Are there any characters who are truly likable or sympathetic? If so, who and how are they sympathetic? If not, explain why they are not likable or sympathetic. Use specific character traits to support your response.
20 Comments
Jenna Obenauer
1/11/2017 04:58:38 pm
So far, I feel that the only likable character is Nelly Dean. She takes time to tell Lockwood the history of Wuthering Heights, so that he won't be confused. Lockwood doesn't seem like too bad of a person either, but I don't feel as though Heathcliff is likable at all. However, Heathcliff's attitude might be caused by how he was treated as a child, not only because he was basically homeless, but because Hindley treated him terribly. Once Hindley came back from college, he basically treated Heathcliff as a servant, and then Heathcliff lost Catherine to Edgar, so he hasn't had a good life. That still isn't an excuse for leaving Lockwood in a room of dogs or yelling at him when Catherine Linton's ghost appears.
Reply
Michala Clark
1/14/2017 07:30:27 pm
I agree with Jenna that Nelly is the only likable person so far in the novel. Nelly cares for Mr. Lockwood when he is sick and explains why the family is so odd. Mr. Lockwood even comments on how normal Nelly is compared to the rest. Nelly stepped up and took care of Hareton when Hindley became a drunk. Nelly was always kind to Hindley, Heathcliff, and Catherine when they were children even when none of them deserved her kindness.
Reply
Kelsey Iven
1/14/2017 07:58:55 pm
I also agree with Jenna and Michala that Nelly is the only likable person in the novel that we have read so far. As we have found, everyone has done at least something wrong but Nelly just tries to help them all. Nelly is always trying to give them advice. For example, on page 48 Nelly and Heathcliff are having a conversation and Nelly is giving Heathcliff tons of advice on Catherine by saying, "you have grieved Catherine: she's sorry she ever came home, I dare say! It looks as if you envied her, because she is more thought of than you." Nelly is just trying to do good. She has also pretty much raised the children when they were younger so they shouldn't be mean to her.
Reply
Cassidy Hill
1/16/2017 12:35:45 pm
Based on what I have read so far in Wuthering Heights I believe that the only person who has seemed completely likable was Mr. Lockwood. I believe that he is a kind person and the situations that he has encountered since arriving at the Grange have made him seem meaner than he is in reality. When Mr. Lockwood arrived at Wuthering Heights to meet Heathcliff on page one he said, "Mr. Lockwood your new tenant, sir. I do myself the honour of calling as soon as possible after my arrival, to express the hope that I have not inconvenienced you by my perseverance in soliciting the occupation of Thrushcross Grange." This quote demonstrates his manners and how he was trying to find a time to meet with Heathcliff that would not disturb him. Mr. Lockwood is a stranger and there is no reason for him to enter the story and be rude especially when addressing his new acquaintances.
Reply
Brock Feeler
1/19/2017 03:35:05 pm
I believe that Cathy could be a likable character. When Cathy was younger, she may not have been the most behaved and well mannered person, but when Heathcliff came she was not mean to him. After she turned fifteen, she definitely changed her outlook on Heathcliff and could not stand to be around, but relied a lot on Nelly to keep her grounded and not go crazy. In my opinion Cathy could be nice to the person if she wanted to be and for the most part she was nicer than a lot of the characters in the story. No one is perfect and no one can be, but I feel like Cathy tried sometimes to make herself better while at the same time people like Hindley never tried to make himself better in any way.
Reply
Timothy James
1/24/2017 08:35:59 pm
I believe the most likable person is Heathcliff, in a grumpy old man sort of way. Mr. Lockwood is too nosy and a know it all for me to like him. He is always in everybody's business and is jumping to outrageous conclusions about their character based on their current attitude. He even ventures to state something about how Heathcliff is no longer a capital fellow after only meeting him once. Nelly is very sweet but too much of a gossip. She does not even know Mr. Lockwood remotely and yet she readily tells him her life story. I feel like Heathcliff could be a likable person if someone were to actually get to know him. I am sure he is so used to people drawing conclusions about him he just cuts to the chase and plays the part of a bad guy. I am sure that is a lot easier than trying to prove yourself a good and caring person after you well know you have been judged.
Reply
Austin James
1/27/2017 05:39:46 pm
I agree whole-heatedly with Timmy, I also believe that Heathcliff has always been judged and misused because of his appearance and stature. Every believes that he is a crook just because of his features and skin tone. I really enjoyed Heathcliff's character from when he first came into the Earnshaw household for he had a likeness to hime and even though he was living on the streets, seemed to have some form of manners that his new siblings did not. Heathcliff was always so kind when he first came to Wuthering Heights, but then he was judged by everyone and treated unfairly by his siblings and the other servants in the house. This mistreatment lead to anger, sadness, neglect, depression, and revenge to build up inside his heart. Then beyond the mistreatment at his home was the mistreatment of his neighbors and the loss of Catherine's love because of idiocy led to even more scorn to build inside Heathcliff. So I fully believe that Heathcliff was a man of kindness and had regard for everyone until all the mistreatment got to him which in turn lead him to take up revenge and hatred.
Reply
Marie Neubert
1/29/2017 04:08:01 pm
From what I have read so far in Wuthering Heights I believe the only truly likeable character is Edgar Linton. Edgar is kind and compassionate towards Catherine even though she never gives him a good reason to be so. It can be argued that Edgar is distant and cold hearted towards Cathy and spiteful towards Heathcliff but I disagree with this wholeheartedly. Edgar is concerned about Cathy's well being, and is worried that after his death she will be left with nothing or that she will be at the mercy of his enemy Heathcliff. As for his rude behavior towards Heathcliff you have to remember that the woman whom Edgar loved and married only did so to protect Heathcliff and that she never gave her heart to Edgar. So it would be natural for Edgar to despise the man whom his wife loved. Edgars character is not in anyway perfect but he is probably the only character that does not have a secrete agenda or a dark nature, that is why I believe Edgars character to be the only truly kind one so far in Wuthering Heights.
Reply
Teegan Helton
1/29/2017 06:28:05 pm
I think Nelly is pretty nice. She is likable. Although she can be a gossip, I believe she is good at heart. She takes care of the kids and tries to raise Cathy to be better than her mother was. Heathcliff was abused and hated as a child but, I think he could be a better person. He turned his back on the world instead of trying to forgive.
Reply
Joey Schulte
1/30/2017 04:08:50 am
Out of all of the charters in Wuthering Heights, I believe that Cathy is the most decant person. Even though she does act immature for a thirteen year old I would say that is her father's fault for sheltering her. The rest of the charters in the story are either ruined by the "class" system, or they are just stupid.
Reply
Taylor Alexander
1/30/2017 07:39:20 am
I believe that Nelly is most likely the only likable person so far. Throughout the story she has tried to be there for everyone and help out as much as she can. Nelly took time to take care of Mr. Lockwood and tell him the history of Wuthering Heights. When Catherine, Hindly, and Heathcliff were children, she was always kind to them to matter what.
Reply
Brooke Feeler
1/30/2017 07:49:22 am
I believe that Nelly is the most likable and sympathetic so far in the story Wuthering Heights. She is a very caring person. She takes care of Cathy after her mother dies shortly after giving birth to her. She cares for Cathy and treats her like her own child. Nelly is also very loyal to the Linton's. She is always there for others and is willing to help others. Although there are several other characters that could fit the role of most likable and sympathetic, I truly believe that Nelly fits that role the best.
Reply
Ryleigh James
1/30/2017 08:49:24 am
I agree that Nelly is the most caring person so far in the novel. She has taken care of all of the residents when they were younger or sick. She loves to gossip about things, but she also is there to tell Mr. Lockwood all about the history of Wuthering Heights. Nelly has always been there for the children and this, I believe, makes her the most likeable in the story so far.
Reply
Emma Schulte
1/30/2017 11:40:15 am
I believe Nelly is the most likable character so far. She tends to be more caring, and has a paternal instinct. She helped raise the children, and tends to the sick. She does gossip, but truly no one is without flaws. She is informative about the manor, therefore she is helpful.
Reply
Emily Shanks
1/30/2017 12:39:24 pm
I think that Mr. Lockwood is the only inherently likable person. He is very polite to all the help, and he is especially nice to Heathcliff and his family. Mr. Lockwood is very shocked by the rude behavior; he has never been treated this way before by someone of Heathcliff's social class. Mr. Lockwood sounds rude when he asks for one of the Mr. Heathcliff's help to take him home, but at this point, he has not realized that Heathcliff does not have the help to offer him. While Mr. Lockwood is very unobservant, he is still one of the nicest characters in the book. Mr. Lockwood is nosy when he asks Nelly about the Earnshaw's and why they are as they are. But I think his curiosity is very innocent; I would want to know what was wrong with someone if they treated me the way that Heathcliff treated Mr. Lockwood.
Reply
Brandi Simmons
1/30/2017 03:53:21 pm
I think that Nelly is the only likable character in Wuthering Heights. At the beginning of the story, she sits down with Mr. Lockwood and explains the relationship between the two families and why Heathcliff is the way he is. She seems like she has always been a caring person when it comes to the children. She cared for Heathcliff, Catherine, and Hindley when they are young. She cared for Hareton when Hindley was a drunk and cared for Cathy after her mother died. She has cared for the children and in some ways has good parental instincts. She does like to gossip, but if she didn't she probably would not be telling Lockwood about all that has happened so in this case I believe it is a good thing that she likes to gossip.
Reply
Derek Kleffner
1/30/2017 08:02:22 pm
I agree mainly with Timmy and Austin that Heathcliff is so far the most likable character in Wuthering Heights. Heathcliff has been judged and treated poorly ever since the day Mr. Earnshaw picked him up at Liverpool and brought him home. Hindley treated Heathcliff as if he was a servant his whole life. Mrs. Dean did not treat Heathcliff with the most respect either. Catherine was the only one that treated Heathcliff fairly. From the beginning, Heathcliff was mistreated and looked frowned upon, which led to the build up of anger and revenge inside of him. Heathcliff become best friends with Catherine growing up which eventually led to deeper feelings for her. Even though he loses her, you can still tell that he has feelings for her from the beginning chapters of the book when Mr. Lockwood sleeps in the room. So I believe that even though he was treated terrible and poorly, Heathcliff is a man of care and kindness to the people he is close to.
Reply
Mason Smith
1/30/2017 08:36:59 pm
I think the most likable person in the book is Mr. Earnshaw. He is the only one that is shown to be very caring and loving. Mr. Earnshaw even takes a little orphaned gypsie boy into his car. Mr . Earnshaw is the only character who at his base is a likable and decent person. He is full of love and compassion for both Heathcliff and his own children. This compassion makes him the only good character in the book.
Reply
Gina Wieberg
1/30/2017 08:45:00 pm
In my opinion, almost every character has a couple qualities that makes them seem likable and sympathetic, but at the same time they also have flaws that make them appear unlikable. Towards the beginning of the book, I thought Heathcliff seemed like one of the best people. I felt like he was easier for me to relate to because he didn't have everything handed to him, like Catherine and Hindley, which made him seem more likable to me. However, the farther I read, the less I began to like Heathcliff. He began turning for the worse, by marrying Isabella just to get back at Catherine and then treating his son horribly. I now feel that Nelly is the most likable and sympathetic person. Throughout the whole book she has worked endless hours caring for all of the kids. First, she had to take care of Hindley, Catherine, and Heathcliff while they were young. Next, she had to raise Hareton because Hindley was always too drunk to take care of his own child. Then, Nelly moved with Catherine to Thrushcross Grange, but was still always there for Heathcliff when he needed her. After Catherine died, Nelly also had to raise Cathy. She has always taken care of the different generations of Earnshaw's when there was no one else there for them. Nelly is a gossiper, but she is probably the most reliable source for Lockwood to find out the past of the family. She has lived through it and has been able to see it from all of the different perspectives, so she has the right to tell it in her own opinion. Therefore, I believe Nelly is the most likable and sympathetic character in Wuthering Heights.
Reply
Henry Allie
10/16/2019 10:05:51 am
How did the book hold your interest
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMrs. Starkey is an English I, III, and IV teacher at Salem High School with 17 years teaching experience. Archives
January 2018
Categories |