The Wuthering Heights Review

The 'Wuthering Heights' Review When Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights was first published in 1847, under the name of Ellis Bell, it received mixed reviews. Although some critics saw the potential evident in the cyclical plot and other literary devices, many others were shocked and dismayed by the unashamedly dark storyline. Different for the Era To be sure, Wuthering Heights was a very different book than what was generally considered acceptable during that era. In direct contrast to Emily Brontes novel, Susannah Rowsons Charlotte Temple (1828) tells the story of a young lady who permits her beau to steal her away in the middle of the night. Predictably, he impregnates her and then abandons her, after which she dies of a broken heart. As was common in novels of the era, Charlotte Temple used a fictional story to instruct its readers―primarily young ladies―in what was expected of them. Flawed Characters In Wuthering Heights, one of the main female characters dies of what could also be considered a broken heart, but the effect is a very different one from that of Charlotte Temple. Instead of presenting an overly sentimental worst-case scenario meant to frighten its readers onto the straight-and-narrow, Wuthering Heights seduces its readers with its dark passion and misguided characters. Both Heathcliff and Catherine are flawed characters, but their flaws intrigue the reader just as surely as they repel. If there is any lesson to be learned after Catherines death, it is the folly of denying your hearts greatest passion―a mistake completely at odds with the cause of Charlotte Temples downfall. Controversy Obscurity Due to the novels tumultuous passion, the book received a mixture of responses. Eventually, those who were scandalized by the books inappropriateness won out, and Emily Brontes only novel was buried in literary obscurity. Decades later, when Wuthering Heights was revived by the interest of modern scholars, the unique literary devices used in the work began to earn more attention than its soap opera-like tale of obsession and loss. Although the second part of the novel―the part that chiefly concerns Catherine and Heathcliffs respective children―is frequently overlooked in retellings and screen adaptations, many contemporary critics believe it holds the key to Emily Bronte’s real literary genius. The first generation of children―Catherine, her brother Hindley, and the gypsy child Heathcliff―had led miserable lives, and both Catherine and Hindley died young as payment for their misguided passions. As a result of Heathcliffs scheming prior to Hindleys death, he has inherited the Earnshaw home, as well as the care of Hindleys son, Hareton. After the death of Heathcliffs estranged wife―Catherine’s husband’s sister, his own son, Linton, comes to live with him as well, setting in motion his final push for revenge. Generations The highlight of the second part of the book is when Heathcliff effectively kidnaps Catherines daughter, who is called Cathy. With the three children now all under one roof, the latter half of the book parallels the beginning, when Catherine, Hindley, and Heathcliff were all children together in the same house. However, whether by a twist of fate or Heathcliffs mistreatment of the boy, Haretons demeanor and place in the household resembles Heathcliffs childhood persona more than that of his own father, while Linton is so weak and sickly that he is the perfect opposite of Heathcliff.Despite the clear similarities to the old rivalries, though, the children begin to converge, rather than to follow in the footsteps of their parents. Maddened by a desire for revenge, Heathcliff attempts to play them against one another, forcing Cathy to marry Linton so that he may inherit the neighboring property that belongs to his rival, Catherines widower. Linton dies soon after. After Heathcliffs own death, the tale comes full circle: the estates return to their rightful heirs, Hareton and the younger Cathy fall in love, and Heathcliff’s legacy of revenge disappears almost without a trace. Complex Storytelling Despite its early reception, the combination of unbridled passion and a complex storytelling form makes Wuthering Heights a favorite in many modern literary circles. The darkness of the story and the lack of accompanying moral teachings shocked many of its contemporaries, while the intricacies of the cyclical plot―the destruction and ultimate reunification of the families―were overlooked until recent decades. A novel that combines masterful literary devices with all of the scandals of a soap opera, Emily Brontes Wuthering Heights was a drama far ahead of its time.

How the 2016 Republican Primaries Worked

How the 2016 Republican Primaries Worked The 2016 presidential election was notable for many reasons, not the least of which was the outcome. Major changes to the Republican primary system made in the wake of the 2012 election were intended to speed up the candidate-selection process. But it didnt quite work out that way. What Happened in 2012 Party rules put in place before the 2012 presidential election  lengthened  the amount of time it took the eventual nominee to secure the 1,144 delegates necessary for the nomination. The top three candidates,  Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, and  Newt Gingrich, were locked in a tight race until the very end, when Utah held the last of the primaries in the nation on June 26. The party convention was held a month later in Tampa, Florida. That November,  Romney  lost by a wide margin to President Barack Obama, giving Obama a  second term in the White House. Two years later, Republican Party leaders met to draft rules for the 2016 primaries. Their chief concern was avoiding another drawn-out primary battle that would force the eventual nominee to spend too much time and money defending himself from attacks by members of his own party. Republican National Committee Chairman  Reince Priebus put it this way in 2014: We have been saying for months that we were no longer going to sit around and allow ourselves to slice and dice for six months, participate in a circus of debates, that we were going to take hold once again of our responsibility at the Republican National Committee because we are the custodians of the nomination process, he said. The 2016 Primaries Per tradition, Iowa Republicans voted first; they caucused on Feb. 1, 2016, and gave Texas Sen. Ted Cruz a slim win over Donald Trump, 28 percent to 24 percent. A little over a week later, New Hampshires GOP held the nations first primary on Feb. 9. Trump won a commanding 35 percent of the vote. Ohio Gov. John Kasich, who would dog Trump throughout the campaign, took second place with 19 percent of the vote. South Carolina and Nevada voted later that month, and Trump won both states. But Sens. Marco Rubio of Florida and Ted Cruz also did well. The ground was set for a fast, brutal primary fight leading up to the July 18 beginning of the national convention.   Because Iowa and New Hampshire guard their first-in-the-nation status so dearly, the GOP rules made sure that any states that tried to vote earlier than these would be punished by losing delegates at the national convention. Victories in these early states would also give an early boost to the winners. Once March began, the pace quickened. States holding their primaries between March 1 and March 14 had to award their delegates on a proportional basis, meaning that no one candidate could likely win the nomination before late-voting states held their primaries. States voting on March 15, 2016, or later could award their delegates on a winner-take-all basis, meaning candidates will likely pay more attention to them.   As the weeks wore on, the contest came down to Trump and Cruz, with Kasich a distant if vocal third. By the time the Indiana Republican primary took place on May 3, it was apparent that Trump would win the nomination after Cruz came in second in that contest and subsequently dropped out of the race. Trump officially crossed the delegate threshold of 1,237 when he won the North Dakota primary on May 26. Aftermath Donald Trump went on to win the presidential election that November ​and the Republican Party maintained its control of both houses of Congress. Yet even before the election, some party leaders were already talking about changes to the 2020 primary system. Among them was a proposal to allow only registered Republicans a vote. Trump won primaries in both South Carolina and Nevada in part because both states permitted independents to vote. As of August 2017, the GOP hasnt yet implemented these reforms.