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19th-Century British Literature Videos 19 videos

A Christmas Carol
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A Tale of Two Cities Summary
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Wuthering Heights 62862 Views


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Description:

Check out this video to find out why Wuthering Heights should never be considered #relationshipgoals.

Language:
English Language

Transcript

00:07

Wuthering Heights a la Shmoop. Hope you're not afraid of heights. Wuthering...

00:11

or otherwise. When people don't get what they want . . .

00:15

. . . they don't always react in a positive manner.

00:19

But some people take disappointment to a whole other level.

00:24

Take Heathcliff . . . . . . a broody kind of guy who isn't exactly

00:28

a model for gracious losers. He makes life difficult for pretty much everybody

00:33

he encounters. He ruins Hindley <<HINNED-lee>>. . .

00:36

. . . humiliates Isabella . . . . . . abuses Hareton <<HARE-tuhn>> . . .

00:40

and even torments the love of his life. Nice guy, huh?

00:46

So what exactly was behind all that need for vengeance?

00:50

Well, Heathcliff's "adopted" brother Hindley sure got the ball rolling.

00:55

He hated poor, orphaned Heathcliff from day one . . .

00:58

. . . and wasn't shy about showing it. Is it any wonder Heathcliff couldn't wait

01:04

to issue a little payback . . . . . . especially when his plan included that

01:07

extra bonus of inheriting Wuthering Heights? But Hindley certainly wasn't the only one

01:13

pushing Heathcliff's buttons. Edgar had stolen his girl . . .

01:19

. . . so marrying Edgar's sister must have sounded like pretty sweet revenge . . .

01:22

. . . even if Heathcliff couldn't stand the poor woman.

01:27

Then, of course, there was the love of his life -- Catherine.

01:32

After her betrayal, there was no way he was letting her off the hook.

01:36

Soul mate or not, she had married a bore like Edgar . . .

01:39

. . . and Heathcliff never stopped reminding her that she had ruined both their lives doing

01:44

so. So, who really was behind the brunt of all

01:47

that anger? Maybe he just wanted to make everyone who

01:51

had ever hurt him suffer . . . . . . maybe he was just trying to get his

01:55

hands on Wuthering Heights . . . . . . or maybe he was just a miserable human

02:00

being who liked making everyone else miserable, too.

02:02

You know, the kind of guy who isn't happy unless everyone else is unhappy too.

02:09

What's your call? Shmoop amongst yourselves.

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