In some works of literature, childhood and adolescence are portrayed as times graced by innocence and a sense of wonder; in other works, they are depicted as times of tribulation and terror. Focusing on a single novel or play, explain how its representation of childhood or adolescence shapes the meaning of the work as a whole.
In the novel Wuthering Heights childhood and adolescence is shown as a time of games, pranks and mischief, even for young Heathcliff. So why does he turn out so cruel and mean? As he ages we see his trials and tribulations throughout his childhood and into his adolescence, did Heathcliff’s upbringing early in life lead him to be the man he is later in his life, not only in money matters, but in matters of his heart and of other people?
When we take a true look at Heathcliff’s childhood and adolescence we notice the trials and tribulations that shaped him into the arrogant, egotistical man he is. In the beginning, he was a beggar child, a gypsy of sorts. He knew nothing but crime and unchristian-like ways. This alone would slightly shape the man we meet in the latter part of the novel. Once he arrives at Wuthering Heights he is treated as a prince by his step-father, ignored by his step-mother and loathed wholly by his step-brother whom will verbally and physically abuse him until he is shipped off. The only other kind hearts he experienced in his childhood were a servant girl, Nelly, and his step-sister Catherine who he becomes very close to. This, we would think, would lead him into being shaped to a gentleman of sorts, having had proper education provided by his step-father.
Sadly, it does not though. We later find out one of the kind hearts he experienced dies leaving him at the brutal hands of his step-brother who is a raving drunk and a lunatic. He experiences what it is like to be a servant boy when his brother comes back from school and becomes master of the house. This, on top of the abuse he took as a child led Heathcliff into a deeper loathing of his brother. He gains want to take revenge upon his brother by all means necessary. This makes him bitter, losing his gentleman appeal and adding on a pugnacious visage. Once Catherine starts bringing the Linton’s around he gains more hatred and anger towards man-kind, growing him into a bitterer person.
All of the things in his life have left him a bitter, ruthless, violent man. The trials he faces, the hills he has had to overcome to get to his position he dies in have all created a brute of a man who inevitably dies crazy, and still in love with a woman who has long since been dead and gone. Heathcliff could have been a great gentleman without these factors, but with them, he turned out this way.
So it is evident that Heathcliff’s early upbringing was the main factor in how he turned out as an adult, from his abusive step-brother, to his love affair with his step-sister. The mischief and mayhem of childhood, and the hard labor and swear of adolescence bred a cold-hearted, ruthless man with no compassion for anyone but himself and a ghost.
