has been building since Hindley began bullying Heathcliff. Second, Hindley’s failed attempt may show that he has reached the point of no return; his cruelty has destroyed him mentally and physically to a degree that he will not survive much longer. Indeed, Hindley dies shortly after this fight. On the flip side, it shows the success of Heathcliff’s (slightly) justified cruelty and signifies his true rise to power. Heathcliff’s mistreatment of Linton parallels Hindley’s mistreatment of Hareton, again demonstrating the destructive cycle that is created by cruelty, and how cruelty can destroy everyone influenced by
AP English 12
Salomone Pd. 4
12/20/16
WH Essay: “Cruelty towards others is always also cruelty towards ourselves” (Paul Tillich) Cruelty functions in literature as a multilayered device, endearing or alienating characters that are the target or perpetrator, respectively. The perpetrators reduce the targets’ humanity to no more than property, which usually entails feeling indifferent or taking pleasure at the suffering of others. In Emily Brontë’s Wuthering Heights, cruelty functions as a meta-tool of to address various aspects of human nature. Three main instances that stem from different areas are Hindley’s cruelty towards Heathcliff, Heathcliff’s towards everyone (especially Linton) and Cathy’s towards Hareton until the development …show more content…
His cruelty stems from jealousy of Mr. Earnshaw’s attention to Heathcliff, showing that his revenge is driven by his desire for his father’s lov3e: “Hindley hated him…[he] had learned to regard his father as an oppressor rather than a friend, and Heathcliff as a usurper of his parent 's affections and his privileges; and he grew bitter” (38). With regards to human nature, Brontë hints that the desire for love can drive people to turn against those they used to or should have cared for. Hindley turns against his father, whom he previously loved, and Heathcliff, who he ought to have loved as a brother. Hindley’s cruelty hurts Heathcliff but also his son, whom he almost kills by accident. The abuse of Heathcliff also acts as a device to foreshadow later abuse of Linton, Cathy, and Hareton (less so); Hindley’s vengeful nature helps to breed Heathcliff’s and later brings about his own downfall. After his descent into drunkenness, Hindley continues to be cruel to Heathcliff. For example, in his gambling with Heathcliff, it seems that Hindley expects that he will eventually win and “get back” at Heathcliff but the reader can see Heathcliff is being manipulative to gain control of Wuthering Heights. Brontë is showing the reader that the cycle of cruelty is being continued by the manipulation and foreshadows the destructiveness of the …show more content…
The description is intense and has vivid imagery: “The ruffian kicked and trampled on him, and dashed his head repeatedly against the flags…He exerted preter-human self-denial in abstaining from finishing him completely; but getting out of breath, he finally desisted, and dragged the apparently inanimate body on to the settle (178-179). First, the short but intense physical confrontation is a release of the tension that has been building since Hindley began bullying Heathcliff. Second, Hindley’s failed attempt may show that he has reached the point of no return; his cruelty has destroyed him mentally and physically to a degree that he will not survive much longer. Indeed, Hindley dies shortly after this fight. On the flip side, it shows the success of Heathcliff’s (slightly) justified cruelty and signifies his true rise to power. Heathcliff’s mistreatment of Linton parallels Hindley’s mistreatment of Hareton, again demonstrating the destructive cycle that is created by cruelty, and how cruelty can destroy everyone influenced by