What Do I think Of Wuthering Heights????

Recently I read Wuthering Heights as one of my extension English texts, here is what I have to say:

• Ok seriously, after reading the first three chapters I wanted to KILL Mr. Lockwood. I found him sooo annoying! I found his narration to be boring and conceited.
• As well as finding Mr Lockwood really annoying I also found the miserable farmhands at WH really frustrating. I know they were used to help create in the readers mind how dark and miserable the atmosphere of the property was but I wanted to kill them as well!!!! I hate with a passion people who are trashy, uneducated and mean so these fictional characters really annoyed me. I just wanted to scream at them and hit them with something really really heavy.
• And seriously all of those dogs?!?! PUT THEM DOWN!!! The whole pack of dogs thing made me feel disgusting on the inside, I don't quite know why.
• I liked the themes in WH. I found how dark it was to be a welcome surprise. I had this funny idea in my head that it would just be about two people standing on a hill that’s really high with lots of wind blowing everywhere while they made out. Yeah.... I really don't know why I expected that. So yes my expectations were definitely surpassed.
• Another thing that surprised me was the structure of the novel; I did not expect the romance to be from before the novel is actually set being told to Mr Lockwood. I found the non linear structure interesting to read and it really grabbed my attention.
• There was so much plotting and revenge in this novel, although I found it intriguing I also found it frustrating. Although it drew me in I also found it annoying. Can't people just be honest and admit how they feel. There were just to many moments that made me want to slap the characters over the head.
• Heathcliff, although I begun to understand you and sometimes pity you, I must just say, you are a bastard!

I know I seem to be complaining a lot about WH but I actually liked it for the reasons that it annoyed me... I find that when a book triggers an emotional response it tends to be a book that I've enjoyed. WH surpassed what I thought it would be which I enjoyed. I like being surprised. J

A Little Bit Sketchy

Is Romanticism still relevant today?

This question asked by my English teacher has caused me to have a debate with myself for the last few hours. Here are my scrambled thoughts on the matter.

My initial reaction to this question was “ummm yes, have you not seen any recent chick flicks”? But then I thought about it more. The basis of romanticism came about in the late 18^th century due to a shift in thinking when it came to money, power and politics. This change in thinking caused artists to think differently when creating their work. Literature and paintings transformed into more interesting and diverse pieces as their creators imaginations widened and as these changes occurred so did changes in society.

When thinking of the basic principles of romanticism I then struggled to find the link between romanticism and modern day romantic movies. Chick flicks are no longer original, within the last 12 months two movies have been released following their characters as they try to fall pregnant even though they are single.  Tell me where is the original thought in that? Original thought seems to be thrown away in order to make money. Then there are the majority of chick flicks that show women as being easily deterred in modern life. If Romanticism set society free then how can I compare it to something that traps people into a particular thought pattern?

I then tried to compare romanticisms artists to today’s artists. I admit I’m not one of those people who know a million artists names off by heart, sure I know who Andy Warhol is but besides from that my knowledge on the topic was (and still is) fairly limited. Who sprung to my mind when I thought of an artist though? Lady Gaga. She may not make the most quality music of all time (still annoyingly addictive though) but she has almost turned herself into art. A lot of people in today’s society look to her as some kind of hero as she has broken the trend of what has seemed like an endless stream of Barbies who lip sync. She has over the last 3 years acted as a catalyst for a change in thought, many are no longer bragging about the fact that they are almost identical to other people and instead individuality (not that it truly exists) has become the new thing to strive for.

Is romanticism relevant today? Yes it’s relevant; although I think that in today’s society the basic principles behind it have been forgotten or are undervalued.  It seems like the things that identified romanticism are hard to come by. And although this may not make sense I believe that there is a twist in today’s culture in the fact that there is hardly any culture at all. We need another revolution instead of living in the shadow of one that ended 120 years ago.