Over the Easter I finished Wuthering Heights and I really enjoyed it.

Wuthering Heights follows the life of Heathcliff from a young child to death. Found in Liverpool by Mr Earnshaw, he insists on bringing him home and treating him as his son to the dismay of his wife. Throughout their childhood Hindley is jealous of Heathcliff and tries to make his life as unbearable as possible while Catherine unexpectantly takes a shine to Heathcliff. The story evolves with Catherine and Heathcliff falling in love but not having the support of the Earnshaws. Catherine ends up marrying Edgar and Heathcliff becomes more desolate and bitter as he and Catherine are torn apart. He despises Edgar for taking away his soul mate and becomes sourer as the story progresses. Although Catherine is content in her marriage she knows that the bond she shared with Heathcliff was more passionate and spiritual.

When Catherine died giving birth to her and Edgar’s daughter Cathy, Heathcliff immediately loathed her too, as in his view she killed her, and should have been his child. Years later, he forces her to marry his son Linton. Although they get on initially, Heathcliff imprisons her in Wuthering Heights and makes her life a misery. As with what normally happens in novels, we expected Heathcliff to change his cruel and angry traits into a nice man but it’s not until the very end when Heathcliff begins to die and finds happiness within himself and the apparition of Catherine that we see him as a vulnerable and human person for the very first time. He begins to stop eating and wanders around hallucinating Catherine’s ghost. He seems, for the first time in the novel at peace as he realises he will be with his soul mate for eternity.

Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights is a Gothic novel set in 19th century Yorkshire. It deals with the "supernatural" such as ghosts and dark villainous characters. It is also fiction as it deals with the likes of relationships and class.

The dialogue in Wuthering Heights differs. It is used to create scenes between Heathcliff and someone else. We can see from Heathcliff’s dialogue that he is an angry and bitter character. It helps to portray his traits rather than someone else describing him. Wuthering Heights elderly servant Joseph speaks in a thick Yorkshire accent making hiss dialogue almost impossible to decipher, but again it sets the scene and makes the setting more convincing.

Wuthering Heights is a narrative story. Bronte cleverly uses two completely different people to tell Catherine and Heathcliff's story. A young man from London, an outsider called Lockwood narrates for the beginning and end of the story and Ellen “Nelly” Dean, Thrushcross Grange’s trusted housekeeper tells the rest of the story. By using two points of views, it involves human nature to the story as it tells us the story through different people’s opinions and social class. The story’s not told in chronological order as it’s told like an actual story so it includes various flashbacks.

Emily Bronte’s Wuthering Heights is set in the Yorkshire moors in the 19^th century. Social class is really evident through her use of setting as the vast differences between Wuthering Heights and Thrushcross Grange really show the vast contrast in classes. Thrushcross Grange is a haven of respect, civility and order. As the middle class, the Earnshaws and Lintons lived comfortably with servants, a big estate and plenty of land. Catherine’s decides to marry Edgar so she will be “the greatest woman of the neighbourhood” We see the luxurious life education provides whilst Wuthering Heights is a centre of chaos, ignorance and neglect.

The Yorkshire moors helps to develop the theme of setting as you get the impression as the characters walk over the hill they enter a parallel world. On one side is the calm, educated Thrushcross Grange where everyone gets along and is generally happy. When you step over the hill to Wuthering Heights, it’s like you step into a different world of neglect, anger and commotion where the likes of Heathcliff, Zillah and Joseph are neither welcoming nor happy. It also symbolises Heathcliff and Catherine’s love as this is where they played together as children, and also the dips and hills in the moors represent their relationship; there’s the good, happy memories and then the sad times of being forced apart.

The use of ghosts in Wuthering Heights is a way of bringing the living and dead together and showing that Catherine and Heathcliff were actually destined for each other as towards the end of Heath cliff’s life he becomes blissfully happy as he begins to connect with Catherine in another world. They portray the way that the past never really leaves the present and that memories help to determine outcomes and reminiscences are forever.

There are many themes in Wuthering Heights such as revenge, social class, love, rebellion and conflict between good and bad.

We see revenge throughout the novel with Heathcliff. After Catherine marries Edgar instead of him, Heathcliff becomes withdrawn and angry and points his hatred towards her nearest. He despises their daughter Catherine for two primary reasons, for one she is not his child with Catherine and secondly his soul mate died giving birth to her. Just before his death Heathcliff says “My old enemies have beaten me; now would be the precise time to revenge myself on their representatives: I could do it; and none could hinder me. But where is the use? I don't care for striking. I can't take the trouble to raise my hand! That sounds as if I had been labouring the whole time, only to exhibit a fine trait of magnanimity. It is far from being the case – I have lost the faculty of enjoying their destruction, and I am too idle to destroy for nothing.” This shows his peace on reflection of his brutal treating of Catherine’s family throughout his life.

In Wuthering Heights, there’s two types of love. For example, with Edgar and Catherine there is a restrained devotion but with Heathcliff and Catherine it is more adoring and soulful. Although content with being married to Edgar, Catherine’s real soul mate is Heathcliff, they have a real connection and they really understand each other, she makes him a better, more considerate person. We see Catherine’s understanding of the two men in chapter 9 when she says “My love for Linton is like the foliage in the woods: time will change it, I'm well aware, as winter changes the trees. My love for Heathcliff resembles the eternal rocks beneath: a source of little visible delight, but necessary. Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being. So don't talk of our separation again: it is impracticable.” Her daughter Catherine’s marriage to Linton becomes miserable even though they were happy in each other’s company at the start, because he began to pick up his father’s traits.

At the moment in English we are all reading a novel of our choice from the list of texts for the 2013 leaving cert english exam.

In English we are studying Storm Warnings by Adrienne Rich. (1929-present)

Today all the TY's headed off at 9.05. We got a bus to town and then we were split into the to classes. First Amina went to the W.B. Yeats exhibition. It was interesting to learn about his life and his inspiration for his poems. His marriage proposal was officially rejected by the same woman 5 times and in his 50's, we eventually married someone nearly 30 years his junior. There was loads of his original notebooks and things like that. You can see the exhibition online here.

So on Tuesday we left the school at around half 10 and we set off to Glasnevin. We were going to a drama showcase in memory of Margaret Alyward. There was three other schools -Finglas, Glasnevin and Clontarf.

On Saturday the girls in Noughts and Crosses met Ms B and Ms G at esso at half 10. At around a quarter to 11 we left for Macroom,Cork.

We found out on Tuesday that Noughts and Crosses got through to the final of the Briery Gap competition. It is on in Cork on the 5th of March. That's going to be a very busy week seeing as our mini-co competition is on the 3rd, our tech on the 4th and now this on the 5th!
So we are changing it around a bit and we have taken the judges comments into account.
Hopefully we'll do well because i really like our drama :)

On Wednesday morning an Irish author called Oisin McGann came in to give us a workshop. It was really enjoyable because he was really funny and kept our attention for the hour.
He was telling us that we should always keep a notebook with us incase we are randomly inspired by an idea or something we see.
He read us a sample of his books which are fantasy and one of his main characters were called Amina just like our class!
He was also talking about how nobody speaks "perfect" english and if we were to go abroad other people wouldnt understand our phrases because although we know what they mean they dont actually make any sense.
Afterwards he drew us a sketch of one of his characters because he is also an illustrator and it was amazing.. He did it so quickly and it looked so profesional.
I really enjoyed it :)

Tuesday was the day we were all looking forward to. At 9 o clock all the TY's left the school and we headed for Mulingar. We arrived at about half ten and we were the only school there. The drama I was in was first but it didnt begin until 11 so we had time to get into our costumes and set up the props. I think it went really well and the judge gave us some "constructive critisism" but i think she was really impressed.
Then the other 3 plays from our school went ahead and they were all really really good.
We then got to go and have our lunch in McDonalds at about half 12. Later we went back to the arts centre and we got to watch to plays from Donegal. I really liked their accents ;)