Ellis Bell & "Wuthering Heights"

For a summer reading assignment, my AP English teacher had us choose from a list of classic English novels of the 19th century. The list included unforgettable pieces like Frankenstein and more, however I felt that I should broaden my horizon and put something new in front of my eyes; something I would not typically read. Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is something I would not typically read, being that it is an enduring romance or "sob" (as I would call it) story written from a woman's perspective of the time period. This is not to say that I have anything against these facets or female writing. I would just never think to pick up this particular book and begin reading it, of personal choice. But they say, "don't judge a book by its cover." And in this case I did not want to literally judge this book by its cover. So I began reading and mid-way through I found myself pleasantly surprised.

First of all, I would like to point out Bronte's excellent use of language and vocabulary in this book. Her language actually augmented what would have already been a great story to begin with. I was very fascinated by the fact that Bronte (also know by her pen name Ellis Bell) was so well-spoken and written as a young lady coming from her social background and time period. Born into a middle class family, she was given sufficient educational opportunities but it was her personal pursuit that gained her great knowledge in linguistics. For example, she would do things like teach herself German out of books while maintaining a job primarily solely because she was interested in the language. A curious young girl, much of Bronte's education was based out of her house where she was taught by her father and aunt. Her interest in writing stories and poem began around the age of eight when her and her sisters wrote stories about their toy soldiers and the Duke of Wellignton. With that little literary background, I would like to give an example of her writing taken from Wuthering Heights:

"Fortunately, the beasts seemed more bent on stretching their paws and yawning and flourishing their tails, than devouring me alive; but they would suffer no resurrection, and I was forced to lie till their malignant masters pleased to deliver me: then, hastless and trembling with wrath, I ordered the miscreants to let me out--on their peril to keep me one minute longer--with several incoherent threats of retaliation that, in their indefinite depth of virulency, smacked of King Lear. The vehemence of my agitation brought on copious bleeding at the nose, and still Heathcliff laughed, and still I scolded."

As seen in this passage and throughout the book, vocabulary serves as a large foundation in Bronte's writing and comes off the page as a very evident aspect in each and every sentence.

Another facet that makes Bronte a unique storyteller is her ability to immerse the reader within the story, as if they are really there. Take this passage for example.
"The intense horror of nightmare came over me: I tried to draw back my arm, but the hand clung to it, and a most melancholy voice sobbed. "'Let me in--let me in!'" "'Who are you?'" I asked, struggling, meanwhile, to disengage myself. "'Catherine Linton,'" it replied, shiveringly (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, obsurely, a child's face looking through the window.

Her detailed descriptions are so emotionally driven and thought based from the narrators point of view that they have the affect of placing the reader within the scene where they are standing next to the narrator, thinking the same thoughts.

Another thing I would like to point out that brings Bronte's story to life is her usual use of the emotional, exclamatory interjection. Taking a look at a passage in the book, this technique is evident.

"If I imagined you really wished me to marry Isabel, I'd cut my throat!"

"I cannot love thee; thou'rt worse than thy brother. Go, say thy prayers, child, and ask God's pardon. I doubt thy mother and I must rue that we ever reared thee!"

"I'm trying to settle how I shall pay Hindley back. I don't care how long I wait, if I can only do it at last. I hope he will not die before I do!"

"Well, if I cannot keep Heathcliff for my friend--if Edgar will be mean and jealous, I'll try to break their hearts by breaking my own. That will be a prompt way of finishing all, when I am pushed to extremity!"

Something as simple as the repeated and proper use of the interjection is brilliant in a novel that is meant to provoke emotion. It serves as a tool to intensify the scenario and makes the story much more realistic.

5 Books I've enjoyed Lately

1. The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger. This book was one of the more fascinating books I've read lately. The fact that it explored the truthful young lifestyle of a boy around my age made it a piece that was very hard to put down.

2. Mind Gym: An Athlete's Guide to Inner Excellence by Gary Mack with David Casstevens. This book I reccomend to any athlete or sports fan. Sometimes sports books can turn into stat sheets about an athlete's career but this book turned out to be a great read that actually explores the inside of an athlete's mind when they are in training or performance.

3. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows by J.K. Rowling. I have to include HP on here just because I'm a fan and I thoroughly enjoyed the series. I thought the last book was a great way to cap it off. I actually read  "Deathly Hollows" a week before the film premiered this summer; perfect timing. I enjoyed the book more than the movie by the way.

4. Atonement by Ian McEwan. Although I'm not a romance person, Atonement captured my attention from the start. It was a required read for my English class, but I ended up really enjoying it. McEwan's writing style is captivating and was very interesting for me to read from an American's perspective.

5. The Da Vinci Code by Dan Brown. I read this book last spring as a pleasure read and I thought it was a very entertaining novel. This is right down my ally because it is a mystery-detective story (if you read my last blog). Although there is not really a strong literary view in it, the history in this novel is very intriguing.

Good Storytelling that I've Recently Encountered

For me, good story telling is essential for a good reading experience. If a novel is lacking a good story teller  I will proceed to completely lose my focus, leave the world within the book and enter my own imaginative universe within seconds. So clearly books lacking good storytellers have been struggles for me in the past. Because of my short attention span, I have a personal bias towards mystery genre's when it comes to reading. The general format for good murder novels are all the same: the characters are introduced, a question or thesis is presented which remains throughout the story, along the way small clues and pieces are introduced which represent a large and dramatic build-up to an eventual, mind-blowing finish. Now, how do you lose focus when your brain is constantly being stimulated by things like small clues and knowing that there is an eventual prize of an unexpected and fantastic ending coming your way? Personally, I never do. With that said, I would like to introduce a classic within the mystery genre, The Big Sleep written by the great Raymond Chandler. Chandler's books still continue to stir our minds and entangle us within our detective alter ego's, The Big Sleep being one of his most acclaimed stories. And although the book consisted of a lot of dialogue, Chandler's ability to tell the story from detective Phillip Marlowe's point of view is rather refreshing and inviting. I felt as though I was sitting next to a camp fire at night listening to Uncle Bob's intriguing, old voice as I was reading this story.
"It was about eleven o'clock in the morning, mid October, with the sun not shining and a look of hard wet rain in the clearness of the foothills. I was wearing my powder-blue suit, with dark blue shirt, tie and display handkerchief, black brogues, black wool socks with dark blue clocks on them. I was neat, clean, shaved, and sober, and I didn't care who knew it. I was everything the well-dressed private detective ought to be. I was calling on four million dollars." 


"I went quickly away from her down the room and out and down the tiled staircase to the front hall. I didn't see anybody when I left. I found my hat alone this time. Outside, the bright gardens had a haunted look, as though small wild eyes were watching me from behind the bushes, as though the sunshine itself had a mysterious something in its light. I got into my car and drove off down the hill. What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell." 


Here are two passages from the beginning and end of the novel. You can tell by Chandler's careful attention to detail and context that he has the traits of a good story teller. Notice he mentions things like date and time as well as what he is wearing; the more detail, the better in any mystery. He is also very thoughtful and contemplative as you can see towards the end of that second passage, questioning the significance of death. Chandler's The Big Sleep and all his other works are all great reads. I suggest them to any mature reader, especially someone looking for a good old-fashioned mystery or simply just a story with a good narrator.