Class

Question 1

“Dirty, ragged, black haired child…when it was set on its feet it only repeated some gibberish…that gipsy brat”

Answer 1

•derogatory adjectives -“dirty” “ragged” “gipsy brat”- connote a lower class
•adjective “dirty”- connotes lower class
•pronoun “it”- treated as inhuman
•Context: gibberish suggests he may be foreign or black- came from Liverpool docks which was the hub of the slave trade.

Question 2

“Trying to raise her self-respect with fine clothes and flattery so that instead of a wild hatless little savage there lighted from a handsome black pony a very dignified person.”

Answer 2

•contrast of “little savage” and “dignified person” shows Catherine’s change in character.

Question 3

“With brown ringlets falling from the cover of a feathered beaver”

Answer 3

•feathered beaver- upper class clothing (very expensive)
•”brown ringlets” juxtaposed her wild hair and suggest a neat and proper look.

Question 4

“Vulgar young ruffian” “worse than a brute”

Answer 4

•derogatory terms- “ruffian” and “brute”
• comparative sentence- “worse than” suggests he is of a lower class
•Byronic hero- viewed as inhumane and unconventional and wild

Question 5

“It would degrade me to marry Heathcliff now”

Answer 5

• verb “degrade” suggests Heathcliff is a lower class to her
•context: women had expectations to marry rich for survival

Question 6

“A slouching gait, and ignoble look, idiotic excess of unsociable moroseness”

Answer 6

•physiognomy- “slouching gait” “ignoble look”- facial and body language that suggest character(lower class)
•connotations of an improper character- lower class
-derogatory “idiotic”

Question 7

“A splendid place carpeted with crimson and a pure white ceiling bordered by gold”

Answer 7

•colour connotation- “white” “gold” “crimson”- rich and upper class
• positive adjective of “splendid”- upper class proper word to use.
•contrasts wuthering heights “grotesque” “dark” building

Question 8

“A tall athletic well formed man…his upright carriage…it looked intelligent…his manner even dignified”

Answer 8

•juxtaposes his previous description of “rough” and “dirty”
• “upright carriage”- suggests respectablity
•Connotes a more upper class appearance

Question 9

“Mr Heathcliff never reads so he took it into his hands to destroy my books”

Answer 9

•”destroy”- aggressive verb
•motif of books- represents class and education

Question 10

“Dark-skinned gypsy”

Answer 10

-suggestion that Heathcliff is “other”, a Byronic character
-dark could also connote his violence