In this essay I will be discussing how Heathcliff is a symbol of social neglect.
Heathcliff enters the story during Nelly's narration as a seven year old orphan from Liverpool who was adopted by Mr. Earnshaw and taken back to Wuthering Heights. His life, by Nelly was described as "a cuckoo's story". I know this because Mr. Lockwood asks Nelly: “Do you know anything of his history?' and she replied: “'It's a cuckoo's, sir - I know all about it: except where he was born, and who were his parents” this shows that Heathcliff was adopted in to another family where his parents were nowhere to be found and was “fed” allot of love while the other children starved for it this resembles the story of a cuckoo because a female cuckoo lays her eggs in a different birds nest and the mother of that nest adopts the baby cuckoo and feeds it alone while the mother bird's real children starve.
The novel Wuthering Heights is a story about love which then develops in to obsession. This is when Emily Bronte influences the isolated setting and dynamic characters to examine the self-destructive pain of desire.
The role of the boss points to Heathcliff's misery which was caused by Hindley and it was the treatment that was neated out by Hindley to Heathcliff after Mr. Earnshaw's death. This provokes Heathcliff's deep and enduring hatred and an all uncontrollable craze for revenge. Heathcliff never forgot when he was wronged by someone during his childhood. After three years Heathcliff returned to Wuthering Heights, the desire to revenge himself on all those who he believes of having hurt/offended him becomes his overwhelming passion. He ruins Hindley by encouraging him to drink and gamble and when he was out of the way Heathcliff turns his interest towards Hareton-: "We'll see if one tree won't grow as crooked as another with the same wind to twist it". He also focuses his revenge towards Edgar Linton, who he feels as having stolen Catherine from him. He creates a sequence of schemes to force the ownership of the Grange from Linton's family and keep it for himself. He marries Isabella so he would be able to gain a grip in the Grange and to get his revenge on Edgar-: "Edgar's proxy in suffering". He forces his son Linton to marry Cathy so he could to secure the ownership of the Grange; he then gained his revenge on edger; who had lost his family and estate.
Heathcliff is the leader/boss. His existence in Wuthering Heights puts an end to the habits of MR. Earnshaw's family; members of the family shortly became occupied in commotion, confusion, and disturbance and fighting. The family relationships became spiteful; as Nelly said: "From the very beginning he bred bad feelings in the house”.
Heathcliff's character as an avenger is assisted by his cleverness and perceptive of not just of his own ambitions, but including the ambitions of others. He recognises the cause of Isabella's obsession that-: "she abandoned this under a delusion" - "picturing in me a hero of romance". He also takes advantage of Linton's unfortunate health by encouraging the misfortune of Cathy so that her love and empathy would aid a marriage that would leave Heathcliff as the master of the Grange.
Emily Bronte portrays Heathcliff as a tormented spirit. After Catherine's death, Heathcliff's long for love has vanished. He then focuses totally on demanding revenge. As he gets closer to death, he confesses the amount of Catherine's clutch over him to Nelly, even though it has 18 years since her death-: "I cannot look down into the floor; her features are shaped in the flags...in every cloud, in every tree." The amount of torment Heathcliff received from Catherine shows when he states-: "Why did you betray your own heart, Cathy?...you love me, what right had you to leave me?" A good example of despair received by Heathcliff's tormented spirit is shown when he gets news of Catherine's death -: "I cannot live without my life, I cannot live without my soul" He, said Nelly, howled, like a savage beast getting aggravated to death with spears and knives. After Catherine's death Heathcliff found his existence unnatural for the reason that he believes that he should be with her in body and also in spirit. This is evident when he arranged to be buried beside her. He finds his life "like bending back a stiff spring". The young Cathy distinguishes that Heathcliff has rejected all society however, she doesn't realise that his obsession remains to her late mother-: "Mr. Heathcliff, you have nobody to love you...your cruelty arises from your greater misery."
While Heathcliff urges his revenge, he becomes cruel and is continuously connected with vile feelings, actions and images. The use of his imagination encourages Heathcliff's inhuman aspect. He regrets saving the Hareton as Nelly recalls: “his face bore the greatest pain at he being the instrument that thwarted his own revenge”. He takes pleasure of the fact that Hareton was born with an aware nature which Heathcliff eventually corrupted and degraded. Heathcliff's delight at this corruption was enlarged far the reason that-: "Hareton is damnably fond of me". Heathcliff's brutality is evident when he hangs Isabella's dog even when she protested against it. His attitude shows that he does not have any fatherly feeling. He sees Linton only as a wager to help him gain his revenge and his key consideration lies in calculating if Linton stays alive long enough to get married to Catherine so having won Thrushcross Grange-: "We calculate it will scarcely last 'till it's eighteen." Once Heathcliff was got married to Isabella he saw Linton's life as worthless -: "His life is not worth a farthing, and I won't spend a farthing on him" he finds pleasure in treating Isabella cruelly. He tells Nelly-: "The more the worms writhe, the more I yearn to crush the entrails" Isabella admits the merciless behaviour by Heathcliff and asks- "Is Mr. Heathcliff a man - is he the devil?"
