Much is made of the power of education in this book. Is education a "civilizing agent"? Read the excerpt on my web page called “Girls Who Read.” Briefly summarize your understanding of Warnke's message, and apply his ideas regarding literacy & education to Nellie, and two other characters in Wuthering Heights (which might mean examining an illiterate character too)!
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ReplyDeleteThe excerpt presents several examples of the virtues of a girl who can read and explains that these virtues are applicable to her experiences in life. The piece takes time to show how her ability to read has made her life great and presents itself as very intimate. Her education has shaped her life.
In Emily Bronte's"Wuthering Heights" (Blogger won't let me use italics) the character Ellen Dean, often referred to as Nelly, is a very strong female character. The book explains that she is extremely independent and very well educated. Her intelligent and verbose style of narration takes up the majority of "Wuthering Heights". "Date an Illiterate Girl" features many sections that could be considered traits of Nelly. As stated above, Nelly's narration is very verbose. Near the beginning of the excerpt, Warnke talks about the importance of vocabulary, "a girl who reads possesses a vocabulary that can describe that amorphous discontent of a life unfulfilled—a vocabulary that parses the innate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity instead of an alien wonder" (Warnke). Nelly's education allows her to tell the story to Lockwood (and the reader) in a way that is very realistic with its physical and emotional descriptions. In fact, Nelly doesn't use her vocabulary to paint a picture; she uses it to construct a world. In the next paragraph of Warnke's piece, he states that through a girl's knowledge of syntax, she will know the "rhythm and cadence" of life. Nelly displays this, as she often anticipates the "flow of disappointment" after a brief moment of joy, the same kind that Warnke talks about. Her awareness of syntax causes her to be able to observe and comment on the emotions of an individual (something she does a lot in "Wuthering Heights") even if that character is not showing any signs of it. She's more aware of what is going on around her. Nelly has certainly seen her fair share of stories, emphasizing that she knows the "importance of the plot". She has seen the death of many characters and has moved on from them in a very strong manner. Her ability to see when there is going to be a "climax" has allowed her to avoid conflicts that could be potentially harmful to her or other characters. Her education has allowed her to protect other people and herself. Considering that her words take up most of the book, Nelly is definitely a storyteller. Warnke's statement that, "the girl who reads has spun out the account of her life and it is bursting with meaning" (Warnke) completely describes Nelly. Her refusal of a normal life (“You will not accept the life of which I spoke at the beginning of this piece”) also shows that she is intelligent. Through Warnke's excerpt and Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" the reader can conclude that the education of Ellen is virtuous because it allows her to tell a unique, vivid, accurate, and meaningful story.
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ReplyDeleteHareton Earnshaw, one of the most interesting characters in "Wuthering Heights", has no virtues that are presented in "Date an Illiterate Girl". Hareton is portrayed as being close-minded, he has a basic vocabulary, and he handles situations extremely bad. Hareton has not had any education at all, his raising by Hindley and Heathcliff banning a teacher from educating Hareton being the main causes. Particularly early on, Hareton barely speaks English, showing a small vocabulary. His inability to foresee consequences and situations show his ignorance of the importance of plot. Here, the contrast between Hareton (uneducated) and Nelly (educated) is apparent. Clearly, the reason for Nelly’s virtues is her education and the reason for Hareton's traits are the lack of education. Particularly early on, Hareton barely speaks English, showing a small vocabulary. His inability to foresee consequences and situations show his ignorance of the importance of plot.
The smart, pampered Edgar Linton serves as further example. When he is first introduced, he is a spoiled child who has no knowledge of the real world. When he encounters the strange outbursts of Catherine he is confused. He deals with it in a bad way and almost doesn't marry Catherine. He is the antithesis of Warkne's piece. However, the importance of education is present after Edgar changes himself by studying in his private library. After he returns, the reader sees a major character change. The meek Edgar has transformed into an intelligent and strong man, capable of taking care of people. His rhetoric changes from what it was before. He seems relaxed and this carries over into his speech. He is more capable of handling situations and he is able to go through life by moving on. Edgar Linton is an example of the importance of education, as the reader sees him transform from a petty person to a strong individual.
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ReplyDeleteWarnke paints a beautiful picture of the learned girl in “Date an Illiterate Girl” who has a capacity to love and grow and hold herself in a bright manor that could not be achieved by any other means of existence in the world. The fact that this girl reads and dives into another world and experiences all that is told within the thin pages of a book communicates more about who she is than wanting comfort in a shallow life she would try to live otherwise. The girl who reads is fascinated with the smallest of humanities secrets, with the passion that exists within her heart, and the meaning of coming to this earth. She is lovely, virtuous, powerful, intelligent and filled with ecstasy and a vibrant knowledge of the world.
Nelly Dean is a well-learned woman who is able to see the world and examine the facets of life around her that sculpts who she is. Nelly narrates the well-known story of “Wuthering Heights” by Emily Bronte and her narration is filled with beautiful depictions and scenes of what she has witnessed throughout her life among the moors. Nelly’s, “narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful and her typeface bold.” She enhances the story with every detail she describes and communicates more than just the line upon line story, but the emotion that coursed through the blood of every character and the hearts that were broken and the futures that were ripped to pieces. Nelly “knows the importance of the plot” and easily determines what will happen next and the tragedies that will overcome the lives of those she loves. She knows what must be done and what must be sacrificed. She is humble yet powerful, and interestingly enough she is only a servant of the house, but her diction is impeccable. Nelly uses “vocabulary that parses the innate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity instead of an alien wonder.” Of anything, Nelly is most understanding of the end of a story, or the end of a life, and “she has bid farewell to thousands of heroes with only a twinge of sadness.” Nelly saw so many lives taken and people lost, and she still lived on with strength in her bones and vitality in her heart from the precious gift of education and civilization.
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ReplyDeleteThe young Catherine is also a girl who has become learned and a woman with a passion for life and an eager exuberance to always discover something more. Catherine surely “possesses a vocabulary that can describe that amorphous discontent of a life unfulfilled” and she knew when she was trapped in a life where she knew she would never be happy in Wuthering Heights with the ever-watching eye of her savage uncle. Catherine is a girl who “spun out the account of her life and it is bursting with meaning.” She could often be found “in the library” and was abashed when her books were taken from her and left to burn and crumple before her eyes. Although I believe Catherin was a learned and educated girl, a girl who reads, she was also the opposite. In the end, she accepted “less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being told.” But she did so because all that she loved and lived for was about to be taken away, and the life she had dreamed of and always believed would come true, sank into a fiery pit of despair and she desperately grappled for the pieces of her life from slipping through the cracks.
Hareton, in his unfortunate state, was left with the exact opposite qualities of a girl who reads. Although he is obviously a boy, the same principles and values lay in the educated within both genders. Hareton is basically illiterate when we first meet him and we find him portrayed barely as a human being with no “claim to vocabulary” and does not fully see the “discontent of a life unfulfilled.” I would venture to say that Hareton is the boyfriend at the end of the passage when Warnke says, “You, the girl who reads, make me want to be everything that I am not. But I am weak and I will fail you, because you have dreamed, properly, of someone who is better than I am. You will not accept the life of which I spoke at the beginning of this piece. You will accept nothing less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being told. So out with you, girl who reads. Take the next southbound train and take your Hemingway with you. Or, perhaps, stay and save my life.” Hareton was never anything that the young Catherine wanted, and he knew that, but he still strove to impress her and to find a place within her heart. Hareton comes to believe that he does not deserve her love and determines that he would not want it anyway because she is so overpowering. Yet in the end, Hareton and Catherine end up together, with the girl who reads loving a boy who did not feel good enough and maybe Catherine takes the leap of faith and stays to save his life.
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ReplyDeleteCharles Warnke’s “Date an Illiterate Girl” poses an enlightening argument in which he outlines the ways in which a good education, and reading alone, will change a girl and give her the opportunity to have an intellectually rich life. He states that a girl who reads knows how to handle herself and make herself a prominent presence, as opposed to old-fashioned stereotype of a girl who relies on her man for everything and can't hold her own.
Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights" shows the projection of an educated girl in action as described in Warnke's “Date an Illiterate Girl” through the character Ellen (Nelly) Dean. Nelly is the product of a good education as a child, and it shows as she narrates the story of "Wuthering Heights" with a vocabulary that demonstrates her impressive understanding of rhetoric and syntax. Warnke would describe her as he describes an educated girl in the second paragraph of his writing, "A girl who reads lays claim to a vocabulary that distinguishes between the specious and soulless rhetoric of someone who cannot love her, and the inarticulate desperation of someone who loves her too much. A vocabulary that makes my vacuous sophistry a cheap trick," (Warnke). Throughout her wonderful narration, Nelly paints a picture of glorious imagery that could only come from the mind of a girl who, "senses the irregular pauses—the hesitation of breath—endemic to a lie," (Warnke). And Nelly clearly understands every breath of every syllable and what emotion each letter conveys and how that changes the overall tone of the story that she's telling. One of Nelly's most important qualities of education is her ability to understand the importance of plot and how every little detail in a story is eventually worthwhile. She understands the "depth" of every character and knows when the "climax" of a story is and how to build up to it properly. Through reading Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," and Charles Warnke’s “Date an Illiterate Girl,” it is clear that the character Nelly is able to tell such a rich story because of her education to the understanding of important literary techniques.
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ReplyDeleteCathy, daughter of Catherine and Edgar, also embodies the educated girl described in Warnke’s “Date an Illiterate Girl.” Cathy delights herself to indulge in reading many books and furthering her education most days with a tutor as well. Throughout her life, Cathy proves to fully comprehend "sporadic tenderness," "the ebb and flow of disappointment," and the "difference between a parenthetical moment of anger and the entrenched habits of someone whose bitter cynicism will run on, run on well past any point of reason, or purpose." Cathy is also comfortable with an end, and the death of a hero. Mid-book, Cathy says that she would rather her father die before her so that he would not have to experience the pain of losing someone. Cathy, however, as come to peace with that ever persisting possibility. Cathy is most certainly, "the girl who reads has spun out the account of her life and it is bursting with meaning. She insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold," (Warnke). Cathy always lives her life with such love of life. She always desires to explore and learn and never stop. She perpetually wants to explore the moors and never rested until she did. And when she got the chance to be with Linton, she fell hard and fast in love. But most importantly, Cathy, "will accept nothing less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being told," (Warnke). Cathy doesn't do anything half-way. She puts her whole heart and soul into her life because that's what the characters in her books did and she was able to harness that intellectual power and channel it into her own life.
Hindley Earnshaw's son, Hareton is the antithesis of the persona portrayed in Warnke’s “Date an Illiterate Girl." Hareton was never educated in the ways of literature. However, he doesn't fully realize how prominent an issue his illiteracy is until he spends time with Cathy. Cathy, being properly literate, as described prior, casts an intellectual shadow on Hareton and he suddenly becomes aware of his lack of knowledge. The reader now sees his lack of ability to predict plot, create eloquent sentences, or comprehend emotion the first time it strikes him. Hareton can barely understand the full capacity of what's happening in the situations around him and responds to them with such poor vocabulary that it is sometimes difficult to understand him. But that all changes when Cathy comes along. She, directly and indirectly, encourages him to better his knowledge. Cathy is an educated girl that, as Hareton should say, should, "stay and save my life," (Warnke).
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ReplyDeleteThe flaws of an educated girl have never been illustrated quite like Warnke’s excerpt from “Date an Illiterate Girl.” Warnke composes an image of a female who is empowered and comprehending of the world because of her education. The learned woman is passionate and perceptive. She is able to reject imperfection to get the ending she knows she deserves. In this excerpt, the narrator is not telling or asking the literate girl to stay with him, he is saying that it is her decision of whether or not to stay and make him a better person. Warnke is saying that education gives women the power and ability to control their lives and not settle for an empty void of a life.
One of the most vital characters in "Wuthering Heights" is the well educated, yet lower status servant, who narrates the tragic tale of the divided households of Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights. Ellen Dean, though informally referred to as Nelly in the story, depicts the events within the novel in a way that brings the reader into the story. Her diction is crafted in a way that reveals the character’s innate personality and true nature. The tale she has woven through her narration is intricate and ornate. The readers fall in love, hate, empathize, sympathize, and pity the characters within this narration. Only an well versed woman such as Nelly could portray these characters in a method that touches each reader in unique ways.
Nelly’s educated background also serves another key purpose. Nelly is the only character in the entire novel that does not seem to be enamored with love. She is practical and demands explanations from the children she basically raises. She does not let Catherine run away happily with Edgar after he first proposes. She asks Catherine to explain why she loves Edgar. Every other character seems to be full of folly. However, because of Nelly’s education, she is wiser than to let her emotions seize her every thought and action. She can also tell and infer details of the story that may have been lost on had the narrator been illiterate. Her independence may be explained by the fact that she does not want a boring, unfulfilled life that Warnke describes in the first paragraph of his excerpt. Perhaps Nelly has dreamed of a life that she knows none of the suitors introduced are suitable for. She does not want to settle and “will accept nothing less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being told.”
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ReplyDeleteCatherine Earnshaw (the first Catherine) is a woman of high social stature and good breeding. She was raised to be a lady. Educated and well-mannered (in theory, that is). Yet, she is completely swept away by Heathcliff’s love in the beginning of the novel. She feels such a deep connection, she ventures to say that they have the same soul. She is tormented when he is punished, and feels a rush of relief when he is with her, safe in her arms. Then along comes Edgar. A man of high social stature and good breeding. A gentleman. Yet, she does not love him. Throughout the novel, he is often portrayed as weaker physically and emotionally than Heathcliff. When Catherine chooses Edgar over Heathcliff, she chooses the life described in the first paragraph of “Date an Illiterate Girl.” She decides to live an empty life, and she is tormented by her past every day of that life. She creates and longs for excitement and drama. With Edgar, Catherine lives with the “tempered regret that nothing ever came of her capacity to love.” Heathcliff even remarks that Catherine and his’ love is a thousand times deeper than that between Edgar and Catherine. Then why does Catherine forgo the path of passion, and chose the one of “indifferent sadness”? It is because she realizes that she cannot save Heathcliff’s life. His soul is damned, and staying would only ruin her chance at eternal happiness too. Catherine would rather be stuck in a life of apathy and boredom than fight to save the man she honestly cares for. This is not something her education taught her. This is knowledge she acquired on her own. Even though she clearly and strongly loves Heathcliff, she runs away because “she
has bid farewell to a thousand heroes with only a twinge of sadness.”
One character in the novel that is highly illiterate is Haerton. Haerton is not only deprived of the opportunity to learn and thrive in an educated society, but Catherine Linton (Catherine’s daughter) and Linton Heathcliff tease him for this illiterate state. Initially, this fuels his desire to learn and become educated. However, after several failed attempts and without anyone who cared enough to encourage or teach him, he relented and decided to live in his uneducated state indefinitely. In this state, he all but disappears in the novel. He is nothing but slave to his illiterate mind; a shadow only to be called into the light for punishment or to be made fun of by his educated peers. However, in the tail end of the novel, Catherine begins to teach him how to read. She spends time with him, devotes patience and understanding, and shows that she cares about him. This devotion and care is what truly bring Haerton out of his hermit-like state. Catherine is willing to share her literacy and education for the betterment of the person with whom she can find comfort in his presence. From this willingness to share, Catherine saves Haerton.
When reading Warnke's piece of writing I found myself pulling in two separate ways, something that rarely happens to me. I felt that Warnke was taking care of a personal vendetta, possibly an ex girlfriend but in other parts I felt that he was giving me knowledge that will be helpful. His writing came off as sexist in some parts but that was probably because he was only writing about girls and in other parts I believed him through personal experience. I don't think Warnke meant he hates girls who read, he comes to a clearing at the end of his writing where he talks about how he is not good enough and that he will fail and thats where it makes sense. Warnke, to me is being selfish, he wants what is good for the guys but possibly not what is the best for the girls and in a sense becoming a hypocrite. He talks about how the girls have an image of a perfect guy and relationship but meanwhile Warnke is talking about he only wants an illiterate girl. He is talking about how some girls (mostly the ones who read) and how they have built ideas in their heads of how a perfect guy and relationship is supposed to be. How there is supposed to be plot twists and hardships and sorrow and happiness happening in a certain order, the only thing that ends up happening is misunderstanding and a bad break up. Although I’m sure this writing has angered and frustrated many women I am not so sure that it was meant to be that way. He probably meant to bring light to the subject of that women can and should read but not get too stuck in it. That they shouldn't have some idea of an ideal and perfect man and relationship because there is not going to be one and that the man your are with will fail you because he is not the "perfect" one.
ReplyDeleteIn connection to Bronte's Wuthering Heights and some of the characters, I chose Nellie, Catherine and Hareton.
1. Starting out with the character Nelly, she is the point of view in the book, we see the characters through her eyes which can be both positive and negative. Warnke's writing would probably be directed toward Nelly if she was a real person. Nelly, although a servant is educated and articulate. Nelly seems untouched by love in the book, she is not confused or trapped by it like the other characters possibly due to her education. Is that a good or bad thing? I wonder what Warnke would think. She is smart and witty and can see behind the fake like when Catherine says she loves Edgar. Nelly asks why and keeps probing till Catherine admits it is because of the money and status, only then is Nelly satisfied and content. Someone could almost read this and think that Nelly is a smart ass which is touched upon in Warnkes writing and how girls can fade in and out of that. It may be that Nelly is exactly what Warnke is fearing. She knows about love and guys and will not fall for the BS.
2. My Second Character is Hareton. Hareton is constantly showered with insults from different characters about how he is illiterate and although he tries to learn and read, he cannot do it by himself and ultimately fails in trying to teach himself. He quits and accepts that no one wants to help him and that he is illiterate. At the end of Warnke’s writing one could interpret that Hareton would be the one talking about how he is worthless and how he will fail everyone without a proper education or someone to personally motivate him as Catherine and Linton bully him.
3. My third Character is Catherine. She picks Edgar over Heathcliff and is ultimately unhappy. She is a well raised lady who is educated and knows how most things work, except love where it shows when she picks Edgar over Heathcliff. She chooses a bland life although with money and a comfortable living she does not have the rush that she has if she would have married Heathcliff. She was never taught or told about love or how to deal with people which is a missing part in her education. She then is is confused about who to marry and chooses Edgar because he is the “best” option for her image.
Warnke illustrates the difference between the learned individual, and the unlearned. The unlearned is afraid of taking risks, so refuses to take any chances, and thus misses out on life’s excitement and possibilities. The learned individual understands more of reality from the false worlds in books, and using this knowledge can make more of his life. He understands more of human nature and the human experience and so learns more from reality.
ReplyDeleteNelly is a very interesting character. She is a servant who would normally be uneducated, but as far as the reader can tell, she appears well educated with an impressive vocabulary. She narrates the entire story (basically.) She is one of the few characters that I appreciate and understand. She also ends up happy, which is more than I can say for most characters in the book. I think this could be tied to her understanding of others. She relates to all the characters, and at different times likes all of them. According to Warnke this could easily be because of her education and knowledge. I think Bronte uses Nelly to show that education and character is much more important than social class or worldly success.
I think the ending with Hareton learning to read is powerful. He loses his incivility as his education is increased. I think these two traits have an inverse relationship: as education goes up, incivility goes down. Hareton no longer feels sorry for himself, or refuses to see a different side of the situation. I think this change shows a lot about what Bronte thinks about education. Education is the key to creating good individuals and a good society.
I think that Heathcliff is very interesting to view in this light. Since he grew up most of his life in a wealthy house, I assume he can read. But when he became a sevant, I also assume his education stopped. This is the exact same point he starts his downward fall to a villain esque character. I think it is not just coincidence that his learning, or at least his studies have a correlation with his perceived goodness by the reader. When he is on the path to become an educated man, he is a very kind and loving individual. Of course much of this is speculation because we do not know much about Heathcliff’s education but I think Bronte does truly value education.
The passage from Charles Warnke's "Date an Illiterate Girl" illuminates the problem with smart people: they analyse too much of their lives.
ReplyDeleteThrough the vehicle that one should "date an illiterate girl" because "girls who read are storytellers," the author shows that smart and well-read people have self-respect, intuition, and keen discerning to apply to their own lives. They "can trace out the demarcations of a prologue and the sharp ridges of a climax," knowing the "ineluctable significance of an end." She knows how to respect the end of her time in one's life, and knows when to make her exeunt from one's life.
Clearly, this does not just apply to smart women. One who reads knows the value of living, because he has seen so many different versions of life playing out on a page. With experience comes knowledge about life; the more we read, the higher standards we have for our own narrative. The twinge of this excerpt is that smart girls hurt those they touch, as if each smart encounter leaves a rash.
The same can be said about influential characters of "Wuthering Heights", a novel by Emily Bronte. For much of the novel, servant Nelly Dean narrates the events that unfolded within the Heights and neighboring estate. We accept that she is well-educated. Much of the drama in the novel — love, spite, remorse — comes through the window of Nelly's perspective. Warnke would say that Nelly "insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold." Through Nelly's perspective are much of the events of "Wuthering Heights" dramatic, perhaps in part because she expects her life to hold a certain narrative quality.
Heathcliff becomes largely the fascination of the novel due to his passion and tendency for revenge. Being an adopted orphan, he has had little chance for education in his life. His never-ending fascination with the late Catherine Earnshaw stands testament to Warnke's assertion that literate people have respect for the story, and most importantly, the story's conclusion. Warnke's literate woman "knows most the ineluctable significance of an end. She is comfortable with them. She has bid farewell to a thousand heroes with only a twinge of sadness." Heathcliff is not so. Far after he lost for Cathrine's hand in marriage, he continues to drag out his affections for her, knowing not when to seek closure with her and to be "comfortable" with the end of their love. A literate man, according to Warnke, would be able to accept and relish the relationship he did have with elder Cathrine, and recognize when it was time to move on. Evidently, however, Heathcliff never does gain closure from this love, and seeks revenge on her actions far after her death.
Haerton Earnshaw proves an echo of Heathcliff. Being under-educated, he speaks not with broad lexicon, but rather with simple emotion. He reads not, unlike Warnke's literate girls. Warnke notes that individuals of this breed "lapse into a bored indifference. Lapse into an indifferent sadness." While Haerton does have bouts of these feelings, he shows desire to expand his mental capabilities, and seeks the literate young Cathy to "stay and save [his] life." He "accepts nothing less than passion," showing the aptitude to become literate, and therefore intellectually powerful.
In the passage "Date an Illiterate Girl", Warnke provides a very unique and interesting point of view on educated in girls. If a girl can read she possesses more power and the confidence to be herself and stand up for what she believes in. An educated girl has personality and independence. The girls who cannot read are easier to deal with and that is why the author is telling the reader to date illiterate girl. However, at the end of the passage he author says, "Or, perhaps, stay and save my life," which indicates that an educated woman is also date-able. So in the end the author seemed to change his mind and date a literate girl and not an illiterate one.
ReplyDeleteIn the book "Wuthering Heights" the character Nelly is one of the narrators and the maid in the story. Despite the fact she is in a lower class than most of the other characters, she is a strong and independent woman all to do to her education. Nelly is a very strong woman character in the story. She is observing the lives of the other characters and has strong opinions of them. Because Nelly is such a reliable person, the author chose her to narrate the story. The way Bronte uses Nelly to tell the story makes her character seem almost more highly educated than the rest of the people in the book. She has such a strong personality that really shines throughout the novel. Nelly seems so much more mature than all the other characters and it is not just because she is older but also because she was educated, which helped her become more of an independent person. Nelly is one of the only characters in the novel who is not infatuated by love. This makes her more reliable as a narrator because she does not mix her emotions with everything that is going on in the other characters lives. It is not a distraction for her. She is almost like a mediator in which she interprets the story with her head being in the clouds. Nelly is practical and reasonable unlike most of the other people in the book. It also allows for you to feel how the other characters feel through her non bias interpretation of the plot that is taking place.
The character Edgar Linton is known in the book as an educated boy who also happens to be rich. He was not originally the brightest of them all, however he later becomes very educated and in return he becomes a very respectable character. Because he was rich and educated, Catherine wanted to marry him, which turns out kind of negative for him because Catherine is still in love with Heathcliff. What seems a little odd about his character is that he seemed to know Catherine loved Heathliff still, but married her anyway. This seems to slightly go the wrong way because he is educated enough to see that, but his emotions start to control what he does and not the fact he is smart. This shows that education a key, but the heart can still rule the mind, not logic.
ReplyDeleteCatherine seemed to be an educated girl, however she acted the exact opposite of what Warnke's vision of a literate girl was. She seemed to be very immature despite the fact she was educated. She made the logical choice in who to marry, but in truth she loved Heathcliff and her use emotions led her to possibly make the wrong or immature decisions. Her love pretty much led to her death. She got so involved with both men that she got sick and never recovered. Catherine's character shows having an education does not necessarily make you a smarter person if you make your decisions with your emotions.
In his piece, “Date an Illiterate Girl”, Warnke conveys that women who read have a greater understanding and ability to perceive life. He says that educated women’s lives are more fulfilled, and they are overall more interesting and the women hold a greater contribution in society.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights, minor character, Haerton, is illiterate. Haerton is repeatedly mocked throughout the latter half of the novel for his lack of education. After several failed attempts at learning, Haerton gives up and goes back to his seclusion. He does not have a large role in the novel until young Catherine takes an interest in him. She sits and patiently begins to educate him. Once Haerton begins learning, he plays a much bigger role in the novel. Like Warne suggested, Haerton’s quality of life has risen because he is educated.
The educated characters in Wuthering Heights have more opportunities; something that Warnke would agree comes along with education. Catherine, because she is taught manners and etiquette, has the option to marry either Heathcliff or Edgar. Her schooling allowed her the latter option; she was considered to be of a higher social stature because of her education. While her choice may have made her unhappy, it was that fact that she had this choice that makes Catherine relevant to Warnke’s piece. Educated people have more options in life. They have a greater understanding and view, so they are able to choose what will benefit them. In Catherine’s eyes, it was the wealth and status of marrying Edgar.
Nellie, just a housemaid in Wuthering Heights, is able to tell the story to Lockwood because of her education. Without her education, I do not believe Lockwood would have the patience to sit and listen to Nellie, nor the respect to hear what she has to say. If Nellie were uneducated, I do not believe she would be a reliable narrator of the story, either. Throughout the novel, Bronte shows Nellie’s wide range of vocabulary, as well as understanding of this family. She is able to explain to Lockwood in such detail, something an illiterate woman could never do. Nellie’s education allowed her to help some of the characters in the novel as well, such as Catherine, Haerton and young Catherine. She was respected (for the most part) and also is not looked down upon by the reader.
In his piece, “Date an Illiterate Girl”, Warnke conveys that women who read have a greater understanding and ability to perceive life. He says that educated women’s lives are more fulfilled, and they are overall more interesting and the women hold a greater contribution in society.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights, minor character, Haerton, is illiterate. Haerton is repeatedly mocked throughout the latter half of the novel for his lack of education. After several failed attempts at learning, Haerton gives up and goes back to his seclusion. He does not have a large role in the novel until young Catherine takes an interest in him. She sits and patiently begins to educate him. Once Haerton begins learning, he plays a much bigger role in the novel. Like Warne suggested, Haerton’s quality of life has risen because he is educated.
The educated characters in Wuthering Heights have more opportunities; something that Warnke would agree comes along with education. Catherine, because she is taught manners and etiquette, has the option to marry either Heathcliff or Edgar. Her schooling allowed her the latter option; she was considered to be of a higher social stature because of her education. While her choice may have made her unhappy, it was that fact that she had this choice that makes Catherine relevant to Warnke’s piece. Educated people have more options in life. They have a greater understanding and view, so they are able to choose what will benefit them. In Catherine’s eyes, it was the wealth and status of marrying Edgar.
Nellie, just a housemaid in Wuthering Heights, is able to tell the story to Lockwood because of her education. Without her education, I do not believe Lockwood would have the patience to sit and listen to Nellie, nor the respect to hear what she has to say. If Nellie were uneducated, I do not believe she would be a reliable narrator of the story, either. Throughout the novel, Bronte shows Nellie’s wide range of vocabulary, as well as understanding of this family. She is able to explain to Lockwood in such detail, something an illiterate woman could never do. Nellie’s education allowed her to help some of the characters in the novel as well, such as Catherine, Haerton and young Catherine. She was respected (for the most part) and also is not looked down upon by the reader.
Part 1: In Warnke's "Date an Illiterate Girl", he describes his own personal feelings (which seem to be based on experience) of 'a girl who reads' in an almost poetic, note-to-self style. He describes the desirable qualities and traits that an educated girl acquires, all of which make a man fall even more deeply in love with her, and ultimately makes her an even more diverse, deep individual. However, he also struggles with the idea of dating an educated girl because of her downfalls, such as her easy acceptance of ends and unrealistic expectations of perfection. Warnke seems to go back and forth between loving this described girl with all his heart and wanting her out of his life, between wanting her to "take the next southbound train" and wanting her to "stay and save my life".
ReplyDeleteThe character of Nelly in "Wuthering Heights", who appears to be the most reliable character of the book, is also one of the most interesting; she is a servant, but is well educated. It is easy to see in many of the chapters told from her point of view, that her education greatly benefits her. Not only is it beneficial in that it keeps her level-headed and realistic, but it also helps her tell her stories so that Lockwood feels like he is in her story. Her word choice and attention to details adds to the imagery of each story. Nelly has an innate quality to reveal the true motives behind actions or the real qualities of characters, able to "perceive the difference between a parenthetical moment of anger and the entrenched habits of someone whose bitter cynicism will run on" (Warnke), such as in the case of Heathcliff. Nelly also embodies some of the qualities of 'the girl who reads' which Warnke seems to struggle with. Upon leaving Hareton at Wuthering Heights and moving to Thrushcross Grange, Nelly accepts their goodbye, even when she returns to the Heights and visits him, and he curses at her with obvious hatred. She realizes the "ineluctable significance of an end", and "is comfortable with them" (Warnke). Overall, Nelly seems to be an educated women who can take care of herself AND others, such as Catherine, Cathy, Linton, and Hareton, without the help of a man by her side, which Warnke also says is a product of education.
Part 2: Catherine Earnshaw is another prominent female character who holds an education. Unlike Nelly, however, she lives in high stature and therefore an education is not unexpected. Catherine, however, displays less of the promising qualities of 'a girl who reads' than Nelly does. Catherine, rather than distinguishing "between the specious and soulless rhetoric of someone who cannot love her and the inarticulate desperation of someone who loves her too much", instead cannot distinguish between someone she may love and someone who loves her too much (Heathcliff) and therefore deserves her heart. She does indeed "insist that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold", but she does it in all the wrong way, writing her own story based on who would look best in her life. Undeniably, she has made Heathcliff's life "so damned difficult". Educated Catherine has the possibility to be the positive, well-loved 'girl who reads' that Warnke describes, but her intelligence is instead clouded by love and want.
ReplyDeleteOn the flip side, Hareton is a boy who has seemingly never been educated. He is the polar opposite of what Warnke describes to be 'a girl who reads', or in his case, a boy who reads. His vocabulary is most likely comprised of curse words and slang, he probably would not understand syntax, and he most definitely could not be a storyteller. Everything he does and thinks is attached to Heathcliff, a tell-tale sign of a lack of education. Hareton cannot think for himself or form opinions apart from Heathcliff's judgement. Hareton's life would vastly improve with an education; he would be able to become his own independent person, like Warnke suggests girls who read can do. Education is as equally significant and beneficial to men as it is to women.
Charles Warnke writes to all women in his excerpt “Girls who Read.” Using both emotional and logical appeals, Warnke works to convince his female audience to read. Warnke’s basic argument is that reading gives women an advantage in life and that this advantage is well worth having. His arguments span from the assertion that women will be happier as they age to the hypothesis that women who read can tell the difference between love that is fake and love that is real. Warnke then drifts into satire as he warns men of the dangers of learned women. Although he states that a reading women would easily say good-bye and would expect perfection, he then implies that this an educated woman is the perfect type of woman. All in all, women who read are better.
ReplyDeleteWhat does this have to do with Wuthering Heights? Education and a lack thereof are prevalent thematic topics in Emily Bronte’s novel, and if you are not educated you cannot read. Nelly is clearly well versed, seeing as she is able to convey the entire story to Lockwood. Her wisdom is trusted throughout the whole book, and while she may fail on multiple occasions in taking care of the children and estates, she is always retained. As Warnke would say, “she knows… that the ebb comes along with the flow of disappointment.” Based on her heavy emphasis on the times that other characters read, she definitely holds reading and knowledge with high regard. Plus, nothing fazes Nelly as she grows older. She seems to have “a vocabulary that parses the innate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity instead of an alien wonder.”
At the low end of the totem pole, there lies Hareton. Hareton was purposefully neglected by Heathcliff and given no education while his cousin Linton had a private tutor. Worst of all, Linton takes advantage of his superior education to taunt and torture Hareton. Hareton lives life with the “alien wonder” that Nelly lacks. This gives light to the horrors of child neglect and abuse, along with showing how a lack of education and literacy can haunt a person. Heathcliff’s neglect is evident throughout, and brought upon by the fact that Heathcliff hated Hareton’s father, Hindley. Heathcliff makes sure to suppress Hindley’s legacy by using Hareton as a slave in Heathcliff’s machinations. Hareton is left hopeless, confused, and searching for love, but he can never find any of these three things along the way. Hareton has no means of escaping Heathcliff’s oppression because he has nowhere to escape to. With the literacy and education levels that he has, Hareton is bound for a life working fields. For all we know, Hareton may not even be aware of the world that he could escape into because he has not been able to read any stories of people in lands other than his own.
Part 2:
ReplyDeleteBut, just when we think that all is lost for Hareton, young Cathy comes to the rescue. Cathy is a reading fanatic and uses reading on multiple occasions as a way to connect with Linton. After Linton passes away, she falls for Hareton and uses teaching him to read as a way with which they can connect. It is no coincidence that as Cathy tears away Hareton’s illiteracy, she also lets him escape into a world of love and care that he has never felt before. Just like Warnke says, Hareton wants a girl who reads so she can “stay and save my life.”
Cathy shows that literacy can put a person on the right track but also shows that reading cannot solve everything. Cathy’s priorities are in line throughout the whole entire story, putting her father first and herself second. She cares for nearly everybody she meets and while she may be cunning and adventurous, there is no glaring immoral aspect of Cathy. This may go to show that reading can give someone a solid foundation. However, Cathy’s reading cannot save her from the deception of Heathcliff. Warnke says that a girl who reads “lays claim to the vocabulary which distinguishes between the specious and soulless rhetoric of someone who cannot love her, and the inarticulate of someone who loves her too much.” Contrary to Warnke’s assertion that a woman who reads can be wiser in areas of love, Cathy allows herself to be manipulated by Linton. It clearly takes a little more than just reading to make all the right decisions. However, it is a step in the right direction. After all, she does decide to stay and save Hareton’s life.
The excerpt explains that the life of someone who reads will be far more intricate and interesting than someone who doesn't. Not only will they have a better vocabulary to describe it, but will seek a life worth a story. The last paragraph is the narrator lamenting that this woman who reads has always dreamed of far better men than him.
ReplyDeleteNelly is literate and surprisingly well educated for her social class. Rather than fall into another dysfunctional relationship in this story, she seems to choose to instead be a mother figure to many of the other characters, especially Catherine Earnshaw. Moreover, she does a spectacular job narrating the tale of Wuthering Heights with her spectacular diction, and she "understands syntax".
Catherine Earnshaw is certainly a character made strong by an education and reading, but turns out to be a sort of counterpart to the person that the narrator of "Women who Read" describes, settling for a life with Edgar at the risk of "[lapsing] into a bored indifference" over one with Heathcliff that could be far more passionate and interesting. She seems to be well educated in everything but love, and picks Edgar over Heathcliff merely because marrying the latter would degrade her. She settles for "less than passion, and perfection, and a life worthy of being told." To reinforce that, Nelly says almost nothing of Catherine's life with Edgar until Heathcliff returns.
Hareton begins the book with a practically nonexistent vocabulary and spends most of the rest of the book trying to catch up, but finds himself mocked by young Catherine. He finds only frustration in trying to teach himself to read, and he begins to see in himself the same failure that Warnke sees in himself. Later in the book, however, young Catherine teaches him to read, and then the two begin to care about each other, and then Hareton no longer "[wants] to be everything [he's] not," and instead becomes something closer to what Catherine had been dreaming of.
Reading through “Date an Illiterate Girl” Warnkes outlines one’s stereotypical life and inserts various types of advice to the reader. He provokes the reader to analyze their seemingly dull, formulaic life to realize that there hasn’t been a girl of great literary power in their life and there never should be because “a girl who reads possesses a vocabulary that can describe that amorphous discontent of a life unfulfilled” and “a girl who reads knows the most ineluctable significance of an end.” Love for a girl who reads is only inevitable of a tragic heartbreak. Warnke seems to have an extremely personal connection to the advice he is giving his reader. Sort of a live and learn type of mentality. Women who are educated aren’t blinded by the stereotypical women roles. They are independant and can form their own life’s goal without the influence of others.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights Nelly is one of the main narrators of the book and enables the reader to have a first hand look at Thrushcross Grange and Wuthering Heights and also allows the history of these two places to slowly be unraveled along with the many mysteries that go along with it. Based on the diction that Nelly uses it is clear to the reader that she is well educated in comparison to characters like Joseph. Nelly perhaps conveys the past to be so dramatic because she herself was a fly on the wall and had the opportunity to be “a storyteller...The girl who reads has spun out the account of her life and it is bursting with meaning. She insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold.”
Heathcliff is a predominant role due to the dramatic nature of his actions and thoughts. His thoughts for love and actions of revenge. Heathcliff was brought home by Catherine’s father, Mr.Earnshaw. Soon he fell head over heels with Catherine. And Catherine fell head over heals for Heathcliff. There love so passionate that their souls became one. Warnke describes literate people to be able to come to a conclusion and accept an ending. Heathcliff would perfectly demonstrate an illiterate person because he cannot allow reality to set in. He is feverishly in love with the late Catherine Earnshaw and he is not “comfortable with them (the end).” He has yet to “bid farewell to a thousand heroes with only a twinge of sadness.”
Edgar Linton came from a rich background but not necessarily an educated one. The harsh personality of Catherine initially blindsided Edgar. Later in Edgars life he studied in his private library and perfectly demonstrated the caterpillar to butterfly effect. He went from an uneducated man with money to a literate man with money. Early in the novel Edgar didn’t see the double side coin of love Catherine was flipping around. As he became educated he began to accept the reality of Catherine loving Heathcliff. Edgar relates to “ A girl who reads lays claim to a vocabulary that distinguishes between the specious and soulless rhetoric of someone who cannot love her, and the inarticulate desperation of someone who loves her too much.”
There's a quote from a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald that goes, "'Why don't you tell me that if the girl had been worth having she'd have waited for you? No, sir, the girl really worth having won't wait for anybody.'” This is the girl described in Charles Warnke's excerpt from "Date an Illiterate Girl." Warnke talks about the girl who is educated in life by the infinite experiences she absorbs from her books, and who will never be satisfied with the real world, because she is so worldly thanks to her knowledge. From a "regular man's" perspective, Warnke talks about the the easier solution of picking a girl who doesn't read and doesn't challenge those around her. However, if one has the courage to accept the challenge of loving a girl who reads, she can "save his life"; her intelligence can help him become a man worthy of literature, and that journey could be what makes his life worthwhile.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights, Ellen "Nelly" Dean provides an educated and detailed narration of Emily Bronte's twisted love story, inserting her own insights and comments to help clarify certain events and provide her opinion on others. Nelly's intelligence allows her to sometimes leave her role of "servant" and directly question the actions of her fellow characters, which helped develop the plot of the story and the characters themselves as well. A servant with less education might not be as willing to contradict the views of her superiors, which would be detrimental to the reader's perspective; a lot of Bronte's tone and true intentions would be lost. Another bonus of Nelly's bright nature is her ability to convey ideas in brilliant detail: her diction is concise but elaborate, and she often utilizes vivid imagery along with figurative language to put a literal image in the reader's mind. As Warnke says, she possesses "a
vocabulary that parses the innate beauty of the world." She is adept at recounting events with accuracy (although she does tend to include a slightly biased mindset) and often acts with more sense than those she is indentured to. Nelly is almost certainly a girl who reads, because obviously "girls who read are storytellers."
(pt. 2) Catherine Linton is a girl who reads, and she is proud of it. The sentence "She insists that her narratives are rich, her supporting cast colorful, and her typeface bold" epitomizes Catherine's desire for zest in her life; while trapped in Wuthering Heights, she often picked fights with characters like Hareton (who, as we will discuss, wass rather uneducated) which resulted in arguments that she delighted in. Unfortunately, she tended to use her education in order to shame Hareton for his lack of knowledge, bordering on elitist as she told him he would "debase and profane" her literature. Though Catherine begins and continues life as an educated woman, she learns an infinite amount through her real experiences and also grows as a person when exposed to Hareton, whose existence is something that challenges her mindset and forces her to widen her views. Part of her "reading" is the struggle she has endured thanks to her rather dysfunctional family, and it allows her to make more informed decisions. Catherine eventually realizes the value of her education as she discovers that Hareton yearns for knowledge, and towards the end of the novel begins to educate him not only in reading but in kindness, generosity and love.
ReplyDeleteHareton Earnshaw has not been dealt a very good hand in life: he has been thrown over a balcony, shunned by his family, and robbed of a well-learned and comfortable life by external circumstances. Despite this, Hareton has a desire to learn, and he covets Catherine's books, aspiring to teach himself to read. Catherine discovers this and scorns him publicly for trying to escape his ignorance, and he responds by throwing her books in the fire. Luckily, Catherine decides to teach him to read (and make nice in general) and what ensues is a beautiful meeting of the minds: Catherine is happy because she is bestowing her knowledge on another, and Hareton is happy because he is finally being accepted into the educated society he longed to belong to. Warnke laments that boys who seek girls that read "will fail...because you have dreamed, properly, of someone who is better than I am." Catherine's willingness to educate Hareton signifies her maturing into a woman who recognizes that knowledge is best shared, and Hareton's acceptance of her assistance shows that he is alright with accepting some help and willing to improve himself. The last line of Warnke's excerpt reads "stay and save my life," which can be viewed as Catherine's affection and attention pulling Hareton out of a dark spiral from which he may have never recovered.
The passage from "Date an illiterate Girl" portrays that if a girl can read her life is full of deeper meaning. She can decipher literary elements and apply them to her own life in order to make sense of the world around her. She is able to come to terms with real life experiences with some ease because these experiences are parallel with similar incidents in literature.
ReplyDeleteIn Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", there is a character named Ellie Dean, whom is also called Nelly. She is known to be well educated and mentally sturdy. For most of the story, it is Nelly narrating and telling of her past experiences. She has a wide vocabulary and creates a world with her words. Instead of the novel being vaguely described, she " parses the innate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity". "A girl who reads knows that life is not planar", Nelly understands that life is more than just black and white. While telling of her past she goes into a deeper meaning with each of her characters, especially the first Catherine. She portrays Catherine as being shallow, but also shows that Catherine has a means to change into a more thoughtful person. "The girl who reads knows most the ineluctable significance of an end. She is comfortable with them", Nelly has seen many deaths but rather than grieving, she soldiers on and keeps her right mind. Not grieving does not make her cold on the inside, but rather tough in her mind and soul.
On the other side of education is Hareton Earnshaw. Hareton is not educated and illiterate. This is mainly because of how he was raised by Heathcliff and Hindley, without a proper teacher to educate him. He has a limited vocabulary and is at times mocked for his illiteracy. He is short tempered and cannot tell the "rhythm and cadence" of his own life. His struggle to clearly see situations hinder him from making sense of his life.
The young Catherine is another one who admires the importance of literacy. She loves books and has a major desire to read. The death of her father had to have a very tragic day in her life, but when Nelly tells of his death there is no description of her sulking for a long period of time. Her mother was not like this, ever though she was also educated. Young Catherine's literacy and education prepare her for tough times. She "knows most the ineluctable significance of an end", even the end of a life. Her life is full of "irregular pauses—the hesitation of breath", and she understands the world around her.
Warnke’s Date an Illiterate Girl is both breathtaking and heartbreaking in its conveyance of knowledge (particularly literary) and the connotation of justified superiority associated with it. An existence void of this insight is described as being altogether more predictable and lacking in any sort of fulfilling or even redeeming qualities. In contrast, the lives of those possessing literacy is, while a bit rougher around the edges, ultimately more rewarding and sprinkled with a greater understanding of life’s beauty.
ReplyDeleteNelly Dean, while a servant, possesses intellect and an articulateness unmatched by any another character in Bronte’s Wuthering Heights. As she recounts the tragic tale of Heathcliff, she leaves no room for biased emotions but rather, as Perrine would say, interprets the situations that have unfolded around her. Nelly refuses to “let the years pass unnoticed” nor does she “lapse into a bored indifference/indifferent sadness” but rather seeks the meaning in even of the smallest instances of syntax or diction. She is gifted with an uncanny ability to look past the surface of the relationship between Catherine and Heathcliff, and all subsequent relationships for that matter, thus making meaning from “the demarcations of a prologue and the sharp ridges of a climax” to the “ineluctable significance of an end”. Her educated mind illuminates the book’s major focus on Heathcliff’s reasoning for treating others, such as Linton and Hindley, the way he does and more importantly, provides otherwise unseen reasoning for his pervading love for Catherine. While Bronte has featured a number of detestable characters in Wuthering Heights, it is Nelly who reveals their blurred sense of morality and ambiguity regarding good and evil.
Unlike Nelly, Frances and Hindley’s son Hareton lacks in education, causing him to lead an initially limited life. In cruel retribution for his mistreatment as a child, Heathcliff distances the young Hareton from an educated lifestyle, causing both poor vocabulary and ignorance to manifest within him at an early age. Catherine and Edgar Linton’s daughter, Cathy, mocks Hareton for this upon their meeting, the girl having been provided with a, to some extent, rewarding education at Thrushcross Grange. She “possesses a vocabulary (knowledge) that can describe that amorphous discontent of a life unfulfilled” while the boy is left to question, in his uneducated state, what can be done to fulfill himself. In the end he finds the answer, as Cathy grows to love Hareton, choosing to spend her life with him despite his illiteracy. On the contrary, Cathy’s mother Catherine Earnshaw, however wild and uncivilized she may have been, uses literacy to decipher the actions of her love interests Heathcliff and Edgar Linton, but also of herself. Though she does require Nelly’s guidance at times, Catherine is generally headstrong enough to interpret things as broad as conversations to those as small as individual words to gain a grasp of her situation and her conflicted feelings for Heathcliff.
In “Date an Illiterate Girl”, Warnke illustrates a unique image of an educated girl. A girl who reads, to Warnke, is an independent and meaningful person - one that knows what she deserves, and won’t settle for anything short of it. She strives to gain for herself a story that is worth telling, whether it be in dating, or life itself. Yet Warnke doesn't seem completely sure as to where he stands with this “educated” girl: is a literate girl good or bad? He struggles with himself throughout the passage, switching back and forth between the two options. In the end, he seems to conclude that a literate girl has no place in his life, but if she were willing to stay with him, despite his less-than-perfect self, he would love her.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights, Nelly’s education plays a key role in her position as the dominant narrator. Despite Nelly merely being a servant in the book, she seems to have an extremely well developed education, and as an educated servant, she develops an interesting point of view for the story. She is like a fly on the wall, but she is also knowledgeable, and has a clear understanding of what is going on around her, making it possible to deem her a reliable narrator. Nelly’s literacy is key in the book because it supplies her with the tools that she needs to be a good storyteller, one of the traits in which Warnke’s, “Date and Illiterate Girl”, displayed in a girl who reads. As almost the entirety of the book is told from her perspective, if she were illiterate, Lockwood, and the reader, would be lacking many key details and insights into the story that is being told. Nelly’s character remains extremely independent throughout Wuthering Heights, and rather than looking to others for help, she ultimately spends her life in helping others to fulfill their paths.
Catherine Earnshaw also depicts an educated girl. One of the evidently important parts in Wuthering Heights is Catherine’s decision between marrying Heathcliff or Edgar. From the perspective of Heathcliff, Catherine’s story is quite similar to the one in which Warnke is portraying in “Date an Illiterate Girl”. Catherine was a clearly smart and literate young lady, and it was these traits specifically that faced her with one of her hardest choices: Heathcliff, or Earnshaw? Her knowledge for the world made it clear to her that she was more likely to get a better life - the “perfect” life - by societies standards, if she married Earnshaw, and so Heathcliff was left in the dust, simply hoping that she would “perhaps, stay, and save [his] life”.
In contrast to Catherine and Nelly, two educated girls, there is Hareton Earnshaw. Hareton is a character that really has no education or literacy whatsoever. Although he has grown up without the ability to read, and the knowledge that has been bestowed upon most other characters in Wuthering Heights, Hareton still craves to learn. He attempts all throughout to learn to read, and though he was mocked many a time in the process, in the end he reaches an agreement with Cathy in which she teaches him to read, finally endowing him with the knowledge in which he had so strived for. Though from the start of Hareton’s presence in the book he has been uneducated and poorly spoken, hardly touching any of the aspects that Warnke addresses are in “a girl who reads”, by the end of his independent story he will have the possibility to understand syntax, or have the vocabulary of a scholar. Though he began uneducated, he in the end pushed himself to the possibility of being “a boy who reads.”
Education is power and a "civilizing agent" in both the opinion of Charles Warnke and Emily Bronte. Warnke expresses that a girl who reads "possesses a vocabulary that can describe that amorphorus discontent of a life unfulfilled-- a vocabulary that parses the innate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity instead of an alien wonder", describing the beauty and importance of a well-educated girl's ability to speak clearly, think thoroughly,and creatively and outwardly express herself. By "A girl who reads perceives the difference between a parenthetical moment of anger and the entrenched habits of someone whose bitter cynicism will run on, run on well past any point of reason, or purpose, run on far after she has packed a suitcase and said a reluctant goodbye and she has decided that I am an ellipsis ad not a period and run on and run on", Warnke is implying that an educated girl will know the difference between a good and bad guy, and will know when to leave that man and will know that life will still go on for her after that experience. However, if you aren't into a strong independent women who knows what she wants and may break your heart; it may be a good idea to date an illiterate woman. Literate women will make your life "so damned difficult". Warnke admits that he is not 'good enough' for the women that reads (and I suspect he has learned this from experience), as he admits; "I am weak and I will fail you, because you have dreamed, properly, of someone who is better than I am". He concludes with a sarcastic remark to keep dating illiterate women, but then asks "Or, perhaps, stay and save my life", confirming that he needs a literate woman and that literate women are superior to illiterate women.
ReplyDeleteNellie is only the house-maid, however, she has been through so many experiences at Wuthering Heights, and is a very literate story-teller, leading us to believe she reads and is (at least partly) educated. I believe Nelly is only self-educated, however, she posesses the mind and power of a regular, educated woman. Therefore, according to Warnke, she has just as much power as those who are as educated as her.
Catherine, post-transformation, is a lady with class who most definitely reads, because it is evident that she is well educated in her manners and mannerisms. I picture Mrs. Catherine as perhaps a bit more powerful than Nelly in the book, because Catherine has been taught by the Linton's how to dress and speak in a ladylike manner.
Nelly is all self-taught.In contrast, Hareton is quite uneducated, and therefore is associated with a lack of power (with is correct). Hareton should be one of the most important men in town ,but is instead working for his keep at Withering Heights. He is clearly illiterate, and will want to date an illiterate woman.
Charles Warnke’s excerpt focuses on the impact that education has, particularly on women. Overall, Warnke explains how literary knowledge can shape a female’s life and her insight on certain details of life.
ReplyDeleteEllen (Nelly) Dean is the primary narrator in Wuthering Heights. One of the reasons why I believe she is the most “reliable” narrator is because of her ability as a “storyteller” (Warnke). Despite being a housemaid, she proves to be far more educated than many of her superiors. Nelly is true to the story and the emotion in her narration allows the readers to also feel what Nelly is feeling whether it is her frustration with Catherine or frustration with Heathcliff. In the second paragraph, Warnke talks about the importance of vocabulary. Nelly’s diction allows readers to imaginatively depict the setting of the story along with the events occurring in Nelly’s narration Nelly uses vocabulary “to parse the inmate beauty of the world and makes it an accessible necessity instead of an alien wonder” (Warnke). The way readers are able to decipher the accounts of Nelly’s life and how “it bursts with meaning” shows the depth of her sophisticated mind.
Catherine, on the other hand, is raised to behave like a lady. She is wealthy, sophisticated, and of high class. Judging from these qualities alone, one can assume that Catherine is educated or literate, as described in Warnke’s excerpt. However, Catherine has revealed to be foolish in many cases. For instance, she contemplates between Heathcliff and Edgar on who she loves, but when Nelly questions her reasons for loving Edgar, she is unable to respond to Nelly. The idea of Edgar being a man of status intrigues Catherine. She chooses this self-satisfaction over having a loving and happy relationship with Heathcliff. Consequently, Catherine “lapses in to a bored indifference. Lapses into an indifferent sadness” (Warnke). The more I analyze Catherine’s actions, the more foolish and illiterate she appears despite her wealth and status.
Another character that I view as illiterate is Heathcliff. Heathcliff is introduced as an orphan, but is adopted by Mr. Earnshaw. For the majority of his life, Heathcliff is surrounded by people of high class. However, Heathcliff is never formally educated and is viewed as inferior to his superiors particularly Linton and even Catherine, to some extent. His foolishness is best exemplified by his inability to move forward and let go of the past. Even after Catherine marries Linton, Heathcliff continues to hold Catherine in his heart. As a result, Heathcliff transforms from a benevolent gentleman to a cold-hearted man. Heathcliff’s anger, as result, causes him to become obsessed with his revenge. Heathcliff becomes too caught up with his revenge to the point where nothing in life, even his on and only child, matters except taking over Thrushcross Grange. Heathcliff, as Warnke describes, undergoes “a mid-life crisis” (Warnke).
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ReplyDeleteIn Girls Who Read, Warnke is giving a different view of an educated girls. Girls who read =are girls who not only "live a life well lived", but are girls who live life full of passion, perfection, and know what the want to accomplish in life; that they deserve the best, and they know how to find it. Not only can they see a person for who the truly are, but they make a person want to change themselves, they save lives.
ReplyDeleteIn Wuthering Heights, education is what makes Nellie. the main narrator, be able to narrate the store accurately. Though Nellie is only a servant in the book, there are many implications that she has received some education, enough to to have the skills and be categorized as Warnke's literate girls. Many times in the book Nellie proves to be the most clear minded, and holds the most sense in the book. She has the intelligence to be able to understand the vents around her, and portray a deeper meaning into the story for the reader.
Another literate reader in the book is Catherine. Catherine is raised as a lady, and with a good amount of education. Though she doesn't imply it in a typical sense of a literate girl, she fits warmke's description in the way she lives with passion, and knows what she wants and tries to get it, Catherine also leaves and has a large impression and impact on the people she is surrounded by. Rather being the salvation of the ones she loves, she leads to be their destruction (Heathcliff).
A person who despite being illiterate, is cunning enough to be considered educated is Heathcliff. Unlike Edgar who grew up wealthy and educated life, Heathcliff grew up being a servant with little to no education from books, but learning from life and its experiences. He is viewed as inferior by everyone, but ultimately is the one who affects the book the most, and is the ost affective at reading the other characters and manipulating them to suit his need/ wishes. Despite no formal education, Heathcliff has still managed to be a literate person, and is the most educated, influential person in the book.
In Warnke's passage, he desribes the positives and negatives of dating an illiterate and literate girl.
ReplyDeleteWarnke claims that a literate girl despite having a wide spectrum of perspective, analyzes everything too much. She also has an opinion on something, and is not afraid to tell you and let you know what she thinks.She has a border and plot for every aspect of her life. Everything has to go by her standards, and if things don't go the way she plans she will be devasted. A girl who reads has high expectations, and will continue to have high expectations for everyone involved with her, trying to bring out the best in everyone.
Warnke states that an illiterate girl doesn't know and realize the importance of life. She may not be able to cherish those unforgetabble moments, because she doesn't realize that it may never happen again. Because she can't read and doesn't have a great voacb or the ability to tell a good story, the recollection and possible story of their lives will never be told and forgotten.
I believe that the message in Warnke's passage is that it doesn't matter whether the girl you love can or can't read. A girl who reads and a girl who doesn't read both has great positive characteristics and negative characterisitcs. Nobody is perfect. But love isn't based off reading. It's based off pure passion and emotion that's created when your together.
In Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights", there are several main characters that are importantly educated. Nellie, Catherine, and Edgar are three main characters in this novel that are well educated. Nellie is the main narrative throughout the majority of the novel. Through her rich analysis and vocabulary, she is able to tell her story creating emotion and passion for Lockwood while recreating the past. Catherine is educated because of her stature and position he family has. And Edgar Linton is another well educated and respected character who uses his stature.
In the article "Date an Illiterate Girl", Warnke explains how much better life could be when spending time with bright, intelligent people that read, and especially dating and marrying women that read. He says that men that date illiterate women will love unfulfilled lives, and will watch life go by as it should, but will not really participate in it.
ReplyDeleteThis applies especially to the character of Nellie in "Wuthering Heights". A majority of the book, whether directly or indirectly, is told from Nellie's perspective, which gives her the power to "describe the amaphorous discontent of a life unfulfilled". She, as a verbose, well-spoken individual, is able to tell the story from an (almost) unbiased perspective, and as it actually happens- unlike Lockwood, or other unreliable narrators. Nellie also uses syntax that does not confuse or inhibit the reader, but serves to accurately explain the events. She illuminates on the important points "in sporadic but knowable intervals". This article truly describes Nellie's attitudes toward storytelling, herself and other characters.
This article also jumped out at me as applying to Catherine (Sr.) and Hareton. These characters couldn't be more different- aside from living a generation apart. Catherine is educated and taught to be a proper lady at Thrushcross Grange, whereas Hareton is illiterate for a good portion of the novel. However, the two have something very important in common- they both believe their lives to be bettered by education. This is supported in Warnke's piece, he spends the article not explaining the effect of education on the individual, but instead the effect of the educated individual on those around them. As Hareton is taught to read, he becomes happier, and after Catherine is educated, she makes more "adult" decisions (whether these were the best decisions for her or not is another question entirely).
"Date an Illiterate Girl" exemplifies, through sarcasm as well as earnest belief, that education makes a person better as well as those around them. This applies to Nellie of course, as a well-spoken, extremely literate narrator, but also applies to Catherine and Hareton, both of whom are directly affected (mostly positively) by their continuing education throughout the novel.
I apologize for the lateness of my post. Is life something that can be explained? Experienced beyond the experience itself and explained so that others may experience it? True this is what literature is supposed to be, but our actual achievement of such a thing is likely impossible. Then why do we write? Writing is the same as living. A useless tiresome goal which cannot be reached, but still rich and warm, and worth it in its own ways. The girl who reads understands this. She is full of expectation. A dreary life is nothing for a story, and if the story does not come to her, she is perfectly willing to make her own.
ReplyDeleteNellie is not a girl who reads, because reading and reading well has nothing to do with literacy. Understanding the vibrancy of characters falling into a book depends on ability, but also upon a certain kind of person. Perhaps they are people who have expectations, or wished that they had them, or have a desire to act the protagonist. Nellie is not this person. It goes beyond not being a romantic. She has accepted the dreariness of life. She is practical, she is observant, she is chastising more of action than inaction, and she accepts passivity, except through her complaining.
Perhaps Catherine Sr. is a girl who reads. Again literate, and also a romantic, possessing of some inner strength. Yet still there is something wrong with this comparison. The girl who reads is not selfish (per-say) and she has no need to surround herself with people "she has packed a suitcase, and said a reluctant goodbye, and she has decided that I am an ellipse and not a period and run on and run on." Catherine could never bear to leave the ones she loves despite how bad they are for her.
Hareton is probably the closest to a girl who loves to read for a character in the book (despite the fact that he is male, and illiterate). He has the most positive outlook and the most expectations in the goodness of life of any of the characters. He is able to give up on Catherine after her repeated abuses. He is a passionate character, but without that passion overwhelming us.
Still I think the one who most fits this mold would be Emily Bronte herself, I don't know much about her, but I think if I could have I would have liked to have been her friend.