Sunday, May 4, 2008
W.H. post #6: The Next Generation
At the end of this section the next generation of Lintons, Earnshaws, and Heathcliffs are in their teens and early twenties. What do you find interesting about these characters, how they are similar to and different from the previous generation, and how they interact?
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10 comments:
The next generation is freakishly similar to the first generation. Young Catherine is torn between uneducated Hareton and sniveling Linton as her mother was torn between Heathcliff and Edgar. The childrens' placement is different from the first generations'. Young Catherine lives in the Grange while Linton and Edgar live in the Heights.
While there are clear, interesting parallels between Catherine and Catherine and Heathcliff and Hareton (and perhaps Hindley and hareton?), I'm trying to figure out where limpid Linton fits in...to me, he embodies a sniffle- a slobbery one at that. Do you think he's the concentration of everything that's weak and haughty in these families?
-Ms. Coppens
The next generation seems to be shapping together quite nicely. All of the characters seem to parallel another chracter from a different generation. Catherine seems to be alot like her mother and then Linton seems alot like a young Heathcliff how he comes in when hes already 12 and then how he looks. Also Catherine is now stuck in the same predicament that her mother was in, she must choose between Linton and Hareton, thats a tough call. Hareton's and Catherine's relationship also seems alot like Heathcliffs and Catherine Senior, they play together and they met and fell for each other even though they were cousins in disguise. I predict that this generation will be just as if not more interesting as the last.
Matthew Fitch
As I started going saying in another response, the next generation is similar enough to the first generation to make the story awesome to read, but different enough to make it mor awesome. I think it's relatively safe to say that the strongest linkage is between the two Catherines (which is also where the stongest link between names is). They both have this love triangle thing going on and I thing they both have personalities that could be described as confident to the point of being just slightly annoying, but also compassionate. Hareton and Linton link more generally to combinations of personalities from the previous generation. I think both of them have some Heathcliff qualities for instance (Linton gets what he wants and came from out of town, Hareton is rough and tough and was not born rich). If you agree with me on the Catherine situation though, this becomes a really cool situation. The stong linkage makes the Catherines the main character. (Notice I used a singular 'character.' In order for this to work you sort of have to think of little Cathy as Catherine reincarnated-which completely fits since one died at the exact same time as the other was born). Now we're continuing to follow Catherine's life through her daughter. She screwed up everything the first time around, but now she has a second shot. Is she going to choose Linton or Hareton? Which one is the right choice? You may have an opinion on the second question, but I mean in terms of Cathy righting her mother's wrongs. Since we can't quite connect the dots between those to characters and the characters of the previous generation, we can't know which person is the 'right' choice.
Then again, maybe I'm reading way to far into this. Cathy's goona be dating her cousin either way, so maybe she's just a creep.
-Drew McGlincy
Though Bronte clearly intended to have the "second" generation parallel the first, it is just as clear that she intended there to be stark differences between them. The two Catherines are the most obvious example of this - just the fact that both of their names are Catherine speaks to the intensity of the parallel. However, I really think Bronte intended for the second generation to redeem the first generation, in a way, and show the good side of humanity as a foil to the bad one embodied by the first generation. The Catherines are once again a perfect example of this - they are very similar in their passion and single-mindedness but older Catherine uses these things to control other people and to reach ultimately unjustifiable ends, young Catherine's passion is spent (through the majority of her life) making others comfortable and, in the end, rising them up (as with Hareton).
Linton I see as an opposite parallel to Edgar. Both are originally described as delicate and sickly (I really didn't like Edgar in the beginning), however, Edgar turns out to be a strong, respectable man where as Linton ends up being a weak, pitiable and really quite annoying boy. Where young Cathy was old Cathy turned good, I think Linton was what Edgar could have been if he didn't rise up to meet the challenges of his life.
-Victoria
I think that the new generation is quite a strange bunch of kids. They seem to be repeating the history of their parents all over again, what with the strange love entanglements, and the loves that are forbidden by parents. It seems as though they have never heard the motto of learning from history so you don't repeat its worst mistakes.
They are also very confusing to keep straight with all the repeat names. I found it exceptionally odd that Heathcliff named his son Linton, which happens to be the last name of the man who married the woman he was madly in love with.
~Alyssa
The second generation is very similar to the first. Linton is just as fragile and spoiled as his Edgar and Isabella, if not more. Catherine is willful, and Hareton is wild and rough. Catherine seems fascinated with Hareton but charmed with Linton. She wants him "as a pet" She doesnt really care about him as much as hareton, but she likes how he can be her "pet". The second generation is in almost the same situation as the first.
kori
ms.coppens asked where Linton fits in- and I think Drew answered it in question one when he pointed out Linton didnt grow up at the Grange or Heights. He doesnt really fit in with the older generation. Much of the older generation's perceptions of others were created by how they were brought up. Those who grew up in the Grange were refined while those in the Heights had a temper and were rougher. Little Catherine and Hareton represent the two types of personalities, but Linton is an outside source. he grew up in a different environment so his personality is different from the others.
i especially find intersting baout these characters is that catherine , younger catherine, is very independt as was her mother. it seems as if she kind of runs the show, and has that same strongwilled mentality as her mother. also, agreeing wiht a few others that posted, this love traingle is quite intersting, if you even wanna call it that persay. heathcliff hates his son, but wants catherine to marry into the family. however, catherine is very interested in hareton, which displeases linton as well as heathcliff who is very adament on catherine creatinga union ebween the two families. this reminds me of older catherine marrying edgar linton, but heathcliff objected to it because he loved her, just as he objects now because he wants younger catherine to love his son. either way, heathcliff is constanlty being rejected whether perosnally or through hsi son, an di think its bound ot take a toll on him very shortly
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