Wuthering Heights Part 1

                The novel Wuthering Heights reminds me of a car crash.  You do not want to look at the accident scene, but you take a peek anyway intrigued by what you might see.  Emily Bronte’s writing is so wordy that I do not even want to turn the page and yet I cannot help but wonder what happens next.  The intensity of the emotions is a little too much for my taste.  For example, the part where Heathcliff flings hot applesauce onto Edgar’s face just because Edgar made a comment about Heathclliff’s hair seems a little over the top.  This is the level of the emotion when Heathcliff and Catherine are only children.  As they grow older instead of calming down they just seem to get more wild and crazy.  Often they let words work for them instead of physical violence.  Linton says to Heathcliff, “Your presence is a moral poison that would contaminate the most virtuous…”  

                Bronte’s characters spend much of their lives over reacting.  When Heathcliff overhears Catherine telling Nelly that she has decided to marry Edgar Linton because marrying Heathcliff would look bad Heathcliff runs away.  If he would have stayed and continued to eavesdrop he would have discovered that he was Catherine’s true love, and there would be no need to run away.

Cry, the Beloved Country 2

                As I continue reading in the novel the plot is taking some turns that I did not see coming. For example, since the main character is a priest and is always intent on doing the godly thing I was surprised to find out that his son was the exact opposite.  Maybe the name, Absalom, should have been a clue.  I did not think the Paton would portray such a feeling of hopelessness.  Even though Kumalo encounters a few bright spots along the way, like finding Gertrude and her son, he meets with significantly more frustration than happiness. 

                The way this story depicts Johannesburg reminds me a lot of the Gilded Age in history.  People who did not live in Johannesburg thought that living there would solve their problems.  The truth was that living there was the root of many troubles.  From a distance, the smog covered the city’s imperfections.  Up close the city had many flaws. 

Cry, The Beloved Country 1

                In the novel Cry, The Beloved Country, I am struck by the descriptive details Paton uses when he writes about Africa.  I can hear the cry of the titihoya and feel the thick grass between my toes near the tops of the mountains. Paton says, “Where you stand the grass is rich and matted, you cannot see the soil.”  In contrast to the top part of the mountain the lower portion of the mountain is described as “desolate”, dry and deserted.  I think that the description of the land will parallel the lifestyles of the free and enslaved Africans.  The mountain is abundant and peaceful up high, while overused and abused at the bottom.